🐈
» Forums » Clients » Re: Markdown in job descriptions
Page options
51c2dd73
Community Member

Markdown in job descriptions

Is this feature somewhere on the roadmap?

 

I'm talking about Markdown syntax similar to what you can use on StackExchange, Trello, Slack, etc. 

 

It's 2019, and job descriptions must still be plain text...

 

If we were talking about HTML in job descriptions, I'd understand the reluctance. But Markdown offers basic formatting with no security tradeoffs. And it can't break your layout.

 

Your devs wouldn't even need to write a Markdown parser - there are tons of free, open source packages out there. 

12 REPLIES 12
prestonhunter
Community Member

re: "Is this feature somewhere on the roadmap?"

 

No.

 

re: "It's 2019, and job descriptions must still be plain text..."

 

Honestly, a lot of people love plain text.

 

I understand your points. Your idea has the virtue of being something that hasn't been discussed before here in the Forum. Not to my recollection, anyway.

 

Regardless of where things stand right now, if this is an idea that has merit, and if there is any possibility of Upwork doing something with this idea, this Forum IS the right place to discuss it.

A lot of people love plain text.

 

Plain text was great years ago, but is not appropriate for formatting. There's a reason we have HTTP rather than PTTP. 

 

It's kind of silly to support full-blown HTML and embedded media in forum posts, yet not support even the most basic formatting options (via Markdown) in job descriptions. Misplaced priorities.

 

 

Not having Markdown is ridiculous and is making me choose something else for a lot of work.


Nathan J wrote:

... Misplaced priorities.


Welcome to Upwork!

re: "Plain text was great years ago, but is not appropriate for formatting. There's a reason we have HTTP rather than PTTP. "

 

Non-plain text was also great years ago.

 

Screen Shot 2020-03-18 at 1.25.55 AM.png

 

(I'm kidding, of course.)

 

In all seriousness:

A couple of people have said that they would like to be able to use Markdown or more extensive formtting options within job postings.

 

Would anybody care to provide an example of what you would like to do with such functionality?

A screenshot?

Or a description of why this would be useful to you?

Or an example of a freelance work platform that allows such?

 

I'm not asking because I want to be argumentative. This is a real question. If this is something that clients want and would benefit from, let's hear more about this and maybe it is something Upwork can implement...

I am reviving this old post, which was seemingly abandoned by those who originally raised it and chimed in on it, as I would also like to see at least basic formating available in Job Descriptions.

 

I don't think it takes much imagination to think of situations where having even some basic formating options would be useful. Like BOLD (e.g., FOR HEADINGS), or Italics (e.g., for emphasis), and `inline code` and ```code blocks``` for pre-formated text ...

code blocks

... would come in useful.


I believe that when writing job requirements, having basic formating options would give more flexibility to present the job description as clearly as possible.

I'd suggest that's why an article like this one on "How To Write The Perfect Job Description" itself makes extensive used of basic formating. It allows for clearer presentation and easier reading.

This really seems a bit obvious to me. Bold text provides emphasis. Italics provide nuance. These types of things help convey meta information along with the words themselves. Links provide ways to convey additional information. Even rich text would be an improvement on what we have now. Markdown just makes it easier.

Carl:
I will be straight-up honest with you and tell you that I don't think this is going to change. Based on my experience in the Forum, I believe there is very little demand for this, and little interest on Upwork's part in implementing something like this.

 

In case it helps, here are some workarounds:

 

You can write something IN ALL CAPS for emphasis. This is a pure-ASCII solution which is extremely portable and resistant to modification as a text block goes through various technical transformations.

 

If you really want to include styling in a job description, you can do so in an attached file. You can attach a file to a job posting. You can also link to an external file that you store on an FTP server in a way that doesn't provide contact information.

Question: How do I make Awesome job posts like these recommendations from upwork?

Answer: Its NOT possible without at least some basic markup.

Maybe you should unformat your sample "awesome job descriptions" in plain text, or use CAPS etc.

 


Jens F wrote:

Question: How do I make Awesome job posts like these recommendations from upwork?

Answer: Its NOT possible without at least some basic markup.

Maybe you should unformat your sample "awesome job descriptions" in plain text, or use CAPS etc.


Exactly. I wonder how great their awesome job posts would look without the bullet points and headers.

 

I also love they way they respond to requests by saying that no one requests it....

2f77dd01
Community Member

I'm just here for the purely comedic responses provided by @Preston to every coherent fact provided by the likes of @Nathan, @Jonathan etc.

 

All the fee increases by Upwork and they still couldn't come up with a UX that has better messaging capabilities or simple formatting for job descriptions.

aed7daec
Community Member

Being able to add URLs, bullet points and text formatting would be really useful

Latest Articles
Learning Paths