With more than 14 million live jobs currently advertised on LinkedIn, it’s crucial that your company’s job description is as appealing as it can be.
Your competitors will take the time to create an engaging, attractive, and detailed job description so make sure yours hits the mark.
Spotlight Recruitment have put together some tips on how to create a compelling job description, so you can attract the most talented candidates to consider joining your team.
Make Your Job Title Specific
Clear, targeted job titles are far more effective than generic ones. When deciding on a job title, make sure it reflects the content, purpose, and scope of the role and is consistent with other roles within your company. Similarly, when using a simple title for your position it will help widen your reach.
Examples of specific job titles include: Social Media Executive, Marketing Coordinator, Account Executive, Content Editor, Copywriter, Digital Marketing Manager, E-commerce Manager, CRM Manager, Brand Communications Manager, Product Lead, and Marketing Director.
Speak Directly to Your Audience
Far too many job descriptions are addressed to the “ideal candidate” so we recommend using second-person pronouns to make your job description more personal. Try talking to the potential applicant directly and write in a way where they have already secured your role.
Below are two different examples of a job description. Which one do you think is more effective?
Example 1: The successful candidate will focus on supporting the sales team in lead generation using all available digital channels.
Example 2: As a Digital Marketing Manager, you’ll focus on supporting the sales team in lead generation using all available digital channels.
Highlight the Benefits
You want a wide range of candidates to read your job description, become excited, and think ‘I want to work here’.
After all, people need an incentive to leave their current workplace so make your job description as attractive as it possibly can be. Explain how the candidate will contribute to your organisation’s expansion and describe benefits and perks that come with the job e.g. travel expenses, private health, team lunches, bonus, etc.
Top Tip: Having the right company benefits can have a huge impact on the talent you attract. If you’re looking for ideas or some inspiration, Perkbox covers a wide range of sectors with hundreds of discounts ranging from Deliveroo to B&Q.
List the Responsibilities and Duties
People want to contribute, feel energised and passionate about what they do, which is why they want to know what their day-to-day will be like when they join your company.
If you are unsure of the exact responsibilities and day-to-day duties of the role, have a discussion with someone who already works in the role you are advertising for.
By speaking with someone who has insider knowledge about the role, you will have a clearer idea of the duties, responsibilities, and core skills.
This level of detail will help candidates determine if the role and company are a good fit for them, which in turn will help you attract the best possible candidates for your team.
Similarly, indicate who the job reports to and how the candidate will play a pivotal role within your company.
Remember that you want to gain someone’s interest, so a long list of mundane responsibilities is a no-go area.
Stick to describing core tasks with bullet points; see our SEO Specialist example below:
As SEO Specialist you will:
• Develop optimisation strategies that increase the company’s search engine results rankings
• Research SEO keywords to use throughout the company’s website and marketing materials
• Set measurable goals that demonstrate improvement in marketing efforts
• Monitor daily performance metrics to understand SEO strategy performance
• Write compelling and high-quality website content, including blog posts and page descriptions
What to Avoid When Writing Job Descriptions
There are 4 common mistakes we see companies make when writing job descriptions.
1. Using Limiting Language
As noted above, the goal of a job description is to attract and invite applicants to apply. To do this successfully, you need to avoid using certain words and phrases which can be constructed as discriminatory like gender and race. It is against the law to discriminate against a job applicant regarding any of the following, which are known as ‘protected characteristics’:
• age
• disability
• race
• gender reassignment
• marriage and civil partnership
• pregnancy and maternity
• religion or belief
• sex
• sexual orientation
Indirect discrimination is also against the law. In the workplace, indirect discrimination means there are rules that apply to everyone, but which in practice could be less fair to a potential candidate because of their sex, race or other protected characteristic.
2. Asking for Too Much
Unrealistic requirements are a huge turn-off.
Your job description needs to be an accurate description of what is required to perform the role, not an impossible wish list of every skill that may be beneficial.
Remember, if you find someone who ticks literally every box, they may not stay with your company for very long if there are no new challenges and learning experiences.
3. Being Mysterious
Everybody loves a bit of mystery in their life; however, we recommend making it clear from the outset what the duties are as well as what you expect from your future hire.
Your job description needs to be straight to the point about non-negotiable requirements like working hours, salary, certifications, etc.
In the long run, you’ll save a lot of time and potentially avoid any deal-breakers.
4. Using Industry Jargon
Industry jargon is all very impressive, but it may limit your candidate reach.
In order to attract the widest possible audience, try and stick to recognisable terms for your industry.
Once the job description is finalised, it’s on to reviewing CVs, sending feedback, assessing skills, interviewing, reference checking, and management of this very time–consuming process. If you would like assistance with your marketing, digital and communications hiring, contact Spotlight Recruitment and speak to one of our specialist marketing recruiters.
NICOLA MONGON is the MD of Spotlight Recruitment, the leading marketing recruitment agency in the UK since 2008. Read our 5* Google reviews from candidates and clients to find our more. If you would like to discuss recruitment, you can reach Spotlight on 020 3008 4254 or info@spotlightrecruitment.com.
