A Guide to Improved Job Descriptions
A Guide to Improved Job Descriptions
You know that job descriptions are a major part of the recruitment process. However, but they may not be doing the job that you think they should be doing for you. If you are not getting an abundance on enquiries and traffic directed to your job vacancies and candidates seem to be passing right over you, then you know that something is just not right with your job descriptions.
You will be simply amazed at the increased amount of pleasure that can come out of an Internet job board. All you have to do is learn the best ways to optimise and update your job descriptions.
Decrease Your Use of Generic Phrases
Everyone is looking for candidates that have “good communication skills”. Therefore, you will need to be a little more specific with the qualities that you want in a candidate.
Make a list of the most important responsibilities that the person filling vacancy will need to have. Pick the top five and mention them in your job description at least one time each.
Use Well-Known Job Titles
There is one place in your job descriptions where generic is a good thing. This is the title of your job description. For example, do not say that you are looking for a “brand correspondent”. Instead, you need to advertise the vacancy for a “marketing director”. This is the type of title that people interested in this type of position will be searching on the job board.
Target the Correct Personalities
A sufficient job description is not all about listing necessary technical requirements. Of course, these do play a major role, but you want your posting to be customised for people with the type of personality that you want to attract.
Consider some job requirements that are not so critical. These can be removed from your job description in order to avoid the determent of some of the otherwise exceptional candidates. This will free up some space so that you can list some of the more open-ended job responsibilities and qualifications.
Do Not List Too Many Details
You may think that you need to include all of the things in your job description that the ideal candidate for the position will be doing. However, a massive, rambling list of responsibilities can actually have the opposite effect and have the best candidates running for the hills.
It is best instead to include phrases like, “additional responsibilities may be assigned”. This will make your job description more amicable, clear and brief.
The simple fact of the matter is that there are millions of people scrolling through the most popular online job boards. This means that you need to be able to get as much as possible out of the job descriptions that you post.
When you take the time to create a more powerful job description, you will effectively attract a much larger number of quality prospective applicants. In addition, you can rest assured that you are not putting off the candidates that are in fact the best suited for the role.