Writing a job description for one of your open positions can be a very quick task, however, even if you can get a basic job description out there, the question is if these will attract the best talent for you? Hence, instead of getting a quick, basic job description published, focus on getting the right job description out there so your talent pipeline will be much more fitting for the position. Here are 5 tips for job descriptions that attract the right talent.
- Always provide details
You don´t have to focus on every single skill required for this job, but you do want to paint a realistic picture of what the job entails. Hence, don´t cut your job description short in the interest of being short and to the point, you will want to provide details here. List the day-to-day responsibilities of the job, provide an overview of how this role is linked to other parts of the organizations, which areas they will be interacting with, what type of experience will come in handy etc. The more details you can give, the better idea the candidate can get about the job.
- Honesty
This one is linked to the first point, but when you´re providing details, make sure to be honest. All too often, companies paint a very beautiful picture of a job, exaggerating all the good parts and leaving out all the less exciting parts. And, of course, you don´t have to highlight every single boring task of this job (every job has these) but don´t just focus on the exciting stuff, leaving the more operational/administrative tasks completely out of your job description. Be honest about what the job entails, all of it.
- Skip the buzzwords
A lot of job descriptions are full of hip buzzwords like “rockstar”, “social media guru” or other cool variations. But honestly, which candidate looks for a vacancy by using these words? Right, no one. Also, these buzzwords more often than not make candidates roll their eyes a bit so try to avoid using them and just use the appropriate terms, although they might maybe seem less cool.
- What´s in it for them
This one is very important, most job descriptions focus on what the company needs from the candidate. What they need in a candidate for that job, however, what about the candidate? Believe it or not but you will also have to sell the job to the candidate and therefore it´s important to also focus in the job description on what is in it for the candidate. E.g. what will they get out of this job, how will this add value to their career? Think about development tracks but also the challenging parts of the job which they can benefit from because they will make them more employable.
- Don`t ask for the impossible
Many companies go a little bit crazy when writing their job descriptions and ask for the impossible. They work on such an elaborate list of skills, experience and competencies that a candidate should all have for the position resulting in the search for a candidate that probably doesn´t exist. And if you could find the one person out there that does comply with the whole list, you probably can´t afford them. Therefore, be realistic, for an entry-level position don´t require 5 years of experience, for a sales position maybe speaking 2 languages fluently is more appropriate than having a native level in 5.
With these 5 tips, you can make your job descriptions much more effective to attract the right candidates for your vacancies. What other tips do you have for improving job descriptions? We would love to read about them in the comments section.