Call me naive, but I was filled with consternation and glee when I saw this job ad plastered on a fence around a construction site on the MIT campus. Is this actually a thing that is happening?
The author of the ad, J. Holden Gibbons, seems legit. He’s a military vet, and claims on LinkedIn that in the past four months he founded two nonprofits: One to help feed hungry children, and the other devoted to helping Syrian refugees. Still, this ad for software engineers is downright bizarre. “Full stack mobile app development”? Also, please be an expert on every mobile OS, plus Facebook and LinkedIn integration. Holden offers “connections and charisma.” Remember, “mom/dad will be proud.”
Actually, the weirdest part is that this was printed out on a flyer and stuck to a fence next to the Charles River, instead of posted somewhere online. Or, you know, posted in the MIT student center or something.
I’m not the first person to notice the weirdness of want ads posted by business students looking for software help. A few years ago, the internet enjoyed a Tumblr called Whartonite Seeks Code Monkey, which was nothing but clueless want ads created by students at University of Pennsylvania’s business school who wanted coders (often with no promise of compensation).
At least Holden is promising that his new hire(s) will become CTO, “very rich,” and “on TechCrunch/Wired.” Hopefully he’ll settle for Gizmodo just this one time.
Contact the author at annalee@gizmodo.com.
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