Jul 29, 2021

How to Write a Great Job Description

Finding the right candidate is vital to any organization’s success, and hiring the right talent starts with attracting the right talent. And what better way to attract amazing candidates than through a well-crafted job posting! The importance of a good job description cannot be stressed upon enough, and today we’re going to talk a little bit about how to write a job description — and just as importantly, what NOT to do when writing a job description.

The next time you think about putting out a job listing and writing the job description with terms like, “ninja”, “rockstar” or “guru”, stop! Critical roles cannot be filled by using a buzzword in the title. Get your job title right and you’ll attract the right candidates. Titles with buzzwords turn off candidates from wanting to apply to the position and may come across as pretentious or disingenuous. You may lose out on finding an actual ‘rockstar developer’ in the process.

So, what do you do instead? Trade those pretentious and unrealistic job titles for the real thing of course! Are you looking for a content writer with SEO experience? Then say so in the title, and watch those quality candidates roll in. Add a small detail about the job in the title. For example, ‘Content Writer – SEO Specialist’ would be a good way to title this role and this will also target the right audience when the job advertising goes up.

You might know what the title ‘Recruiter 3’ means within your organization. But anyone else reading it might wonder what you’re talking about. Stick to standard experience levels like ‘Senior’ or “Intermediate’ rather than saying ‘Level 1 or 2’ which are terms potential candidates are less likely to look for in a job posting. Remember to keep your job title concise and stick to less than 80 characters to receive more clicks on your job listing.

Another great way to develop a job description would be to research your competition and see what kind of job listings and job postings they’re putting out. This will help you understand why your competition might be hiring better candidates or getting quality applications. Aside from this, you should also talk to your people within the organization – hiring managers, colleagues, direct reports. These are the people who will work directly with the new hire, so getting to know them and finding out what makes them tick will improve your chances of finding the right team fit.

Make your job advertisements professional and relatable to potential candidates. Avoid using unnecessary jargon and long-winded sentences to make your point. Before hitting the publish button on your job posting, double-check it to ensure clarity and accuracy.

For example, look at this job posting – “We are looking for a Marketing Ninja to guide us out of the marketing maze by using their superpowers of communication and marketing prowess to ensure effective communication pathways with the client”.

Why not try it this way instead, without the use of any jargons or buzzwords – “We are looking for a Senior Marketing & Communications Specialist to lead the marketing department and create effective brand communication strategies by partnering with the client and creative department”.

One more thing to note is the content you include when talking about the job’s duties and responsibilities. Make sure you keep it concise and clear and highlight any duties that are specific to your organization, for example, if you’re looking for a Communications Manager with Social Media experience, make sure that you mention it in your job posting. Highlight the day-to-day activities on the role and talk about the work environment that the candidates will be exposed to daily. Indicate what the reporting structure will look like, and how the candidate will function within the organization, which will help them gain a better understanding of how their role could impact your business.

Now this might be a little controversial but hear us out! When you’re developing your job description, include a salary range! Any candidate worth their salt wants to work for and be loyal to a company that compensates them for all their hard work. Set yourself apart from your competition by including your salary range and proving to potential candidates that your job listing is worth taking a second look at. Not only that, make sure you also list out the company perks in the job posting. Tell your candidates what’s in it for them, should they decide to be a part of your awesome organization. Do they get summer hours off or is it a dog-friendly office? Put all of that that in there and make your job posting even better!

Let them know how urgently you want to fill the position. If you have the luxury of waiting a month before you start onboarding people, be transparent about it. No candidate wants to go through an uncertain amount of time waiting around for a hiring manager to make their decision.

And this is important – Remove gender-biases from your job advertising. Biased language can throw off a candidate from wanting to apply to the position and will lower your chances of finding the best person for the job. When you’re not including male-female skewing terms and not limiting the job posting to one demographic, the role fills up much faster. Avoiding gendered language from your job postings will also attract a more diverse pool of candidates and encourage the best candidates to apply to the job listing.

Remember to avoid listing unrealistic requirements on your job posting and include only the must-have skills. Don’t include negative statements like, “candidates with less than 6 years of experience will not be considered” as it comes across as an unfriendly way to introduce your company brand to the candidate. Instead say something along the lines of, “We are looking for a Senior resource, so experience in XYZ is critical while applying for this role”.

A well-crafted job posting will not only get you the best candidate, but it will also pave the way to a better hiring process within the company.

Thanks for reading our post on how to develop a great job description!