Writing An Effective Job Description

The right job description can help your recruitment process run smoothly. It can attract the type of candidates you want, and can also promote your brand.

The job description has three main purposes. It helps to attract candidates with the skills you require. It defines the terms of the job role and the responsibilities the candidate will take on. And it can be used as a reference source, which is particularly useful when it is time to carry out appraisals.

When writing a job description, it is important to think about the main roles of the job – what is vital to the role and what skills are desirable but not crucial.

It should also contain the job title, salary range, who the candidate will report to and where they site within the structure of the business, the short and medium term objectives and what soft skills and personality traits will be desirable.

There are some common mistakes to avoid when writing a job description:

Using internal jargon
Every business has their own 'language'. Is the content management team known as knowledge management, editing, content management, content creation or one of the various other variations?

Stick to the well-recognized names and phrases. Don't expect people outside the business to be familiar with the language used in the business.

Including unrealistic requirements
The job description should not be a list of every little thing that makes up the perfect candidate, as you will be unlikely to find anyone that matches this perfectly. If the requirements are too rigid, this may even put some candidates off applying.

Using discriminatory language
This is often inadvertent, but certain phrases may be construed as discriminatory. Make sure that job descriptions are approved by the legal or HR department before they are published.

Not reviewing descriptions
The requirements for a role will inevitably change over time. So you should make sure that you review job descriptions and do not simply reuse the same advertisements again and again.

By working with an employment agency, you can take much of the stress out of recruitment, and simply concentrate on the day to day business of your business.

Source by Iain Cummings

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