If I ask you to tell me why your recruiting efforts aren’t resulting in high-quality candidates, what would your top three reasons be?
Being rejected by an applicant, failing to develop long-term relationships with candidates who matter, unable to accept trend changes, it could be many things. But, and here you’ll probably agree with me, writing a poor job description wouldn’t make it to your top three reasons.
Well, it should.
A formal job description has many duties. It helps you understand just what the company requires from a candidate. And, it’ll help the applicants figure out whether they’re a good fit or not.
So, rack up a few examples of awesome job descriptions, Google job description templates you like, and then, come back and read our little guide on how to write a job specification in the best way.
- Only Use the Right Keywords
This is the part where I tell you not to publish ‘Wanted Warrior Recruiter’ when you want to hire a recruiter.
Why? Because not many candidates will use that term in search engines. Your job description should have relevant phrases that mention specific talent and keywords that correspond to the job title. It’ll help search engines rank your job post and make it easier for candidates to look for it.
- Encourage and Attract the Worthy Candidates with Your Post
A clever job description is written by keeping the right candidate in mind. Picture who it could be. List every critical quality that they must have to be considered for the job. Structure the initial pay according to your budget and demands.
It’s better to stick to a word limit. And hence, utilize the few words you have on specific terms that help the right applicant find their way to you, instead of wasting words on discouraging the ones who don’t fit your criteria.
And, never create a generic job description. It’s counter-effective, will either generate no results or flood your email with junk resumes.
- Talk about Yourself
Your job description is the first point of contact between a candidate and you. It’s what tells them what kind of a platform you are, gives them insights into your company culture, central mission, and team ethics.
While writing job descriptions, mention any unique work that your company is doing. Include an interactive video, if possible, to help keep the post length short yet efficient. Remember, you’re trying to make the right candidate want to work with you.
- Cook up an Innovative Job Description
You are probably not the only company in the industry at any point in time who needs top talent to fill a job vacancy. Hence, you’re not the only one writing job descriptions.
While an innovative post will do wonders, you don’t need to go overboard if you can’t. Instead, practice elimination and remove elements which will make your job description bad. Don’t use the typical descriptors, like ‘self-motivated employee’, ‘fast-paced environment’, ‘dynamic teams’, etc. Stay away from overused and annoying stuff.
While writing job descriptions, best practices will vary with your requirements. There is no one-stop template for every post and position. So, understand your needs and restrictions of hiring before you can sit down to write a formal job description.