The clearer you are about who you are looking for and what you want them to do then the greater your chances of receiving applications from candidates who match your needs.
A well-written job description won’t just help a jobseeker decide if they are right for your job. It will also save you time by cutting down the number of CVs you have to sift through to fill your vacancy.
So when you write a job description, what should you include?
What do you want them to do?
Job Title: It’s always best to use a generic job title. The simplest way to choose a job title is to think about how the job seeker would search for your job in the Jobs.ie search box. What would they use?
It can be useful to let people know at what level you are pitching the role. Is it a junior position suitable to someone starting out in their working life, e.g. Junior Sales Executive or are you looking for someone more experienced, e.g. Senior Marketing Manager?
It’s a good idea to avoid in-house job titles such as Data Wizard or Customer Happiness Guru. You mention it in the body of your job description text, but your job title such be simple, clear and targetted to reach the widest audience of jobseekers.
Responsibilities: What will they be doing in the job? What are the tasks you expect from them?
Measurement: How will you assess their performance? Does the job come with KPIs or targets?
Reporting: Who will they be reporting to? Will they be part of a team or managing a team? Where do they sit in the management structure?
What skills, qualifications and experience do you want them to have?
Minimum qualifications: Putting the minimum qualifications on the job description is a straightforward way of letting the jobseeker know your expectations.
Do you want to hire a driver with C licence? A childcare professional with a FETAC level 5 qualification? Are you looking for a graduate?
Competencies: The soft skills or competencies you think a person will need in the job are useful to specify. Teamworking, problem-solving, time management and communications skills are commonly used competencies in job descriptions.
Experience: In the same way that minimum qualifications help communicate your expectations, so does experience. Will you only consider candidates with a proven a track record or will you consider people from other jobs but with useful transferable skills? If you are hiring for a role in a 4-star hotel, will you consider people from a three-star hotel interested in stepping up? Or will you only see people who have also worked in 4-star hotel?
Why should they apply for a job with your company?
You’ve told the jobseeker about the job and what you’d like them to do and the qualifications and experience you’d like them to have. Now you have to convince them to apply.
Salary, perks and benefits are all relevant. You don’t have to give an exact wage, but a salary band can be useful. If you offer health insurance, bike to work etc. then include them. Perks such as free food or lunchtime yoga are also worth mentioning.
Don’t underestimate the importance of training and career progression opportunities. Job seekers are more swayed by career development opportunities then free coffee.
It’s worth telling candidates about your company history, your business and your work culture. People also like to know why the position has become available. Is your company expanding, is it a newly created role? Many jobseekers find the context useful to know.
Finally, location, location, location! Nobody like commuting, most people want to work close to home. You can select a primary location for your job on Jobs.ie, but it’s a good idea to include the exact location in the job description.
