How to Write a Job Posting that Attracts Great Candidates

Does it seem like you’re never getting the candidates that you want to apply to your open positions? A contributing factor may be the way that your job description is written. Creating a relevant and concise job description will help get you the candidates you want and it is the first step in creating a diverse work environment. Job descriptions may be a candidates first impression of your company, so let’s make a good first impression!
Job Title
The job title should accurately describe what the position entails. If the title is “Happiness Hero” but you’re really looking for someone in customer service, you may have a lot of qualified candidates who are unable to find the job in their searches or don’t realize it is relevant to them if it does show up in their results. In case you were wondering, “Happiness Hero” was an actual job title; you can read about it and a few more of the weirdest corporate job titles here.
Avoid Internal Jargon
This applies to both the title and the job description. Internally you may have titles like Development Architect IV but that doesn’t translate well to people who are unfamiliar with your internal structure. Internal jargon will confuse potential candidates and may cause them to skip over applying for your job.
Describe the Job
Let candidates know what the daily work will consist of and tasks associated with the job. List out the specific responsibilities of the job, think about the desired results and responsibilities associated with the job and create a quick bulleted list of the duties. Be short and concise, people tend to skim job descriptions and you want them to be able to quickly pick out the relevant information.
Sell the Job and Company
If you want great candidates you should be able to explain why this is a great job at a great company. The posting should include what makes the position enticing including any perks, benefits and growth opportunities. When selling the company share the company culture, awards the company has won, what makes the company unique and how the organization values its employees.
Avoid Discriminatory Language
Think carefully about the language used in the job posting and whether the language or structure of the job could have an actual or implied bias. In addition to being irrelevant, terms such as ninja or salesman imply that you’re looking for a male for the role. Similarly, if you say you want 10 years of experience or want someone early in their career you may be narrowing your candidate pool to people within a certain age range. This blog has some examples of unconscious bias in job descriptions. The diversity of your applicant pool will have a direct impact on the diversity of your workforce, creating a diverse workplace starts with your job postings.

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