Here's a stat that perfectly captures the dysfunction of corporate recruiting: 65% of job postings need significant revisions after they go live. Not minor tweaks—significant revisions. We're talking fixing the job title, clarifying requirements, correcting the salary range, or rewriting the entire description because what they posted made zero sense.

How does this happen? Simple: nobody actually reads job postings before hitting the "publish" button. Hiring managers write them in 10 minutes between meetings. HR does a quick skim for legal compliance. And boom—it's live on your careers page and six job boards, complete with typos, contradictions, and requirements that don't match the actual role.

The result is a parade of job postings so bad they'd be funny if they weren't costing companies thousands of qualified candidates.

The Greatest Hits of Job Posting Fails

Let's look at some real examples I've encountered this month (names changed to protect the guilty):

The role that didn't exist: A tech company posted a "Senior Backend Engineer" role asking for 7+ years of Rust experience. Three weeks later, they revised it to "Mid-level Full Stack Developer" requiring 3+ years of JavaScript. Turns out they hadn't actually decided what role they needed when they posted it. They just wanted to "get something out there" and figured they'd figure out the details later.

The salary range mystery: A marketing role posted with "Competitive salary based on experience." After getting zero qualified applicants for two weeks, they revised it to add the actual range: $45,000-$55,000. Turns out "competitive" meant "20% below market rate." The role sat empty for three more months.

The copy-paste disaster: A finance company posted a "Financial Analyst" role with a job description clearly copied from another posting—complete with references to "our cutting-edge SaaS platform" (they're a traditional bank) and "equity compensation" (they don't offer equity). Nobody noticed until a candidate asked about the equity in their phone screen.

The impossible requirements: A startup posted for a "Junior Developer" requiring 5+ years of experience with a programming language that's only existed for 3 years. After getting roasted on Twitter, they revised it to "1-2 years preferred". They'd copied the requirements from a senior role posting without adjusting them.

The ghost job that wasn't: An e-commerce company posted a "VP of Operations" role, got 200+ applications, and then took it down three weeks later with no explanation. Turns out they posted it to "test the market" before getting budget approval. The role was never real.

Why This Keeps Happening

The dirty secret of recruiting is that job postings are treated like low-priority admin tasks instead of critical marketing materials.

Here's the typical process:

1. Hiring manager writes job description in 15 minutes using an old JD from 2019 as a template
2. HR glances at it to make sure there's no illegal language
3. Someone hits "publish" without actually reading what it says
4. Posting goes live with typos, outdated requirements, and unclear messaging
5. Applications either don't come in or the wrong candidates apply
6. Two weeks later, someone finally reads it and goes "wait, this is wrong"
7. Revisions happen, but the damage is done—good candidates already skipped it

Studies show that 73% of job seekers read job postings carefully before deciding whether to apply. If your posting is confusing, contradictory, or clearly slapped together, top talent nopes out immediately.

The Most Common Job Posting Mistakes

Let's catalog the recurring failures that show up in that 65% of revised postings:

Salary range missing or misleading: 66% of candidates won't apply without salary transparency. Companies either omit it entirely or post vague nonsense like "competitive compensation" that tells candidates nothing.

Contradictory requirements: "We need an entry-level candidate with 5+ years of experience." "We're looking for someone who can work independently in a highly collaborative team environment." These contradictions signal that nobody thought through what they actually need.

Unclear or generic job titles: "Rockstar Ninja Guru" tells candidates nothing about what the role actually is. Clear, specific job titles improve application rates by 30%.

Laundry list of buzzwords: "We're a dynamic, innovative, fast-paced, cutting-edge company seeking a passionate self-starter who thrives in ambiguity." Translation: we have no idea what we're doing and we want someone to figure it out for us.

Grammar and spelling mistakes: Typos in job postings make companies look unprofessional and careless. If you can't proofread a 300-word job posting, candidates assume you can't manage details in other areas either.

Requirements that don't match the role: "Junior Associate" requiring 7+ years of experience. "Entry-level salary" for a role requiring a Master's degree and certifications. Misalignment between seniority, requirements, and compensation signals dysfunction.

The Real Cost of Bad Job Postings

This isn't just embarrassing—it's expensive. Poor job postings reduce application rates by 40-60%.

Top candidates with multiple options skip confusing or low-quality postings entirely. They assume if you can't write a clear job posting, you're probably disorganized in other ways too.

Bad job postings increase time-to-fill by 3-4 weeks on average because you're starting over after revising. You've lost weeks of candidate pipeline development.

They damage employer brand. Candidates who see a poorly written or contradictory job posting share screenshots on LinkedIn and Reddit, mocking your company's incompetence. That's free negative PR.

How to Not Be Part of the 65%

If you don't want to revise your job postings after the fact, here's how to get them right the first time:

Actually decide what you need before posting: Don't post a job to "test the market" or because you're feeling pressure to show recruiting activity. Know what role you need, at what level, with what requirements, at what compensation.

Have multiple people review before publishing: Hiring manager, recruiter, and someone from the team should all read it. Three sets of eyes catch 90% of errors and inconsistencies.

Include salary range (seriously, just do it): 66% of candidates won't apply without it. Stop being coy about compensation. It's 2025.

Use clear, specific language: Write like you're explaining the role to a smart friend, not like you're trying to impress a corporate board. Avoid buzzwords and jargon.

Proofread for typos and grammar: Use Grammarly, have someone else read it, or read it out loud. Typos make you look sloppy.

Test it with someone outside your team: Show the posting to someone who doesn't know the role and ask if they understand what you're hiring for. If they're confused, candidates will be too.

The Bottom Line

65% of job postings need major revisions after going live because companies treat them like throwaway admin tasks instead of the critical candidate marketing they actually are.

Your job posting is often the first impression candidates get of your company. If it's riddled with typos, contradictions, missing information, and generic buzzwords, you're telling top talent that your company is disorganized and doesn't care about details.

The solution is embarrassingly simple: actually read your job postings before hitting publish. Have multiple people review them. Make sure the requirements match the role. Include salary information. Proofread for typos.

It takes 15 extra minutes to get a job posting right the first time. It takes weeks to fix the damage when you don't.

Stop being part of the 65%. Your candidates—and your employer brand—will thank you.

Key Takeaways:

• 65% of job postings need significant revisions after going live
• Common mistakes: no salary info, contradictory requirements, typos, generic buzzwords
• Poor postings reduce applications by 40-60% and increase time-to-fill by weeks
• Fix: Actually read postings before publishing, have multiple reviewers, include salary
• 15 minutes of upfront quality control saves weeks of fixing mistakes later