Writing an accurate and compelling job description is vital in today’s changing recruiting industry. With millions of jobs listed on dozens of recruiting sites across the net, competition for strong candidates is fierce.
Writing a great job description that accurately describes the responsibilities, activities, qualifications, and skills needed for a role is a necessity if you want to land that dream candidate.
Top Tips on How to Write a Job Description
Perform a Job Analysis
When learning how to write a job description, the first thing you need is a firm grasp on the position’s requirements, responsibilities, and qualifications. That’s where a job analysis comes in.
Too often, recruiters or job posters only have a rudimentary knowledge of what the job they are attempting to hire for actually does on a day to day basis. Or they haven’t even done any research into how competitors are advertising similar positions and the compensation they’re offering.
Only after establishing the essential functions of the position, researching the competition, and organizing the data in a usable format can you begin to write an accurate job description.
Use Accurate Job Titles
Job titles for job postings may seem straightforward, but unfortunately, many recruiters and even fortune 500 companies get titles wrong. Here are a couple of things to keep in mind:
Specificity is Key
- Avoid using clever titles. Your receptionist is not the ‘Director of First Impressions.’ Clever titles like these became popular in the mid-2010s, but these days creative titles should be avoided. People won’t find your job posting for a receptionist if you’ve titled the position, ‘Director of First Impressions.’
Research the Job Title’s Search Volume
- If you want to make sure as many candidates as possible are finding your job posting on job sites, you’ll need to research your job title’s search volume to find the most commonly used and accepted titles for similar positions.
Don’t Be Afraid to Use an In-Depth Job Summary
Job summaries are meant to draw in potential candidates and make them excited about the opportunity. That means you’ll want to emphasize what candidates will love about the position in a concise, engaging summary.
To start, job summaries should be quick overviews of the position and some of the most basic requirements.
Then, you should include details about company culture and what makes your company unique. This is a great opportunity to draw in candidates.
Don’t forget the job’s location, either! Including this will help your posting appear in more relevant search results.
Your responsibilities and duties list should be specific, clear, and concise. Instead of a general list, the responsibilities and duties section needs to give candidates a clear idea of what they will be doing from day to day.
List Core Responsibilities
You don’t have to include every potential duty or responsibility in your job description. Instead, focus on core responsibilities that will be integral to the job’s day to day function.
Additionally, avoid vague language in your job descriptions. Put only specific responsibilities and duties, such as specifying the specific types of projects a manager would oversee.
Another factor to consider is the use of internal jargon in your job postings.
Typically, your job postings should use clear and understandable language. Avoid internal jargon that might confuse candidates.
Include Candidate Expectations
When describing the requirements for a job posting, you should make sure you include ideal qualifications.
The qualifications and skills section should cover any unique requirements for the position, from the level of education required to the level of competency necessary to use the tools of the job.
Also, your job listing should include mostly hard skills required for the job. Some examples can be experienced in team management or knowledge of various software you use.
You should also include various soft skills you’re looking for, like problem-solving or teamwork, so that you find the right well-rounded candidate for you.
Are you looking to enhance your candidate search?
Contact the team at TruPath today and receive expert consulting and uniquely tailored recruiting solutions.