How to write flawless job descriptions

When you're recruiting new employees, you have to take care of every detail. They need to know what they're about to sign up for and what the organization expects them to do. All applicants must understand their position with utmost clarity. This will ensure only the suitable candidates are in the run for the role. This is why it’s crucial that you write a spotless job description and cover all the essential information that is needed by a candidate before applying. Naturally, a job description needs to summarize all the requirements, skills, activities, and duties required of the employee. However, for every perfectly-written job description, there probably exists a poorly-constructed one, that fails to provide crucial information. Let’s break down and see what a spotless job description is made of.

A brief summary

Serving as the introduction, the summary is supposed to inspire the candidates to read the rest of the job description. This means it shouldn’t be too revealing, but it contains a hook that the candidates will follow. So, in the opening paragraph, tell your candidates about:

• what your company is looking for
• why they need to continue reading
• what they’ll read about in the upcoming sections

Try to speak directly to the candidates and invite them to keep reading, to see if they’re what you’re looking for.

A clear job title

The job title needs to say exactly what the job is about. Sometimes HR specialists and business owners come up with unusual job titles thinking they’ll attract more candidates. For example, you must have come across organizations looking for ‘Marketing Super-gurus’ or ‘Administration Kings’. However, as opposed to being attractive, these job titles are vague and confusing, which may lead to many irrelevant applications. So, instead of going for this funny option, please keep it simple and write regular job titles that everyone can understand. This will not only improve your applications but will positively influence your SEO.

Responsibilities & duties

It would be best if you opened your job description with a brief and concise summary of all the responsibilities and duties the future employee will have. This section is usually considered the most crucial part of the job description. So, create a list of responsibilities and present them clearly in the job description. Include information such as:

• daily activities and duties
• equipment and tools to be used
• reporting to a superior
• collaborating with other specific departments
• specific tasks 
• well-defined goals

Once the potential employee understands what will be expected from them, they’ll know whether to apply for the job or not.

Qualifications

Next, you need to discuss the criteria you’ll be setting and using to choose the best candidate. This means that you should define the qualifications and skills you’re looking for in a candidate. Also, make sure that you emphasize which of these are mandatory, and which are simply desired, but not necessarily indispensable. Consider defining the following:

• level and type of education
• years of previous experience
• skills to use specific tools or equipment
• soft skills such as communication, critical thinking, problem-solving, etc.
• certifications
• technical knowledge

Be very specific and don’t make a very long list. Write only the most essential skills and qualifications. This way, the candidates will be able to self-assess and determine if they’re a good fit for the job or not.

Job position expectations

In the following section, you should give a brief insight into the expectations you have for the person taking this job position. This is aimed at helping the applicants understand what their potential future in the company might be. It would help if you gave answers to questions such as:

• Why is this job position open?
• Why is there a need for this workforce?
• What does the company expect from this job position to achieve?
• What is the room for professional growth, improvement, and advancement?

This will give the candidates something firm to hold on to, and think about before applying to the job. It’s a great way to attract real talent from the talent pool, and get the best applicants to apply.

Company benefits

There's nothing wrong with talking about the company benefits to get the applicants interested in applying. Your company is their potential home for the future, so you should dedicate a paragraph or two to the benefits of working for the company. Write about information that the future employees might want to know:

• company history and mission
• the salary and benefits
• days-of and holiday policy
• fun-facts other employees like

This will make you seem more down-to-earth, and the candidates will be able establish a connection before applying, and, then joining the organization.

Final thoughts

A job description serves an essential purpose; to attract the right candidates and prevent those unfit for the position from applying. It's helpful for everyone involved in the process: the HR, the organization, and potential candidates. Although it takes time to put it together and write it correctly, the effort surely pays off. It saves you the time from going through unsuitable applications and being asked a ton of questions during the live interviews. So, follow the guidelines mentioned above, and write perfect job descriptions to attract the best candidates.