It can be very difficult to attract candidates to fill a job. It is even more difficult to attract qualified candidates to fill a job. Chances are however, if you have a poorly written job description, that you will not be successful at either. The job description is your advertisement to potential employees and needs to tell them why they want to work for you. It also needs to clearly inform them of what your expectations are. Remember, that frequently, the job description is the first introduction potential employees have to your company, yet through the hiring process, this is the one step that tends to get the least attention. These 4 tips will help you to write a more effective job description.
- Write it yourself
Nobody knows better than you what type of employee you need for the position; the skills, the personality, or the experience. Frequently, however, this task gets delegated to someone who knows nothing about, someone in HR.
- Know what you need vs. what you want
Start by writing down what skills are critical to the employee’s success in this role. Call these the critical skills or criteria and write them down! These will make up the required skills in the job description. If someone could succeed in the role without the skill, it is not critical. It may be nice to have but not critical. Put all the “nice to have skills” in a separate list to interview for.
- Don’t just list Required skills, explain duties
Now that you have a list of required skills ask yourself why they are required or critical for success in the position. The answer to why the skills are required will give you the duties for the job. Include the job duties in your description to help potential candidates understand how they will be applying the required skills.
- Use clear and concise titles
The title for this position should be the generally accepted title for the job duties you have outlined. Avoid the temptation to use a statement or phrase for your job title such as “earn $10000 a month” or “coding ninja wanted”. Titles like this may seem catchy or interesting but when a candidate is searching the web for a job, how often are they going to search for “coding ninja” or “earn 10,000”? Appropriate titles will look more like, “Outside Sales Representative” or “Senior Software Engineer” etc.
- Don’t leave out the sizzle!
Why would a candidate want to work for you? What is great about the company, location, or position? Use this information to get the candidate excited about your opportunity. These will be the reasons the candidate applies for your role. If you forget to put this information in your job description, you are missing your golden opportunity to attract the person you are looking for!
It can be very difficult to attract candidates to fill a job. It is even more difficult to attract qualified candidates to fill a job. Chances are however, if you have a poorly written job description, that you will not be successful at either. The job description is your advertisement to potential employees and needs to tell them why they want to work for you. It also needs to clearly inform them of what your expectations are. Remember, that frequently, the job description is the first introduction potential employees have to your company, yet through the hiring process, this is the one step that tends to get the least attention. These 4 tips will help you to write a more effective job description.
1. Write it yourself
Nobody knows better than you what type of employee you need for the position; the skills, the personality, or the experience. Frequently, however, this task gets delegated to someone who knows nothing about, someone in HR.
2. Know what you need vs. what you want
Start by writing down what skills are critical to the employee’s success in this role. Call these the critical skills or criteria and write them down! These will make up the required skills in the job description. If someone could succeed in the role without the skill, it is not critical. It may be nice to have but not critical. Put all the “nice to have skills” in a separate list to interview for.
3. Don’t just list Required skills, explain duties
Now that you have a list of required skills ask yourself why they are required or critical for success in the position. The answer to why the skills are required will give you the duties for the job. Include the job duties in your description to help potential candidates understand how they will be applying the required skills.
4. Use clear and concise titles
The title for this position should be the generally accepted title for the job duties you have outlined. Avoid the temptation to use a statement or phrase for your job title such as “earn $10000 a month” or “coding ninja wanted”. Titles like this may seem catchy or interesting but when a candidate is searchin
It can be very difficult to attract candidates to fill a job. It is even more difficult to attract qualified candidates to fill a job. Chances are however, if you have a poorly written job description, that you will not be successful at either. The job description is your advertisement to potential employees and needs to tell them why they want to work for you. It also needs to clearly inform them of what your expectations are. Remember, that frequently, the job description is the first introduction potential employees have to your company, yet through the hiring process, this is the one step that tends to get the least attention. These 4 tips will help you to write a more effective job description.
- Write it yourself
Nobody knows better than you what type of employee you need for the position; the skills, the personality, or the experience. Frequently, however, this task gets delegated to someone who knows nothing about, someone in HR.
- Know what you need vs. what you want
Start by writing down what skills are critical to the employee’s success in this role. Call these the critical skills or criteria and write them down! These will make up the required skills in the job description. If someone could succeed in the role without the skill, it is not critical. It may be nice to have but not critical. Put all the “nice to have skills” in a separate list to interview for.
- Don’t just list Required skills, explain duties
Now that you have a list of required skills ask yourself why they are required or critical for success in the position. The answer to why the skills are required will give you the duties for the job. Include the job duties in your description to help potential candidates understand how they will be applying the required skills.
- Use clear and concise titles
The title for this position should be the generally accepted title for the job duties you have outlined. Avoid the temptation to use a statement or phrase for your job title such as “earn $10000 a month” or “coding ninja wanted”. Titles like this may seem catchy or interesting but when a candidate is searching the web for a job, how often are they going to search for “coding ninja” or “earn 10,000”? Appropriate titles will look more like, “Outside Sales Representative” or “Senior Software Engineer” etc.
- Don’t leave out the sizzle!
Why would a candidate want to work for you? What is great about the company, location, or position? Use this information to get the candidate excited about your opportunity. These will be the reasons the candidate applies for your role. If you forget to put this information in your job description, you are missing your golden opportunity to attract the person you are looking for!
g the web for a job, how often are they going to search for “coding ninja” or “earn 10,000”? Appropriate titles will look more like, “Outside Sales Representative” or “Senior Software Engineer” etc.
5. Don’t leave out the sizzle!
Why would a candidate want to work for you? What is great about the company, location, or position? Use this information to get the candidate excited about your opportunity. These will be the reasons the candidate applies for your role. If you forget to put this information in your job description, you are missing your golden opportunity to attract the person you are looking for!