You want the best for your business and that means you want to hire the talent it deserves. The best talent will be attracted to a brilliant job description. Consequently, job descriptions that fail to do the role or the company justice, could be hindering your potential. Therefore, we have put together a little bit of our own advice on how to write a winning job description.
Job title – Keep it simple, clear and concise
You will find that targeted job titles are more effective than the generic ones. You can ensure that you keep yours simple by using key phrases that accurately describe the role. You should also steer away from using complicated jargon. For example, stick to using standard experience levels such as ‘senior’ rather that ‘VI’ as there is no room for confusion. According to research conducted by Indeed, job titles with 80 characters or less are likely to receive more clicks.
Job summary – This is where you shine!
Begin by capturing their attention with a short and snappy summary. This should include the expectations of the role and a brief overview of your company. Show off why you’re unique and why working for you would be a fantastic opportunity for them. Talk about your company culture, the benefits they will receive, your awards and accreditations, progression opportunities and the training that will be available to them.
What will their responsibilities and duties be?
Cleary define the main responsibilities of the position making them detailed yet concise. Give details of what their day-to-day activities will look like. This allows them to gain an insight into the work environment and decide whether or not they are suitably qualified for the role. As a result, this will help you attract the best candidate for your position. It’s also a good idea to let candidates know who they will be reporting to and how their role fits in to the organisation. This allows them to understand how their role will contribute to your business’s aims and objectives.
What skills and qualifications does the role require?
These should include both the hard and the soft skills required to perform this role. Hard skills should specify things such as level of education, job experience, technical skills and certifications required. Examples of soft skills would be teamwork, communication and problem solving, along with the personality traits that the desired candidate should possess. Be sure to be concise with your requirement as a long list could potentially deter your dream candidate.
Things to avoid…
- Discrimination – Be aware of unconscious bias’
- Asking too much – Unrealistic expectations could prevent star candidates from applying
- Negativity – Be sure to write the description in a positive tone
- Forgetting about structure – Make the job description easy to read. Bullet points are always a good idea!
- Being mysterious – Be intriguing without holding back crucial information
Following these 5 steps to writing a fabulous job description could help you attract and secure your ideal candidate.
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