August 1, 2024 
Job descriptions are easy to critique and difficult to write.
What you want to do is explain the role, the requirements, and the culture. However, it can easily become muddled, confusing and can easily deter potential candidates.
That’s why it’s essential to review your job description process, whether it is a template or if you’re just going off the cuff – it’s time to evaluate and consider whether your descriptions are easy to understand or downright confusing. While there’s certainly no ‘right way’ to write a job description, there are best practices that can help you attract the talent you want.
1. Job Title
One of the biggest offenders I see in job advertisements is job position names that do not match what the role entails. This will severely impact your hiring process.
Having a mismatched title will do the following:
– Attract unsuitable candidates
– Cause confusion for jobseekers
– Make the role difficult to find because the usual words used to describe the role won’t be there
– Annoy job seekers
This can especially happen when a position that has been filled for many years by the same employee becomes available. Why? Because you know someone has grown in that position and had the knowledge of both the industry and the company to do more. Therefore, this role is a lot different to what it was originally. So, you should update the job title to reflect that.
3. Structure It
A job title should be clear and straightforward.
It doesn’t need to be flashy or over-the-top. Use bullet points to make it easy for candidates to skim, as that’s what they’ll do first. Job hunting is stressful, and with numerous websites and job boards available, it’s easier for candidates to quickly decide if they want to read the full job description. Once you have a clear job title, the next step is to create a well-structured job description. To make it scannable, you should:
– Use bullet points to break up the text: No one likes to read a wall of text. Bullet points make the information more digestible and easier to skim, helping candidates quickly find the information they need.
– Highlight (bold) keywords: Emphasising important words helps them stand out, ensuring that candidates notice the most critical aspects of the job description.
– Each section should have a heading: Clear headings help organise the information, making it easier for candidates to navigate the job description. You can change the titles to suit your company better. Sections you should consider include:
1. Job Role: Clearly define the position to set expectations and attract the right candidates.
2. Purpose of the Position: A clear statement explaining why the role exists. This helps candidates understand the importance of the role within the company and how it contributes to the overall mission.
3. Key Duties and Responsibilities: A detailed list of the main tasks and responsibilities. This section provides candidates with a clear understanding of what their day-to-day activities will be, helping them assess if they are a good fit for the role.
4. Necessary Skills: List the essential skills required for the job. This helps filter out candidates who do not meet the basic requirements, saving time for both the recruiter and the applicants.
6. Nice-to-Have Skills: Mention additional skills that are not essential but would be beneficial. This can help attract candidates who may bring extra value to the role.
7. Qualifications and Experience: Specific academic or trade qualifications and previous work experience required. This ensures that candidates meet the minimum educational and professional standards needed for the role.
8. What’s in It for the Candidate: Benefits, competitive salary, WFH flexibility, for example. Highlighting these perks can make the job more attractive and help you stand out from other employers.
9. About the Company: Provide a brief overview of your company. This helps candidates understand your business, its mission, and its values, which can be a deciding factor for many applicants.
10. Mission Statement: Share your company’s mission to give candidates a sense of purpose and alignment with your goals.
12. Company Values: Outline your company’s core values to attract candidates who share similar principles and work ethics.
13. Company Culture: Describe the work environment and culture. This helps candidates determine if they would be a good cultural fit, which is crucial for long-term job satisfaction and retention.
Including all this information might seem lengthy, but it helps attract candidates who are aligned with both the soft and technical skills required for the role.
We don’t want to catfish candidates. Make sure to not oversell the role. It’s better to be transparent about what the role involves. You, of course, want it to be attractive, but it’s not very effective if the new employee leaves within a month because the job isn’t what they were told it was. It’s better to get off on the right foot with your new employee; honesty is key to that.
4. Categorise It Correctly
Every time I go on LinkedIn I see the same rant, or sometimes it comes in the form of a meme, which goes a little like this, “Seeking an entry-level candidate with 10 years of experience”. While the debate rages on about what is considered ‘entry-level’, be sure to categorise your job description correctly. This will deter (or at the very least, minimise) unsuitable applications, saving you time. If you’re not sure how to categorise it, you should ask a recruiter. They should be able to guide you on what category is suitable.
5. Have A Template
For your company, you want consistency. That’s why it’s essential to have a job description template. This ensures that no matter who posts the job description, it will be the same. It makes your business look more professional, and it just makes it an easier process. Less time is wasted repeatedly writing a job description from scratch, and it ensures that necessary parts of the job posting are not accidentally missed. Additionally, for parts on culture and benefits, they can just be copied and pasted as they don’t need to change from role to role.
6. Company Culture
Once you have your potential candidate hooked, you need to show off! This is the perfect time to provide a *bite-sized* burst of your company culture. With culture being an important factor for 46% of jobseekers, it’s essential to show them what you’re made of. While you should keep it short, you can even utilise bullet points. You can always hyperlink to your employer’s branding web page, should they want to read more.
7. Benefits. Benefits. Benefits.
As recruiters, we see many patterns and trends. One of them is that job seekers are looking for benefits. If you’ve got them – advertise them. Time and time again, we’ve found that benefits have swayed talent. In fact, we’ve considered it one of the top four wants by candidates. Don’t underestimate it. Even if your organisation does not have the “usual” stock-standard benefits, put them in. Over the years, I’ve seen benefits in the form of:
– Volunteering days and giving back initiatives.
– Industry-leading parental leave packages
– Flexible working arrangements
– Private health insurance
– Products discounts
– Free premium access to fitness, nutrition, and mindfulness classes
No benefit is too small or insignificant. If you’ve got it. Use it.
8. Formatting
Of course, if you’ve got a template – you need formatting! This relates to the readability of your job description. This is especially important when using different job sites. You may have seen on LinkedIn job posts that look very strange formatting wise. That’s because they’ve just been copied and pasted from another site or straight from a word document. Prevent that by testing. Try out your template on the different sites you’re going to use and see how it looks. You may have to create a few templates to suit each site; it’s time-consuming for sure, but absolutely worth it. And when you have those templates, it’s going to make the hiring process so much easier.
9. Spelling
Good spelling is important. It helps prevent confusion and makes it look clean and professional. In this, be sure to not use acronyms. What might be obvious to you, and even those inside your industry, might not be so for others. With it being a candidate-driven market, transferable skills are just as important. Someone who is from a completely different industry might have the skills you need, but won’t apply as they feel unqualified because they don’t understand the jargon.
Job descriptions are hard to write, at first. However, once you have a system in place, it gets easier. These tips should help you significantly in crafting your job description and subsequently finding the perfect candidate.
Ready to take your job descriptions to the next level? Contact our recruitment experts today for personalised guidance and start attracting top talent with ease!
