Attracting applications and top skills is getting increasingly tough with so many employment platforms and so much competition.
Aside from visibility, another important factor that influences whether an applicant decides to apply or not is the job description.
Indeed, the text of the job advertising is the first thing a candidate reads. It must be compelling, easy to read, and relevant to the person’s experience and goals.
If any of these things are missing, be prepared to not receive applications.
Fortunately, there are several actions you can take to improve the attractiveness of your job description. Continue reading if you’re keen. In this article, we’ll go through the 15 most important aspects of a job description.
Lets’ get right to the point.
1.Write the right job title
One of the first things to consider before beginning to write your job description is the title you’ll give it.
In reality, candidates frequently just scan the job title before accessing the whole job advertisement and reading the description.
In this regard, you must ensure that you are using the appropriate words, possibly those used by potential candidates to define their role.
As a result, the phrase “digital marketing specialist” is considerably more commonly used than “marketing professional.” Also, if you’re seeking for certain qualifications within the same field, make that clear. Instead of writing “digital marketing specialist,” for example, you may use “SEO specialist” or “SEM specialist.”
2.Use a job description template
If you have a lot of opening job positions you’re looking to fill, then writing different jobs description for each role from scratch can be quite challenging and time consuming.
Plus, you may risk of being repetitive or not very specific about the job position in question.
If this describe your situation, you may want to consider using a job description template.
Such templates generally come with all the text and the only parts you’ll need to edit will be the ones strictly related to your company, what you’re looking for, and the offer.
To make a clearer idea, you can take a loot at this content creator job template.
3.Start with a short, engaging overview of the job
Once you’ve determined the best title for your job ad, you can begin writing the job description.
One of the initial lines of text you write should be about the position you’re looking to fill and why you’re interested in it.
So, you might say that your company’s sales department has expanded and that it is looking to recruit a new sales manager.
Mentioning the motivation for your new opening will make your job description more appealing, as many people who are looking for a new job are afraid to apply because they believe the previous person working for the company is leaving due to company culture, workload, or other problems that may affect him or her as well.
4.Focus responsibilities on growth and development
Aside from outlining and highlighting who you’re seeking for, the abilities and experiences your organization requires, you should also state how much you respect your employees’ growth and development.
As an example, you may write about employee training programs, everyday activities that promote growth and development, and so forth.
This will make your job ad more relevant to potential applicants, who will
5.Avoid superlatives or extreme modifiers
If you want to attract relevant and talented candidates, you must be honest about your organization, responsibilities, and offering.
Avoiding the overuse of superlatives and strong modifiers, in particular, is one method to be viewed as genuine and professional.
So, refrain from using terms like “amazing,” “beautiful,” and so on.
6.Create urgency for the position
You should build urgency for the post if you want to acquire a large number of candidates as quickly as workable.
Regardless of the true reason, you might generate urgency in order to psychologically impact applicants about a specific scenario your company is experiencing, such as an unanticipated growth or expansion that necessitates the hiring of more staff.
7.Mention top company’s achievements without overdoing
It’s a good idea to discuss some of your company’s finest achievements while creating your job description, and especially when writing about your company’s description.
This will act as a motivator for the candidate to want to work for your organization and be a part of these accomplishments.
8.Highlight your company culture and mission
Every company must have a strong sense of culture. As a result, it is critical to include it in the job description.
This will inform the candidates about the nature of your organization and whether its goal and beliefs connect with theirs.
This will also result in improved alignment and motivation toward the goals once the new hires are in place.
9.Involve current employees in writing job descriptions
It might be beneficial to engage current employees in the process to ensure that you write the proper things about what you’re searching for, duties, and everyday activities, among other things.
Employees that are presently working in the department related to the open position you’re attempting to fill will be more detailed in defining the role, obstacles, and positive elements, allowing you to convince and attract talent in this way.
10.Describe required and desired skills
Of course, your job description should contain and explicitly state who you’re looking for.
To that end, and in order to attract relevant and top applicants, it is critical to mention the required and desirable abilities.
By explicitly outlining both talents, you will ensure that you attract only applicants who are a good fit for the position, avoiding receiving applications from people who are not a good fit for the post.
11.Highlight the benefits for the potential hire
As you can expect, applicants will look at more than just the requirements. What they’re reading about your offer and the benefits it provides.
So, be sure to include the pay or range you want to provide, as well as the benefits and other incentives.
Although you must mention them, be honest about what you genuinely want to provide to the appropriate applicant to avoid being viewed as unprofessional.
12.Describe the day-to-day work
Aside from stating the qualifications, candidates may find it interesting and relevant to mention the day-to-day job tasks they will engage in if they are successful in the hiring process.
By mentioning them, you’ll offer candidates a clearer idea of what they’ll be doing and if the position is a good fit for them. This manner, you prevent attracting applicants who may dislike the job or are unsuitable for it.
13.Be clear and concise
Being excessively wordy will scare off applicants, who will not even read your description. As a result, you should prevent this by making your description as brief as possible.
Furthermore, while defining what you’re searching for, criteria, and so on, don’t be too long or vague, and try to define each of them with a few words or at least a few lines of text.
14.Don’t present your job description as a wall of text with no spaces
Text walls are no longer fashionable, and no one wants to see or read them. This also applies to job descriptions.
As you can understand, if candidates are presented with this sort of content, they may become intimidated and delete it before even beginning to read it.
As a result, avoid it by using white space wisely between lines of text and using bullet lists, such as for listing the needs and offer.
15.Add contact details and enable candidates to reach out
In certain circumstances, candidates may have questions or concerns about the position that they would like to address before applying.
You may aid them by including contact information and information in your job description. This will assist them become oriented and a better understanding of the task, and you will look more professional.
Conclusions
Writing an attractive job description is now important in order to attract a large number of qualified candidates and stay ahead of the competition.
Indeed, the job description is the thing that determines whether applicants will submit their applications or discard and look elsewhere.
If that happens, you will have to look for potential candidates, which will be a more time-consuming and costly process.
Luckily, as mentioned throughout this post, there are several techniques to make your job description stand out, and adopting them will provide the desired outcomes.
Thank you for taking the time to read this blog post. Hopefully, you found it informative and helpful.
If you want to read more, please check out this guide to selection criteria in recruitment.