So at the coalition, we’re looking for a web developer to create three sites for us. I figured that a posting in Craig’s List might be a good place to go. This would be a great web gig for anyone looking to raise their profile a little bit — not that it would be so difficult for a good developer to raise his or her profile just by having a great blog and showing off some über skills.

I’ve learned my lesson.

Most web developers responding through Craig’s List apparently don’t know how to read a job posting. A specific instruction is given — send your resumé and cover letter to this email address — and most of the responses don’t include either of the two. One respondent even sent a response without a resumé or cover letter to the wrong email address!

Some of the responses were clearly not local. I suppose we could outsource this work to India, but it wouldn’t feel quite right.

Out of 21 responses, only one featured a website that demonstrated a clear commitment to XHTML/CSS web design standards, rather than nested tables. This is a sure sign the world of web design is in trouble — not that my personal web site is any better, but I don’t consider myself a web developer
For anyone who reads this, if you’re a web developer looking for a little extra work, feel free to contact the coalition for more information and a copy of the job posting. Just be sure you can demonstrate a good commitment to good design standards.