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Company job descriptions can make or break your hiring process. It can be the difference between attracting the best talent and frustrating candidates. Not sure where to begin? Let’s dig into the reasons your job description is so important and why it could make or break your hiring process.
A well-written job description will attract the right candidates and help you find the best person for the job. An ineffective description could result in the wrong candidates applying for the job, which only wastes your time and money. Thus, a job description serves as the first impression for job candidates. It’s a statement of the facts about the job, the qualifications needed to do it, and the responsibilities and duties the person in the role will have. It is one of the most important parts of your hiring process. It’s the first thing that your potential employees read when they’re considering applying for a position. This is where you set the tone for the rest of your hiring process.
The Importance of a Job Description in the Recruitment Process
Hiring is a complex process. It requires wading through piles of applications and interviewing dozens, if not hundreds, of candidates. In order to find the right candidates for the position, hiring managers need to know as much about the job as possible. That means knowing what the position requires, what background is needed to do the job, and what previous experience is required to perform well in the role.
Written job descriptions play an important role in the recruiting process. They help employers identify specific skill sets they’re looking for, which helps them target the right candidates. But a job description isn’t just a way to help hiring managers identify candidates; it’s a marketing tool employers use to showcase their company culture, what they stand for, and what they’re all about. Therefore, it’s important that job descriptions are written in a way that effectively communicates these things to future employees.
Hiring is a numbers game. Companies spend millions of dollars every year on recruiting campaigns that target job openings but are only able to fill a fraction of those positions with qualified candidates.
What Should Be Included in a Job Description?
When you’re looking for someone to fill an open position, one of the first things you’ll typically look at is the job description. A well-written job description serves as your company’s primary source of information about the purpose of the position, what skills and experience are required, and the expected level of performance. A recruiter that is responsible for the hiring process as well as for the creation and placement of a job description should have a set of professional skills. Business language takes one of the most important roles among them. Ability to create, express and “attract” relevant candidates takes many years to learn before you get excellent results.
Unfortunately, most job descriptions are poorly written. This often results in a job description that is confusing and leaves out key information, which can have a negative impact on your ability to fill open positions.
A job description is typically the number one thing a prospective employer looks at first and is essentially a document that is used to attract and select the best candidates for a specific role. In other words, it describes a role. It should include the overall responsibilities of the role and also detail the specific duties of the role – this includes responsibilities that are unique to the job and responsibilities that apply to all jobs in that position. It should also be written in a specific format that is easy to search and read. In other words, it is a tool that allows a potential employer to evaluate a candidate. Your job description should describe the following:
- The skills required for the job. This includes technical skills as well as interpersonal skills.
- The responsibilities of the job, including time spent on specific tasks.
- The qualifications, previous work experience, and any other relevant information required to perform the job.
6 Tips to Create a Professionally Written Job Description
Nowadays, most hiring managers, recruiters, and HR professionals are well versed in how to craft a good job description. However, the problem with a generic written job description is that it doesn’t provide enough information about the job. It’s not specific enough for the candidate to know what to expect, so it’s not meaningful to them. This means that even if they are interested in the job it will probably be a fruitless effort, as the job description isn’t meaningful enough to them.
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Here are some tips to consider for a well-written job description:
- Always tell the truth. It is essential that you write your job description with the utmost care and accuracy. Every word, phrase, and sentence you use should make it clear what you’re looking for and what you need from the person you’re hiring. It should also be a succinct summary of your company’s mission and values, as well as your hiring team’s possible.
- Try to think like a search engine. Think in terms of SEO. Try to optimize your job description for Indeed and Google search. However, don’t forget that your job description will be read by humans. So, keep the balance between SEO and simple and clear content for people.
- Make it readable. When writing job descriptions, it’s easy to get caught up in jargon and HR-speak. This makes it difficult for candidates to identify whether or not they are a good fit for the position. It also makes it difficult for candidates to determine what the job entails, which can result in a lot of wasted time and effort. The best way to do that is to make it as easy to read and understand as possible. Write short and concise sentences, use bullet points, and do not overload it with unnecessary difficult sentences.
- Create concise and short sentences. If you can make your job description brief and concise, you can make it applicable to many jobs. It doesn’t have to be a long, wordy document filled with all sorts of details. You can start with the basic details, and then add more information as needed. The length should vary depending on the job and the job responsibilities involved.
- Speak to your audience. If your job descriptions have generic purposes, you’ll struggle to make them a powerful employment tool. Your audience should be able to relate to the descriptions you create. A job description should speak to the needs and aspirations of your target audience. Your job descriptions should be specific, and you should tailor them to the needs of different job positions.
- Use an outline. An outline defines the job’s broad range of duties and responsibilities. For example, an outline for a graphic designer would include layout elements, graphic design elements, and the use of color. The outline defines the range of duties and responsibilities that a graphic designer is expected to perform and is often used as the basis for interviews. For example, a graphic designer may be expected to be able to perform basic design, color, and layout elements, and work collaboratively with other members of the team.
Final Thoughts
The creation of a job description is not an easy task. Sometimes recruiters need several years before they start to write and get relevant candidates. Today many employers use reliable online services like for example a paystub generator. In this regard, it is important for them to ask for copies of W-2 forms as well as other important documents like pay stubs prior to the pre-employment procedure. So, there is no chance of a mistake. That is why short-listed candidates should be selected very carefully. We hope our valuable pieces of advice will be helpful and make your recruitment process highly productive and effective.
