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How To Write a Great Job Description
Lars Schmidt is the master of helping companies unearth forward-thinking talent. Finding the people who can propel your company into the future and deal with the agility that a demanding marketplace can require isn’t easy… Unless you have Lars by your side!
Though his work with Amplify Talent he helps companies pinpoint the weaknesses in their recruiting process and turns them into strengths. There was one item of the recruiter’s toolkit that seemed to be constantly underused and not fully optimized…
The humble yet mighty job description.
Lars has discovered three things to help you revolutionize the way you write your job descriptions. Some may sound obvious, but we can promise you that if you follow all three of these rules, you will see job application rates soar!
1. Branch out from the conventional with your job ads
All-star recruiters know that their job ads and job descriptions are not the same. You can follow this awesome template for a great job ad but it still needs to be backed up by a truly spectacular job description.
First of all, is your job description fully optimized for mobile? You need to be ready for job seekers to search at any time, whether it’s on their commute or curiously scrolling during lunch breaks.
You don’t have to follow the rule book when it comes to recruitment. Get creative and experiment with writing purpose driven job ads.
2. Optimize your Applicant Tracking System
Evaluating your ATS can give you a huge advantage when it comes to sprucing up your job descriptions and making them more dynamic and appealing to your target audience.
Are you maximising your ATS when it comes to job descriptions? Lars suggests experimenting with new features. Perhaps you can change the format of your job ads with custom headers to make it more reader-friendly. If you’re able to add videos this is a great chance to personalize your job description and put your employer branding skills to work.
It’s also a great opportunity to share some classic content that backs up your company’s profile. Try embedding hyperlinks to your company values page or social media channels so people can learn more about the life at your company.
3. Write a job description that focuses on them
With all of the focus on showcasing your company, fine-tuning your employer branding, and sprucing up your job descriptions it’s easy to forget this one simple rule.
It’s not about you!
Your focus is the applicant. You want to concentrate on attracting job seekers and enticing them to click that golden ‘APPLY’ button. Instead of droning on about “we, us, and our” try switching the language to focus on “you, your, and yours”. This lets the applicant imagine themselves at your company and they can feel themselves being drawn to the idea of being part of the team.
Remember – you are writing this job description with the hope of catching the attention of that one, superstar candidate. Write for that person, who do you want them to be? Concentrate on that and your job descriptions will jump off the page and shine brighter than the others.
SocialTalent’s Recruiting Training solution is packed full of useful tips and insights to make your job descriptions stand-out. Get in-touch with our team today to learn more.
