November 13, 2017
Finding the right match for your job comes with its fair share of challenges, and the first step comes down to establishing parameters for who you want to fill the position. Without the right criteria, you might accept the first candidate to walk through your doors, but you'd realize you made a huge mistake later. What strategies can you employ to write a winning job descriptions? Here's a few tips to attract the cream of the crop to your interviews.
Tip #1: Clear and Concise Title Positions
You should practice writing great job position titles of 80 characters or less because attention spans are short. You don't want the title description as too long or too obscure because this can hurt your chances of getting the right candidates. To check for clarity, you can ask a friend or family member if it sounds clear enough. Without job description clarity, you will probably get applicants, but you lower your chances of hiring the right person for the task.
Tip #2: Word Pictures of the Position
Your potential hires should know information about the company and team in advance. This lowers the chances of a turnover, which can cost your company money and valuable productivity. In fact, according to OfficeVibe1 59 percent of employees who are engaged and thriving are less likely to leave the job for a different organization. Another problem of failing to convey information is how many job seekers will pass on your description because they feel it doesn't fit them. You want to show your potential employees that you value their time, and you will give them the information needed to evaluate your opportunity.
Tip #3: Describe the Work Environment
A noisy and exciting environment might fit one candidate while others will dodge such descriptions, but you want to describe the work environment so that your employee can decide if it will work for them. Will they have to operate heavy equipment? You want to include as many details as possible so that your candidates understand what the job includes.
Tip #4: What Skills Matter Most
You should spell it out without wiggle room. You want to make sure to include the three or four most essential job skills that candidates will need to bring to the table. That doesn't mean you won't find the occasional candidate left-of-center field, but it lowers the likelihood because you were more specific about what you wanted. For example, Monster2 says if you were looking for a call service representative, you should look at whether they have good listening skills and good phone manners—remember—this is someone who will represent your business.
Tip #5: Detail the Educational Requirements
The most essential requirements of your job should always be laid out in perfect detail. For example, you should check to guarantee your candidate has the right level of education for the job. The job description should specify the "must-have" parts of the job instead of something that isn't set in stone. Along with a specific level of education, you should also specify the number of years a person should have of practical experience. For example, if you were looking for a programmer, you might specify how they should have three years of real-world experience for your job.
Tip #6: Outline the Daily Duties
As much as possible, you want to describe the daily duties as accurately as possible. You don't want to talk about what the job will look like in the future because you need someone who can accomplish your tasks in the present.
If you'd like to learn more about how to write a powerful job description, contact us today! Lorman has some of the best professionals who will have the most profound impact on your career. We use a hands-on approach. You're not asking enough if you'd hire anyone, which translates into a higher turnover rate. If you're asking too much, you'll have a harder time because you're looking for someone who is too perfect. According to Indeed3, job descriptions between 700 words to 1,100 words see a 24 percent increase in the rate of applications.
1. https://www.officevibe.com/blog/how-to-calculate-employee-turnover
2. https://hiring.monster.com/hr/hr-best-practices/recruiting-hiring-advice/attracting-job-candidates/writing-job-descriptions.aspx
3. https://www.indeed.com/hire/how-to-write-a-job-description