It's so frustrating to find a nice job advert, then you read through the (very specific) list of requirements and you're thinking to yourself "JavaScript: Check, Node.js: Check, Postgres: Check, Docker: Check, REST: Check, WebSockets: Check, Redis: Check, RabbitMQ: Check, Distributed systems: Check, nginx: Check, Kubernetes: Check, GraphQL: DAMN IT! This was almost a match..."

Requirements aren't really that. They're really wish lists.

Such a shame, since this is ‘a great way’ to dissuade women[1].

[1]: https://hbr.org/2014/08/why-women-dont-apply-for-jobs-unless...

You hire smart people not perfect matches.

Companies will generally tolerate developers to not have experience with certain tools but they will only hire them based on the assumption that they will learn those tools on the job. The problem arises when the developers don't like a specific tool; maybe they know better tools to use for this project. For me, as a developer, it's a deal breaker if a company expects me to use some tool which I'm experienced with but which I don't like.

It's a mistake for companies to assume that just because someone has 3 years of professional experience with a particular tool, that they like that tool. I've witnessed many developers catch Stockholm syndrome after spending lot of time using (and becoming an expert in) a specific tool but I regard this is as a sign of inexperience.

Those requirements are almost always just a wishlist