Writing a Job Description That Attracts Candidates

Why is writing a good job description important? 

Writing a good job description is an important step in attracting qualified candidates. Everyone who has ever applied for or posted a job will agree that one of the most important parts of it is the job description, which, next to the company’s vision and mission, acts as the first contact between a candidate and a company. At first, its role seems to be clear and simple – to inform the potential candidate about the company procedures, policies and culture, and to list all the required skills and responsibilities for certain job positions.

The problem is, nowadays it is not quite as simple as that. Undisputed is the fact that a job description has to hold relevant, precise information about a job. This will not change. But what has changed since the past is the fact, that there are more and more highly skilled professionals on the market, every day.

Besides them, aspiring companies are mushrooming. This means that as a company, you have an enormous amount of potential candidates for your job, but your own competition has never been bigger. Of course, this problem excludes already branded and globally known mega-corporations that most people would want to work for.

But if you are a young, small or middle company, you know the struggle too well. And you know it has never been harder to be noticed. Regardless, you want and need candidates as much as they need you. And you need the best.

So, how can writing good job descriptions help to attract qualified candidates?

We all have seen impersonal, straight-to-the-point job descriptions, often unstructured and simply uninteresting. Unfortunately, these are still very common. But this only means that in a sea of conventional and usual job descriptions, writing a different one will only stand out more and gain more attention, which is exactly what you need.

First of all, you need to be clear about the image you want to build and about your ideal candidate persona. If you are different, don't be scared to show that. People appreciate honesty and a personal approach. This way it is easier to find candidates who think alike, which will most likely make your cooperation easier if you decide to hire them.

Check out the Ultimate Guide for Finding Qualified Candidates in 2018!

What does all that mean in practice?

As we mentioned, the first step is to choose the character you want your job description to have. Should it be friendly, funny, relaxed – you name it. Stay true to yourself! If you work in a company where the atmosphere is mostly serious and professional and you want the tone of the description to be like that - write is exactly that way. In a way, your job descriptions are a reflection of your employer brand.

You may think "This advice makes no sense in an article about unusual job descriptions and standing out". Well, maybe. But I say that the most important thing is to stay true to yourself. Do not try to write a laid back description if you are not laid back. It won't work. It will feel wrong for both of you – the company and the candidate who reads it.

Keep in mind what has been said at the beginning of this article – most often the job description is the first contact candidates make with your company. Therefore it is important that they get to know you as much as they can through the job description, so don't pretend to be something you are not. (Of course, there are still ways to optimize your job description samples and make them a little bit less "common". We will get to that now.) On the other hand, if you are the complete opposite, meaning an unconventional, fun company – show it! Are you scared to sound a little bit unprofessional? Don't be. Every company will find the right candidate for itself.

The importance of a well-structured job description

What also helps with loosing up a regular job description and is also very important is the structure. Your aim is to write an easy to read and fluent job description, but with all necessary information at the same time. This means that the visual appearance has to be easy on the eye. Instead of countless bullets, you could separate the requirements into two parts – necessary and desirable. This way it is less overwhelming and encourages to read everything carefully, instead of just skimming it.

Finding the right skills for each role is extremely important, especially for people who make sure that their skills will be used and appreciated. For example, if you are looking for a candidate with specific tech skills, make sure to find the right ones before you publish the job description.

If you need help in defining some tech terms and expressions, get our free technology glossary created for recruiters and HR managers.

I think these are the key steps to writing a good and interesting job description. And with a good job description, it should be much easier to find the best candidates. And that is what we all want.

To help you save time, we have created free most common job descriptions examples and samples, ready to use and post to multiple job boards with just one click.

Example of a good job description

Here is an example of a well structured, clear and appealing job description written by a medium-sized tech company, Vodori.