People don’t want to settle for just any old job.  They want to be engaged and excited about going to work.  Hiring top talent begins with attracting top talent. A job seeker’s first impression of your company will likely be a job description, and you’re going to want to maximize on this impression. The best job descriptions are an amalgam of 3 key components, each of which answers an important question:

    • Purpose & Objective (How)
    • Skills & Competencies (What)
    • Marketing & Culture (Why)

How: Purpose & Objective

This should be a short but engaging overview of the job that describes major functions, projects, and deliverables combined with how the role aligns with and supports company strategy, mission, and objectives.  In truth, the job description should look like the profile of your ideal candidate. This doesn’t mean that every applicant will meet every aspect of this profile perfectly (but they may still be perfect for the job).  Be specific about what you are looking for and, instead of being inundated with totally unqualified applications, you’ll see a significant increase in the number of quality – and qualified – candidates.

What: Skills & Communication

Avoid a long, bulleted list of responsibilities or qualifications as this can be visually cumbersome and ends up being overly task-oriented. Focus on the top 5-7 competencies that are the absolute requirements.  Alternately, you can group competencies into categories like technical skills and leadership skills, but try to limit your items in each group to 3 max.

Why: Marketing & Culture

This is your company’s first opportunity to make a connection with your next hire.  When you are writing a job description for an open position, consider it your opportunity to market your company, your culture, and your why.  People want to know your company’s story, how you are innovating within the industry, what sets you apart from the competition, and what your brand stands for.  Show them who your company is by detailing how they could fit in by touching on the following:  Company Culture, Work Environment, Goals & Challenges, and Fun Perks.

When you set out to create a job description, leaning on your internal resources can be a huge benefit.  Other team members and leaders can help you hone your focus and highlight critical components you may have missed. You may even find that collaborating in this way opens up new lines of communication with your employees. The desire to be heard is fundamental, and including employees in the development of job descriptions is an ideal opportunity to build up employee engagement. Also, we here at ICON are experts at this and are here to help. Contact us today!