Searching for your next best hire? Reel in job-seekers by writing a role description that is compelling, concise, and provides enough information to hook them. Start finding the most qualified candidates for your open positions by crafting job descriptions that give a clear snapshot of your company, culture, benefits, essential responsibilities, and other relevant information that might excite potential candidates.
With the following top 10 tips, discover how to write a job description that will stand out from the rest and attract the top talent you’re seeking.
1. Create a concise job title
Try to avoid using any obscure titles, and instead aim for a title that clearly describes what exactly the job is in a few short words. For example, always be sure to add the level of the position in which you are hiring for such as executive, senior, director or manager. The goal is to attract qualified job-seekers, so make it as easy as possible for them to find you by being specific and concise with a clear job title.
2. Paint a clear picture of the position
Kick off the description by telling a short, clear and compelling story about your company, the team and the different exciting projects they’ll be working on. Providing this initial information is key to grabbing the attention of potential candidates as it shows them what you have to offer and that you value their time by giving them the right information they need to properly evaluate the opportunity.
3. Highlight the skills that matter most to you
A typical senior marketing manager might do X, Y and Z, but what are the exact skills they need to possess that will matter most to your company and team? To help narrow it down, start by making a list of the top three or four skills that you believe potential candidates should bring to the table. Include this short list in the job description to help illustrate what matters most to your company and what you’re seeking in a candidate.
4. Describe the work environment
Is this a remote position? Are you working on a hybrid scheme? How would you describe the office environment – noisy, quiet, or collaborative? If you are working in an office, where are you located? Help job-seekers envision themselves physically working in the position on a daily basis and make it as clear as possible as to what that will look like for them.
5. Spell out the must-haves
Are there any must-haves for this position? From years of experience to specific qualifications and education, outline the must-haves that a potential hire will need for this role. If the role requires 5+ years of experience or a certain level of education or equivalent experience, then this should be noted in the description.
6. Summarise the day-to-day duties & responsibilities
Steer clear of projecting what the job may look like or be like in the future. Instead, focus on giving an accurate depiction of what the job entails at present. Take this opportunity to get potential candidates excited about the role and provide specifics on what types of projects and responsibilities they will get to do on a day-to-day basis.
7. Clearly describe what “success” looks like in this role
Every position and every company has a different definition of success and a different way of measuring it. This is something that any potential hire should be aware of, therefore you may want to consider defining what success looks like in this role. That could be through giving targets the role will have, KPI’s the business is monitoring or expectations of the volume of work completed in the role. This just helps get everyone on the same page without any surprises. It can be as simple as describing how the ideal candidate will take ownership, be organized and deliver.
8. Be descriptive & creative
Job descriptions don’t need to be all business. Keep job-seekers hooked by injecting some of your company’s personality or brand voice. Use engaging and interesting words to describe the role and the duties. It is important to get potential candidates excited about the prospect of working with you, and that means pushing the boundaries a bit and capturing their interest in a more creative and interesting way than other job postings.
9. Be cautious of your word choice
Without contradicting tip #8, remember to remain cautious of your word choice and language. Keep the job description more geared towards the duties and responsibilities of the role rather than zooming in on personal characteristics. Only use personal characteristics as it relates to the duties and tasks of the job and what would help a candidate succeed. Also, it is important to be cautious of your language, for example keeping it gender-neutral.
10. Include salary and benefits
So, what’s in it for them? Perks, benefits and, most importantly, salary are among the key information that every job-seeker wants to know about. By sharing the attractive rewards and benefits your job description will stand out from other employers and appeal to the best fitting candidates. When it comes to including the salary, some employers don’t like to do this, but according to a study by Reed.co.uk, including the salary in the job posting can see as much as a 27% increase in the number of applicants.
When it comes to crafting the perfect job description, the main points to highlight to potential candidates are simply what they will do, what they will need, who they are and what they can expect. The only difference that will set your description apart from other employers will be how you describe each of those points and how you will make it attractive to potential hires. Now that you have the recipe and main ingredients for writing a job description, why not get hiring with us today?
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