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But what goes into a great job description? Here are some ways to set your description apart from other hiring companies.
A great job description should be accurate
One of the most common problems our candidates face is that companies ask for a lot more than they need. Getting a great candidate doesn’t need to mean getting a candidate who can do everything.
If you make your job description so exclusive, you’re setting yourself up to fail—when these high-flying candidates get the job and find out that their tasks are not quite as broad-ranging and exciting as they were described, they’ll likely take flight quickly!
Drill down to what you really need by looking at the system around this hire. What skillsets do people have? What tasks are they in control of? Doing so will help you figure out where the gaps are and how this recruit might fill them.
Keep the company’s tone of voice throughout your job description
You want to present the company’s culture and tone right from the beginning to ensure that the people applying to you also like and are motivated by your mission and vision.
Include an overview of your company so the jobseeker knows what the business does. Place this before the job description so that your message is front and centre of their minds. Get your communications team to write this as they’ll know how your company “sounds”.
Before you start writing, review your aims for this hire
What do you need to achieve the goals? This is the moment to bring in the department where they’ll be working. Who are their direct reports? If this isn’t strictly your field, you must speak to them and ask about the top skills needed for people in this role. We find it helps to bring a few to the table so that your respondent doesn’t feel like they’re starting cold.
The job description is a chance to sell yourself, too
Don’t forget that the whole recruitment process is a great opportunity to “sell” your business, your fabulous operation, your people, the culture, and the role itself!
Keep your job description light and friendly
Think about how you introduce yourself and what you do at business events or mixers. Do you tell people how hard and difficult and taxing and stressful your day-to-day is? If so, how quickly do they make an excuse to revisit the tray of vol-au-vents?
A great job description should steer clear of words that bring us down – solid, hard, extensive. Turn these into positives – robust, assertive, multi-faceted.
Group the responsibilities
Before you publish your job description, think about the flow. Are the responsibilities neatly ordered by task type, or are you sending your recruiters figuratively racing from boardroom to department?
Include soft skills
If humour and patience are what’s required to work at your company, then it’s best to mention them! Candidates will get a sense of your firm’s personality through the soft skills section.
Should you put the salary in your job description?
A salary is a useful guide. It’s like going to a restaurant and getting a menu without the prices but being the one expected to foot the bill at the end. Putting the salary into the description will stop a lot of time-wasting. Just ensure that the salary and benefits package you include won’t upset your other employees.
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Aldrich & Co can help you to write your job descriptions. If you’re a London-based firm in the finance and banking industries, give us a call. Our experienced, dedicated team will interview you and the relevant stakeholders to ensure every word is on point and sure to attract the best talent in the London area.