The Secrets To Writing An Effective Job Description

Job seekers parse through hundreds of job postings a day, looking for their dream job. 

It has been proved that 64% of them won’t apply for your job if they don’t understand your job title or job description doesn’t make sense. Plus, having a job description that is too detailed can also drive applicants away. 

For this reason, we’ve compiled a list of tips for writing a job description that will grab attention and get the most talented individuals to apply to your job posting. 

The Importance Of Writing A Job Description That Stands Out

Hiring great talent starts with attracting the right talent. The key to this is to post an effective, engaging, and inclusive job description.

With a little upfront effort, you can craft just the right job description to bring a wide range of highly talented candidates into your pipeline — and ensure you’re not turning off talent before they even apply.

In addition to the standard role description and skills and experience required, you should equally emphasize culture, mission, and values to avoid making a bad hire. And to ensure you are attracting a diverse pool of highly qualified applicants, you must also make sure your descriptions don’t alienate anyone. 

Let’s see how you can achieve this in a few simple steps. 

Grab Their Attention At The Start

When hiring, try to visualize the ideal candidates that you want for your vacant job posts. What qualities does he/she possess? What message do you think would interest that person? These are very important details that you have to think about when drafting a job description. 

Grab their attention when writing a job description with sentences like: “Looking for a job that is perfect for creative minds?” or “Are you searching for a job that will jumpstart your IT career?”. 

When you tailor-fit your hiring ads for your ideal candidates, it streamlines the actual hiring process.

Get The Job Title Right

Creativity can help your job title stand out, but don’t be so vague that you miss out on candidates who are searching for the same job under a different name. 

While they seem like all the rage at the moment, you might want to ease up on the “rockstar” developer, DevOps “ninja” or marketing “guru” titles. According to different researches, you’re probably turning off candidates with that very language. 

Include A Short And Engaging Introduction

Try to accurately describe the job in a few sentences. The more accurate the description, the stronger the impact, and the likelihood that the position will resonate with the right candidates. 

Highlight The “Must-haves”

These are going to be the most important requirements for the job at hand. If your ideal candidate must possess a certain qualification or have a specific number of years of experience in a certain field, make that clear. It is also important to keep the “must-haves” separate from favorable or preferred skills and experience. 

Just remember not to include too many of these, and overwhelm potential candidates with a long list of skills that aren’t necessary to perform the job. Don’t get carried away or you might end up driving talent away rather than attracting.

Avoid Vague Language

When writing out your job descriptions, you should avoid using terms like “often” or “sometimes”. 

Use legitimate and tangible units of measurement when writing a job description – the required office hours, or workload that come with the actual position. Potential applicants appreciate these details.

Focus On Growth And Development

Don’t just list a bunch of boring daily tasks, and avoid a long, bulleted list of responsibilities or qualifications. 

Instead, describe the key job functions in a couple few bullet points. Bonus for readability if you group two to three points under larger categories, such as “Technical Skills,” “Management Skills,” “Communication,” etc. 

You also should explain how the job will contribute to business objectives, the potential for advancement, and how candidates’ achievements can contribute to that. 

Involve Current Employees In Writing The Job Description

Job descriptions are often stashed away in some folder on HR’s hard disk and unearthed only when a vacancy shows up. Hence, they remain static throughout the years and don’t reflect the real skills, culture, or experience needed.  

Positions evolve and so should the job descriptions. The best way to approach this is to involve the current teams. They will help fine-tune the description and determine the skills necessary to do well in the role. Knowing what your team needs and the type of candidate that will be a cultural fit will be crucial for long-term success. 

Create Some Urgency

Even if you’re not desperate to fill an open position, you want candidates to feel a sense of urgency and be compelled to apply, even if they’re currently happily employed. 

Posting specific start dates can help, as will including contact information for a person rather than a generic e-mail address.

Include Terms And Benefits

Make sure you mention the terms of employment including whether or not it is a full-time position or a part-time role. Mention whether the successful candidate will be expected to commence in a temporary capacity before moving into the permanent role, or if there is a fixed salary or an hourly rate.

Apart from the job title and description, don’t hesitate to include why the potential candidate should join your company. You can include a few sentences on the company history, culture, and environment. If there are easily measurable bonuses or employee perks, make sure to include those as well. 

Get Interactive and Innovative

Potential applicants are most attracted to companies they are comfortable with. You have to be able to establish a personal touch in your job descriptions to tap into the human side of your potential hires. 

Do you have the capability to accept video cover letters? Can you add a video spot with the hiring manager or with potential colleagues where they explain the job and why they love to work for the company? This is a major differentiator, and candidates definitely take notice.

Keep It Simple

After you’ve captured the applicant’s attention, the last thing you want to do is lose them due to a complicated and cumbersome application process. Give clear and concise instructions on what is required to apply. 

This is where using an automated recruitment platform like RecruitMe comes in handy by streamlining the process. 

Using these 10 tips on how to write a job description is all you’ll need to start getting more qualified applicants that fit your company.