I was speaking with a student regarding their “first real job” as they are set to graduate in December. They asked for help in reviewing some job descriptions for them. As we went through the listings, it dawned on me that we were learning a lot about the companies without them realizing it.
The job description told us about the culture, the work environment, and even the management style. I decided to look at other job descriptions for people with mid-level and senior level experience (thanks LinkedIn) and saw the same thing.
Some key things to look for are:

1. Laundry List of Duties- when you see 9 expectation topics with 5 or 6 subtopics, know that they are looking for a unicorn. It also would seem to me that they have high turnover because they want someone who doesn’t exist. Same for the experience or qualifications.
2. Use of Acronyms- when the job description uses their culture jargon, beware you are entering a cult. It is great to show personality in the job description but when they are looking for a person who FITS their CDMC and can perform within the GHTD, know that you need to buy in, or you won’t survive.
3. Very Specific Job Duties- when the job description tells you that you need to be proficient in Microsoft Office, one that should be assumed for a professional level position, it has been in the marketplace for 30 years, know they expect you to be a doer. One VP of Sales position I saw mentioned you needed proficiency in Tableau. What? The role should be to mentor, guide, train, and sell, not stare at databases.
4. Very Vague Descriptions- they are desperate to fill the slot so they put very little in the descriptions so they can cast a wide net.
5. “Confidential” Hire- they are getting ready to fire the person in that role. Red Flag alert to me.
   Also look for things like, recently open position, build on the last person’s success, and other clues that tell you there may be upward mobility. Also, read the about us part of each job description and home in on their language. Are they progressive, full of themselves, vague, etc.
   Remember that all interviews are two-way conversations, you are trying to determine if you fit and like the opportunity as much as they are trying to determine if you are good for the position. The job description gives you a good understanding of their culture, take advantage of that.