5 Tips for writing an effective Job Description
Whether you are using internal hiring managers or outsourcing to a recruitment agency, a job description is a very important document of the recruitment process. Writing a Job description may seem like a rather simple exercise, but it has its nuances and it is vital to get it perfectly to give candidates a clear understanding of what’s expected in the role they are applying for. I have listed a few important points that should be kept in mind while preparing Job descriptions.
Attract the right candidates by using JD as a qualifier:
If your Job description is not precise you will be flooded with unqualified applications. There’s no point having a large number of irrelevant candidates apply, it only leads to more time wasted in filtering. Make the JD as accurate as possible to attract the right bunch and make the process efficient.
Structure your Job Description well
Create your job description that is interesting and easy to read. Put the most important information like salary, location, job title at the top. It makes it easy for candidates to self-qualify on their basic expectations. The JD should clearly highlight the “must haves” and “good to have's” of hard skills. Don’t sweat it out on making a long bullet list of general skills.
Try to tell a story with your job description
Job descriptions should tell a story about your company’s growth, exciting culture and how it is different from the competition. Why should a candidate apply to a specific role in your company and not in competitors? Candidates spend considerable time reading about your company as they want to understand what life is really like at there.
Make job descriptions SEO friendly
More than 50% of candidates use Google for job search. They use specific keywords like “Digital Marketing Manager E-commerce” Your job titles and description need to take the candidate’s keyword pattern into account. Do a keyword analysis and incorporate relevant keywords in your JD. Through a content management system (CMS) of your website, you will be able to add titles and descriptions for every page on your website. Google will work out if your page title and description and informative and engaging.
Infuse excitement with media:
People want to work with other people who are fun to work with. It is cool and relevant to show the human side of your company by posting links to exciting personalized videos, employee testimonials and pictures highlighting the company’s culture.
There could be cases when hiring managers are too much occupied in other stuff or they don’t have the exact understanding of the industry and role’s technicalities. In such scenarios, it is wise to take the help of professionals. There are professional recruitment agencies like Silverpeople that are operating in specific industries for many years and they understand the nerve of it. They can build effective JDs for your requirements in addition to helping you source the best talent.
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