Tips To Write Appropriate Job Description
If you are a recruiter and finding a suitable candidate to fill in a particular job post in your company, it is important to formulate a compelling job description. An honest, formal, and straightforward job description is something that any individual may be intrigued into applying.
Writing a proper job description is something that’s vital because amongst those interested individuals who’re reading your job description might be the perfect applicant for the job. Job descriptions are a stepping stone where you can market and endorse your company. Without the proper content and structure, you would end up wasting your time screening through the pool of applicants.
The trick to writing efficient job descriptions is to strike the right compromise in including ample information so that applicants would have a better forethought about the job and your organization while keeping the explanation straightforward.
Job description definition
A job description is a document that specifies the critical roles, responsibilities, skills, and abilities of a job. Relevant organization information should be included in a job description: company mission, culture, community, and any incentives it offers to the staff.
It can also explain to whom the function reports and the salary range for the job position. For applicants to assess whether they are suitable for the role, an appropriate job description would include accurate and sufficient data.
Outlines of a job description
The job title
A job title is something that catches the eye of the applicant. It involves their position and responsibility in the organization.
Directed job titles are way more effective and useful than generic titles. With this being said, you need to be consistent by using keywords that define the position accurately.
Instead of putting “Senior Consultant VI”, it’s much better to generate it “Senior Consultant”- simple as it is. Way back, many recruiters called their way of attracting candidates “Sales Rockstar” or “admin ninja”.
While it is understandable that applicants may draw their attention to the job description, putting it this way, however, is an impractical way of doing it. Suitable candidates may find this a fraud.
Job Summary
Your job summary should include an outline of your organization and the objectives for the job. The job description is also an overview of your company and your workplace culture. Provide information on the corporate culture, to sum up why an applicant would want to work for you. This part should allow the candidates to imagine a normal day at work. Split tasks into fast, direct work roles.
If you are creating a job description for a sales and marketing consultant, don’t just put “You are in full responsibility of the sales.” You need to briefly elaborate and breakdown all the necessary workloads for the candidate. Specificity is important in this part. You may put the description into bullet points:
- Monitor daily, weekly, and monthly sales for the company
- Summarize the monthly report of the sales
- Manage all the sheets that contain yearly sales and market
In formulating this part of the job description, make sure that you and the hire manager are on the same page otherwise the candidate would get confused about who to adhere to.
Responsibilities and Duties
This part will help applicants have a better knowledge of the job environment and the tasks they will be subjected to on a regular basis. This depth would enable the candidate to decide whether the job and organization are a good match, helping you draw the qualified individuals for your role.
Responsibilities and duties must show who the employee reports to and how the employee can work within the company, helping applicants see the wider context and realize how the role affects the company.
Make sure your list of duties is comprehensive but coherent. You might want to highlight the activities that might be relevant to your company.
For example, if you are recruiting for a “Digital Marketing Assistant” job and the work needs social media experience to advertise activities, provide this information to ensure applicants recognize the qualifications and can decide if they’re competent.
Qualifications and Skills
Education, prior work experience, credentials, and professional skills needed for the position should be stated in the job description. Soft skills, such as teamwork and decision making, as well as personal attributes that you imagine for a good candidate, may also be included.
Although you could be compelled to mention any prerequisite you visualize for your potential recruit, it may discourage prospective applicants if you include many credentials and expertise.
Many applicants became hesitant to proceed forward with their application because they thought they did not recognize the particular equipment or expertise described in the job description. Any applicants may even be reluctant to pursue because they do not have the years of experience needed for the job in particular.
Therefore, to attract a more diverse range of candidates to apply, it is essential to address the must-haves and bonus-have skills and credentials for the job.
Salary and Benefits
Placing yourself in the position of the applicant, surely you want a job that meets your salary requirements. Otherwise, you won’t invest time nor effort to even push through the application process. However, some applicants have highlighted that they have little to no encounter in seeing job descriptions with salary and benefits included.
Because of this, potential applicants tend to back out and are hesitant in proceeding to try because they have no clue of what is in it for them.
Encourage more people to apply by including flexible hours, health care, snacks and meal coverage, allowance, pet-friendly company. These enticing incentives and benefits you offer help the candidates visualize how it is going to be if they work in your company.
The advice you can follow to write a compelling and appropriate job description
Market your business
Your company ad is your opportunity to give a preview of the corporate culture to applicants. Consider adding references and testimonials from your workers and pictures of team events.
Marketing your business will also help them weigh their decisions in case they have applied to multiple companies. The photos of your company will help them envision themselves in your company working and coordinating with employees. Do not provide them with the entire picture. It is best to keep them curious while having a brief idea of your work environment.
Market the job position
Potential applicants need a convincing reason why they should consider working in your company. For employed workers who are planning to leave their current workplace, they need an environment that is suitable for their needs.
You need to elaborately indicate the benefits that come with the job position (company-provided laptop or computers, new desk, free lunch meals, or snacks). You need to also indicate what significant contribution the job position plays so that the potential candidate be encouraged to be part of your business.
Do not do this when writing a job description
Being demandingly strict
Do not include any off-putting credentials that are not even necessary for the job position. Do not strictly demand credentials that are unreasonable— this will just make your job description long and senseless.
Pinpoint what is essential and what can be mastered at work. Contact the individual directly with a personal email if you already have someone in particular who might be a good match for your job.
Sounding sketchy and mysterious
For a good recruitment process, a well-formulated job description paves the way. If you have sparked the attention of candidates with your work advertising, be sure to highlight your market culture with an enticing career page and screen applicants with a convenient and direct application form.
For your job advertising, you want to intrigue prospective applicants, but stop appearing cryptic. The job title and responsibilities will clearly state what you foresee from your potential job. Be straightforward on non-negotiable conditions, such as accreditations and operating hours that are expected. This way, later in the recruitment process, you’ll eliminate future compromise.
Discriminating remarks
An equal rights statement is a safe way to begin if you want to create a diverse environment, but even implicit prejudice in the terminology of your job title will lose you, applicants. Asking for a “Social Media Consultant with three years of experience” excludes younger, potentially skilled individuals and suggests a gender disparity by claiming that you are “looking for a saleswoman.”
Being negative
While it is understandable that some job positions require specification of the job position, as a recruiter, it is better to put it in a nice manner. Instead of saying “Applicants who have less than 10 years of experience will not be entertained.”. This is an off-putting sentence that might get the candidates an impression that the company is inconsiderate.
The better way of stating it is “Take note that the job position is a senior-level and with that, vast and in-depth experience for an accounting manager is important.”
Food for thought
The job description is definitely personal for each job position in the company. Being on a standpoint of a recruiter, it is important to indicate and understand what are the must-haves for each job role to be able to hire the best applicant to contribute and take part in your company.
A misleading job description may not only waste your time and effort, but this will also make the candidate unsatisfied and unhappy provided that they are given the wrong details and qualifications.