Hiring the right candidate plays an essential role in the growth of the company. A candidate with the right talent, skills, and knowledge will help your business thrive in this ever-growing competitive world.
One of the best ways to hire a talented candidate is by focusing on an effective and engaging job description. Putting your efforts into crafting a detailed job position description can bring in a wide range of highly talented candidates into your pipeline and ensure you hire a suitable one for the job.
To answer your question, 'How do you write a good and clear job description?', we have covered and highlighted a few tips on writing an effective job description that will help you connect with potential candidates.
Importance of Job Descriptions
In Australia, a job description is supposedly one of the most crucial parts of the recruitment process. A job description has a meaningful continuous purpose throughout the employment lifecycle. Job descriptions can be helpful for both candidates and employers. Here are some of the reasons to focus on crafting an effective job description
1. To Attract Prospective Candidates
Crafting a to the point, concise, and compelling job description will help attract talented candidates for the respective role. Employers can share their job descriptions with online resources like LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and email for a better reach.
2. Help Set Clear Expectations
Having a detailed job description will help candidates understand the job title, your expectations with them, and the skills required. Qualified candidates will apply and under-qualified applicants will move on from their search, saving both of your time.
3. Help Prepare For Interviews
Crafting a clear job description will help both candidates and interviewers to prepare for the day. Candidates will prepare for topic-based conversation and interviewers will be equipped with questions related to the applicant's qualification.
4. To Make a Stellar First Impression
Candidates can conclude whether the company is right for them by simply looking at the job description. Any jargon or grammatical errors will create a negative impression on a candidate.
5. To Simplify The Search
With millions of businesses registered all across the world, searching for the right job can be stressful and time-consuming. Writing a clear job description helps candidates understand and compare salaries, perks, and company culture to determine whether the profile/role is suitable for them.
What Should Be Included in a Job Description?
Appropriate job description will be thorough yet concise. You need to use certain terms that support the profile. You can be a little quirky but make sure you maintain a professional tone throughoute. Keep it clear, straight to the point, and informative.
Here’s what every job description should include:
1. Job Title
It is imperative to keep the title clear and concise. Candidates will search for the job based on the terms they are familiar with. So, use standard industry language for common job titles. Include specific terms that relate to the role. For instance, you can use Lead Front End Engineer instead of simply writing developer.
2. Company Mission
Most companies have lengthy mission statements highlighting their core values and a culture code. Such descriptions are appropriate for a website but not job descriptions. You can round off the entire statement to about two to five sentences. Besides, candidates can read about the company's mission on their website to determine whether or not the job position is worth chasing.
3. Role Summary
Write a brief summary of what will be the role of the candidate, who will be working with them, and what the main objectives of the role will be. Write about three to five sentences of summary and not more than that. A bullet point list can also be used.
4. Job Function
Here's where you have to be descriptive about what the candidate can expect to do in the role. Be thorough with the job functions as it helps candidates to prepare for the interview and role. Avoid adding unnecessary stuff. Use five to ten bullet points to describe the job function.
5. Must-Have Skills
Include the necessary skills required for a candidate to be successful in the role they are applying to. Here you can include quantities applicable - years of experience, education, certifications, and knowledge of specific platforms. Mention what application requires - resume, CV, portfolio, writing sample, etc.
6. Compensation
Candidates always look out for compensation information while reading a job description, or at the very least a remuneration range. If you withhold this information, you run the risk of the candidate simply moving on to the next job ad. A common approach is to include a range but make it dependent on experience or suitability (ie. Salary range $50,000 to $70,000, depending on experience).
7. Time
Mention the time frame you need the prospective employee to work. Generally, flexible working hours are becoming more common for full-time employees. However, make sure you mention the required hours for your particular role.
9. Location
You should always include the location of the company. Candidates will consider commute time and appropriate mode of transport in their employment decision. You can also make mention of any work from home offerings that you may make available.
10. Call To Action
Make sure you explain how candidates are expected to apply for the job. A final statement of encouragement to go with the call-to-action can be used, for example, Join the Award-winning team at ClockOn - APPLY NOW!
