Michelle Delgado — October 29, 2018 — October 29, 2018
Recruiters and companies everywhere are noticing that it’s harder to fill open positions these days.
The job market currently favors job seekers, forcing companies to refine and improve the processes they use to hire new employees. But before the hiring process even begins, companies have to make sure that they catch applicants’ attention in the first place.
For many job seekers, a job listing is their first introduction to a company – and whether or not they can envision a future there.
If your company is struggling to stand out and attract qualified applicants, you can use this article to learn the 4 essential details that can help your job listings stand out.
- What Day-to-Day Activities the Role Involves
Job seekers who read your job description should come away with a fairly clear picture of what their daily life at your company might be like. They want to envision the basics – whether they’ll sit at a desk or work in the field, operate solo or collaborate with a team, and more.
Chances are, it will be easy to add a quick recap of daily activities – but if you’re unsure of where to start, you can always find and customize a template.
For example, Workable offers sample job descriptions for dozens of roles across different industries. An average job description for a senior designer role includes activities such as reviewing junior designers’ work, overseeing long-term projects, and creating images and infographics.
At your company, however, senior designers might actually be responsible for designing merchandise. You could also specify how many direct reports a senior designer might have, or clarify that they will be tasked with hiring a team of their own.
Finally, companies that include a recap of the role’s daily activities signal that they’ve thought through exactly what it will entail. If you begin to write a job description but can’t fully picture what the employee’s day-to-day tasks would look like, you may not be ready to hire after all.
- How the Role Fits Into the Big Picture
When people ask questions during the interview process, many want to understand how an open position fits into the larger organization.
By explaining how a new position will support your entire company, you can seamlessly build information about your company’s structure and culture into a job description.
These details are present in the job descriptions LinkedIn highlights as models other companies should follow. For example, a listing for a VP of IT job at BuzzFeed job specifies that the hire would “manage teams based out of L.A., New York and London to help them set and roll out policy, manage the health of the team and aid, create strong relationships with all of BuzzFeed’s departments and support our IT managers in growing their skill sets.”
Right away, a potential applicant knows that their role would impact an international team and range from top level policy all the way down to providing professional development opportunities for IT managers.
You can add this kind of big-picture transparency to your job descriptions by providing information such as:
- What teams the new hire will work with
- Whether you expect the new hire to evolve in their role over time
- How your company’s values inform the role
- Why the role matters to the health and success of your organization
By sharing big-picture information right away, you’ll show potential applicants that you have a plan for how they can contribute to – and grow within – your company.
- What Past Experiences You’re Looking For
Every new role requires the right mix of skills and personality – but companies sometimes get into trouble by having requirements that are too specific or too poorly defined.
A good job listing gives candidates a gut check of who you’re looking for. For example, if you want someone with agency experience or who’s worked with C-suite level clients in the past, you should let candidates know that up front.
At a minimum, you should include:
- The level of experience (such as a description such as “entry level” or “mid-level”)
- If you require a certain number of years of experience and any relevant details
- Hard skills, such as fluency in a language or technology
Companies that clearly explain the past experiences they’re seeking save time by helping unqualified candidates self-select out of the recruitment process.
- Compensation, Benefits, and Perks
Before any job seekers submit a job application, they want to know whether a company takes good care of its employees – and if they’re unable to find trustworthy or transparent information about your company, they may just apply elsewhere.
Recent studies found that nearly one-quarter of employees (23%) don’t receive benefits, and more than 40% of full-time employees have no perks – so if your company’s perks and benefits should serve as a selling point.
You don’t have to disclose every detail in your job listings, but you should share as much transparent information as possible. At a minimum, you should provide information about:
- Insurance Options: Share what types of insurance your company provides, such as health, dental, vision, or long-term disability insurance.
- Time Off: Let candidates know how you handle paid time off, including sick days, company holidays, and vacation time.
- Pre-Tax Benefits: Some companies offer pre-tax benefits on commuting expenses, medical expenses, and more.
- Family Leave: If your company offers childcare, paternity leave, or other benefits that are more generous than what’s required, you should use that as a selling point to candidates.
- Perks: If your company offers perks such as online classes, group discounts on gyms, or even snacks, you should let candidates know up front.
You can pique candidates’ interest and save time during the interview process by explaining the basics of your benefits up front.
Final Thoughts
Companies today must compete to fill open positions with talented employees. Crafting a great job description is the first step in grabbing potential employees’ attention and persuading them to apply to work at your company.
By providing transparent information about daily activities, the big-picture vision, past experiences, and benefits, you can attract candidates and help the right ones self-select into your recruitment pipeline.
Making these simple improvements to your job descriptions might just help you land your next star employee.
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