Many job descriptions fail to appeal to candidates and so companies are often left with very few applicants applying for their jobs. Potential candidates usually read the first paragraph of a job description, and if something doesn’t grab their interest, they will quickly turn their attention to other open positions. Given that many job specifications are just long lists of key duties and responsibilities, this is an issue. It doesn’t matter how good your company’s image is, an unappealing job description is just… unappealing.
What is a job description?
Good question. One view is that a job description aims to introduce and explain the role of a job to potential applicants. A comprehensive and detailed job description therefore helps applicants determine the extent of their suitability for the proposed job.
Another view is that the real purpose of a job description is to ‘sell’ the job, so people apply. With competition for talent increasing day by day, this viewpoint is starting to gain a lot more traction.
How to write a job description?
What goes into a job description? This is a common question from start-up companies writing a job description for the first time. The traditional structure of any job specification consists of the title of the job role, the purpose of the job, the duties and responsibilities, the preferred qualifications, and the benefits.
In addition to the actual job information, focus on the company’s values, mission, and culture, and show that working with you will bring more than a good salary. Think about how you can reflect professional engagement and interaction that leads to employee satisfaction. When writing a job description, remember that it should be straight to the point.
Check our guide to writing a compelling job description below this article.
Job description examples
Here is an example of a job description for a technical writer. If you are looking for a candidate for a specific position in your company, you could follow the same structure.
Job specification
As a senior employee, the technical writer is responsible for creating and supporting end-user documentation for software, including how-to guides and product manuals. You will also write technical articles to help potential customers understand software features and updates. The role involves working extensively with web development staff. You will also review user feedback to evaluate the effectiveness of software performance.
Job Role: Duties and Responsibilities
- Research, write, analyze, revise, and maintain required technical documentation for related software;
- Generate valuable ideas to constantly innovate the content of the website;
- Meeting with experts in the field to gain more valuable knowledge about the specifics of the tool;
- In-depth review of data required for subsequent policy updates;
- Brainstorming on the most concise ways to make software-related information understandable to the target audience;
- Evaluate and proofread content written by staff in other departments.
What skills you need to bring
- Ability to create informative articles for users and documentation for professional audience;
- Fluency and analytical writing, editing and communication skills at an advanced level.
- An average understanding of the chosen programming code;
- The ability to conduct virtual conferences and interactive presentations in the field;
- Ability to multitask and learn in the field of web development.
Educational Background and Work Experience:
- A Bachelor’s degree (but preferably a Master’s degree) in English, linguistics, technical writing, and communications.
- Five years of software development experience.
- Solid understanding of the development life cycle.
When a company is looking for a technical writer, it often requires specialized training in the technical field.
How to write a good job description?
Create a unique job description template by implementing the following job role description tips:
- Create a search-optimized title to expand the pool of candidates;
- Write a brief company overview with core values (long overviews make the job description less visible);
- Avoid overuse of technical terminology;
- Do not list minor tasks that you can discuss during the interview;
- Briefly describe any required skills;
- Focus on future achievements that the right candidate could be responsible for.
Why are job descriptions important?
The importance of job descriptions is not just about the ultimate advertising appeal to qualified candidates. A company aiming at being modern, digital, and growing its business, needs to review its job description approach to keep up with changing trends in the industry. A good job description serves to attract attention and enhance the motivation of the candidates.
They will focus on the offered position if they identify the promised work environment as secure and rewarding. Therefore, the company’s status and popularity also depend on their ability to recommend themselves as a lucrative employee-friendly workplace.
What is a Job Profile?
A job profile should not be confused with a job description itself. The brief mentions the essential job duties of the vacancy and contains only fundamental points related to the open employment opportunity. HR managers write extended job descriptions based on the job profile. Job profiles are equally valuable for active job seekers, as they can briefly review a range of different recruitment videos and then proceed with reading job descriptions of the most compelling offers.
Video Job Description Reflects Modern Values
Nowadays, the hiring process is constantly being modernized. Recent recruitment strategy researches have shown that no one likes reading lengthy job descriptions. Every potential candidate prefers a brief description of duties and responsibilities and spends less than 1 minute on a job advert before switching to a different job post.
If candidates get interested in the job post, they will spend 10 more minutes viewing a video job description and researching the company on the Internet. You have to create compelling job posts to keep your potential candidates engaged. A creative and straightforward way out is a video job description.
The benefits of a video job description
- Reaching and engaging wider audiences
- Breaking the ice between the employer and potential employees;
- The authenticity of your corporate message;
- Showing the personality of your organisation, by getting more than one person to speak, including asking employees currently in the role to talk about the role;
- Providing a visual presentation of the workplace facilities;
- The ability to place video job descriptions on social media so they get shared widely;
- Video gets more views and is more memorable
- The focus on emotions, which enhances the overall trustworthiness;
- Convenience, ease and recent cost-effectiveness of video making.
Be modern and digital, create eye-catching video job descriptions in C-Me, so you stand out in the job boards and on social media. You can get inspiration from our samples and blogs, follow our video job template, or create your own custom video job posting showcasing your company’s values and advantages.
Job description template on C-Me
Job Title
Consider turning the job title into more of an attention-grabbing headline but…
- Use industry language that your job seekers will search for
- Use standard industry terms for experience levels (senior, junior, etc.)
- Be concise (ideally less than 80 characters)
Job Description
Note the {heading terms in brackets} below should be replaced with your data to improve SEO rankings.
{Job Title} at {Company} : {Location}
A paragraph or two to grab the candidate’s attention, and really sell the job.
Excite the right candidates by explaining what the organisation stands for…
How does the company fit in with, or challenge, the wider industry? – What makes it special? – What are you trying to achieve? – What are the growth aspirations? – What makes your brand unique? – What is it about your company culture that employees love?
Excite them further when describing the job by establishing purpose…
How does it fit into the bigger company picture, objectives, strategy? – How does it help solve business or social issues? – What’s the job’s major function? – What are the expectations for the position? – Why would someone love the job? Consider creating some urgency by adding start dates.
Recommendation… pack the above into a short video to really engage candidates.
{Job Title} Responsibilities
- State who the job reports into (or which position)
- List the core responsibilities (ideally less than 10 bullet points)
- Emphasise anything specific to your organisation
- Although highlighting day-to-day activities can help applicants understand the work environment, try to avoid mundane tasks that don’t really mean anything at this stage
- Include potential for advancement
{Job Title} Requirements
- Stick to the core requirements as long lists dissuade potential candidates (ideally less than ten)
- Check if any requirements are dated (job descriptions tend to stay unchanged for many years)
- Include specific qualifications, technical skills, and certifications that are a must
- Add in relevant soft skills
Benefits
The salary or salary range (if flexibility is needed) is added directly into the job details page. But the benefits are added here in the job description. They say a lot about the sort of organisation you are.
- The expected:- holidays, pension, health…
- The unexpected:- flexible hours, monthly wellbeing allowance, office snacks, dog friendly office, etc…
General
- Try and avoid jargon and over-the-top language (world-class, rockstars, etc.) which can put people off
- Avoid gender-biased language which deters highly qualified talent from applying (research shows neutral wording results in more applicants)
- Consider getting employees to help write the job descriptions (this will ensure they are more current and representative)
- Cultural fit is important but can be misinterpreted as ‘hiring someone that thinks like me”. Focus on concrete values instead of a vague notion of culture