You know I'm frustrated with the craziness of the job search that affects so many people. I could probably rant about that for many posts – and I probably will, knowing me.
One thing I note in the insanity of the job search is that among the inevitable laundry lists of skills, many job postings ask for sets of skills that A) most people probably have, B) they could learn if said person is reasonably intelligent, or C) that they have similar skills to anyway so it doesn't matter very much.
Do you really need to insist a programmer know Microsoft Office? I mean come on, they probably know it, or they know something similar. If they're an Open Source fanatic they may use Open Office instead which is close enough anyway.
When you look for someone with ten years experience in . . . well anything they probably have basic office skills. Do you have to ask for every program in the Microsoft Office Suite? Seriously?
When you get someone with a degree and ten years of experience, can you assume they can learn any software or other skills not directly vital to the job?
This is especially frustrating when the positions in questions are geekcentric – programmers, tech PMs, artists, etc. If people have the right education, the right job history, if they are so obviously "into" the jobs, they're gonna learn any simple skills they don't have. That's the way we progeeks are.
List only the vital skills, all else is padding, annoyance, and extra bullet points. You folks doing the job postings and looking for candidates don't need the excess.