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Why Writing Effective Job Descriptions Makes the Difference

Phil Cohen

When it comes to attracting quality talent, writing effective job descriptions makes all the difference for small businesses and temp staffing agencies. By crafting creative, engaging ads, businesses capture the attention of their ideal candidates while eliminating candidates that are unfit for the position.

The goal of a job description is to attract applicants to a position by directly expressing the responsibilities and expectations of the job. At the same time, job descriptions are a good way for a company to introduce its culture and brand. Effective descriptions allow prospective employees the opportunity to realize exactly what they are signing up for when they submit their applications. In turn, the expectations of your company are more likely to be met when the applicant knows he/she will be able to fulfill them. It seems straight forward, but many companies tend to clutter their job descriptions with vague information, exaggerated qualifications, and clichés.

The best way to avoid confusion and hire the right candidate is to write effective job descriptions.

Firstly, when job descriptions are bombarded with too many job requirements, they don’t encourage the right candidates to apply. When it comes to listing job requirements, many HR and staffing executives believe that overloading descriptions with too many of them damages recruitment and staffing efforts. Consider eliminating educational requirements and limiting the position requirements to no more than eight.

Have you wondered why only a few people have responded to your job posting? Consider this: an internal study was conducted using Hewlett-Packard as its subject. Research revealed that women normally apply to jobs only when they feel they meet all the requirements. However, men will submit their applications even if they feel that they meet only 60 percent of the qualifications. Woah. In that sense, your job description may be your candidates’ biggest turn off.

As such, remember to clarify that your qualifications are not limited to those that you list. Or, separate qualities that are absolutely necessary and those that could technically be learnt while on the job. Say you’re hiring a nurse, for example. He/she would need a license to practice, but it wouldn’t be necessary for him/her to be experienced with a particular hospital software before applying. Therefore, your qualifications should only list those of utmost importance. Doing so will prevent your potential applicants from feeling like they are underqualified or incompetent.

Job descriptions only have so much time to attract an applicant. Because space is limited, companies must remember to use it wisely. To write effective job descriptions, staffing companies and business owners should focus on portraying themselves in a positive, approachable manner. Aside from presenting their best image, good descriptions should be no longer than 300 words.

Remember that the job description is only the first step.

The applicant will learn a lot more about your company and expectations when he/she comes in to interview. Keep the description to its bare minimum while also conveying the appropriate information. A job posting is welcome to express some basic information about the company and what it does. But, don’t overcrowd your job description with extra information about the company’s mission statement, etc. Ideally, applicants should know what kind of job they are applying for before submitting a resume. Therefore, ultimately, it is your applicants’ responsibility to research details about the company. Then, during the interview, you can clarify or elaborate upon the company’s mission and the job’s responsibilities. In the meantime, the job description should use the most appropriate words and phrases, but at a minimum.

Overall, writing effective job descriptions is key to showing interested applicants what your company is about. Put out there what you expect to get back, and you will be surprised how many people you attract to your company. Remember, the clearer the description, the easier it will be to find the perfect candidates. And, trust us, they’re out there!

Now that you’re hiring all the right people, make sure you have the cash flow to keep up with payroll. Payroll factoring for staffing companies allows you to keep up with your hiring by having the cash you need when you need it. Find out more about what factoring could do for you.

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Phil Cohen

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