Writing effective job descriptions

Laurie Macpherson explains how to attract great candidates with great skills

 

As a career mentor, one of the biggest issues I see every day is that capable individuals, who would be a great asset to organisations, don’t apply for roles, as the language used in the job description feels different and alien to them. This leads to them ruling themselves out of the running for roles that they have the skills and experience for, but they don’t realise this, as it reads like a word salad!

 

On so many occasions, I’ve had to say to a client that I can’t help with an application as, after studying the job description, I have absolutely no idea what they’d need the person to do, and who they are looking for; and that’s with a decade of experience in deciphering job descriptions under my belt. Often, the use of AI doesn’t help to simplify this in any way, as it can make language even more flowery and frilly, if not prompted and edited correctly.

 

I’ve spoken to hundreds of clients about what makes job descriptions good, bad and truly awful and today, I’m sharing that knowledge with you.

 

In this job market, to attract great candidates with the skills you need, consider these things:

 

Create a person spec that says in plain language what the responsibilities are. Will they be responsible for bringing in new business/managing a team of 10 who work globally/establishing new partnerships or frameworks?

 

Include some information about a typical day. Yes, it can vary widely, but what activities might they be doing to work towards those responsibilities above?

 

Make sure that your essential criteria are in line with the seniority level (and salary) for the job role, and don’t ask them to apply if they don’t fit the criteria if you don’t mean it. It feels “nice”, but it’s setting candidates up for a fall. Tell them exactly what you need as essentials and desirables, and if applicable, where or how they might have got those skills and experience.

 

What’s the culture (really) like? Tell them, so that they can self-select if it works for them.

 

Don’t make them guess about things that really matter, like salary and flexibility. If the role is 100% in the office, make this abundantly clear so that those who can’t, or don’t want to work in this way can rule themselves out. Clarity upfront saves time wasting later on.

 

It’s the same for the salary. Terms like “competitive” are utterly meaningless, and even a ballpark or rough grading is better. Pension and other perks are also massively important, so share them up front too, alongside things like whether you provide access to private healthcare or reduced gym membership. It’s all about painting a picture of what it’s like to work there, so that candidates can make informed decisions.

 

Don’t assume that they know who you are, what you do and how you work, and refer them to pages on your website if need be to fill in these gaps.

 

If putting the job description together makes you realise that actually, you don’t know what you really want, don’t put the advert out. Instead, take the time to get clear before you do. I’ve known clients get to 5th stage when the employer pulled the role as they didn’t know what they wanted: that’s a dreadful waste of time all round.

 

In terms of the application process, remember that the candidate may not be successful this time, but they could absolutely be a customer, a partner, a stakeholder or refer you to others at some point - so their experience is crucial. Respond when you say you will, use auto responders to manage expectations and remember that they have spent time on the application, so some acknowledgement is appreciated.

 

In summary, having a good understanding of what candidates want and need right now is helpful, as it enables you to create a job description that works for both your needs and their career plans, allowing you to attract the best candidates in this market. 

 

---

 

Laurie Macpherson is an experienced career mentor and a trusted expert in what employers are looking for in the current job market. Find out more at www.lauriemacpherson.com/

 

Main image courtesy of iStockPhoto.com and Andrey Bukreev