Things to Consider When Writing a Job Description

As the end of 2018 approaches, many companies in Cairns will be getting ready to recruit and advertise in the New Year. But an effective hiring process starts with a stand out job advertisement that describes the position accurately and attractively; otherwise, job seekers will just keep on scrolling.

The job description is the company’s opportunity to appeal to the most suitable and talented candidates in a competitive market, so recruiters need to know how to produce the most useful descriptions that stand out from the rest and attract the right candidates in a busy online world.

Here are four things to consider:

Does the job title make sense?

Often in job ads, companies describe the person required in terms of ‘expert ‘ or ‘guru’, in an attempt to make it sound appealing and important. However, job seekers will look for the simple title of the post that they are looking for, such as ‘marketing manager’, not ‘marketing guru’. These are the words that they will use to search online.

It is an excellent idea to research resumes online as well as competitor’s ads in Cairns to see the language that they use for their titles. A simple and clear title will help your ad be viewed by the right people, best suited to the role in question.

Think like the job seeker

A job advertisement needs to convey the relevant information in a small amount of text, a good way of achieving this is to think about the questions that a job seeker in Cairns may have and answer them in the text. Here are some examples to consider:

• The best personality type for the position?
• What makes this role more interesting than others that are similar?
• What can the candidate contribute if they are successful and how will they feel rewarded?
• What promotion and development opportunities are there?
• What is the culture in the organisation like?
• Who will also be on their team?
• What are the benefits and rewards?
• Avoid long lists of responsibilities and skills required

Does the language reflect your company values and personality?

Avoid using a template style job description that is similar to everything else on the browsing list. If your description is customised to the role in question, it will spark the interest of the right candidates.

Job seekers want to get a feel for the company vibe before taking the next step to apply. The language that recruiters use is key to getting through to their target audience in Cairns. For example, using ‘you’ instead of ‘the candidate’ will sound more personal and feels like it’s been written by someone real. Using clear language that conveys the desired information but in a less formal tone, reflects a collaborative and non-threatening company culture.

Concise and jargon-free

In our chosen line of work, it is quite normal to use jargon that is specific to that industry or profession, but in a job description, this language can be quite off-putting to an outside candidate. It is recommended to consider the words and language that a job seeker may use to describe their own skill set and relevant work experience, this vocabulary and phrasing can be researched by checking resumes on websites such as ‘Indeed’ or ‘Seek’.

Once recruiters understand the language that appeals to their target candidates, they will be able to design a compelling description that accurately reflects the role and the company’s personality in a concise and easily digestible format.

For more information about recruitment strategies and all HR services, contact Preston HR to find out how we can help you. Preston HR is part of the Preston Law group of companies, and we are locally based in Cairns.