I came across a post by Gilles Leblanc that struck a chord with me:
"I can understand this practice from a recruiter’s or HR’s point of view. It is difficult to gauge the skill level of something you have no clue about and you want to filter out as much candidates as possible before having them for an interview. But I do not feel the practice is worthwhile, it’s just lazy."
So often I see job descriptions that say "7-10 years experience with social media" when "social media" as we know it today really came to be in the last five years. Or a job description that wants 5+ years of experience for an entry-level position.
It's really not that complicated. Smart companies hire smart people. Do you want someone that can satisfy a check box, or someone that you can teach a new technology, program, or concept to within a few hours of training?