5 Factors Common to Bad Job Descriptions

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Photo by Edmond Dantès: https://www.pexels.com/photo/woman-interviewing-a-man-4343451/

In the human resources sector, everyday schedules may become stressful, with many hiring, interviews, and deadlines to fulfill. Even if time is of the essence in the early phases of the hiring process, the job description must be taken very carefully. Most businesses feel that a simple copy and paste of an existing job description is all that is required to fill a vacancy. The result is a lack of applications or low-quality applications. Don’t worry if you’re reading this and you’re an employer in the same situation. A bad job description has a lot of things in common with a good one. This blog’s goal is to help you figure out where you’re going wrong and to serve as a reminder that you, too, were once a candidate. The result is that, despite the difficulty of recruiting the proper candidates, it’s well worth the effort.

As a recruiter, you must first meet with your team to understand what the firm is seeking and what qualifications the new employee must-have. You won’t be able to draft an offer or recruit the correct individual if you don’t have a clear vision of what you want.

The question is, why should you be concerned about this? Writing a well-thought-out job description will:

  • Keep you from spending time reviewing emails and CVs that don’t fit your company’s needs.
  • Help you find the right person quicker.
  • Once hired, avoid staff rotation since the candidate will be fully informed of the role’s responsibilities.
  • Recruiters will have a more favorable impression of your organization if you provide an attractive job description. Your company’s reputation will be affected if you submit a bad job description.

To help you identify the five unexpected things bad job descriptions have in common, we’ve provided some simple advice below.

“The more information, the better.” But is it true?

A lot of information might be helpful in a screening call, but it can also overwhelm the reader. First and foremost, divide the content into parts and put the most important at the top. Using bullet points and other highlights is advisable to make the job offer’s description more accessible and therefore more appealing to candidates.

Description

This section should summarize the company’s purpose, values, objectives, size, and current or former projects. This section is critical because it demonstrates why the applicant should choose your company over another.

Job summary

It’s critical to explain the applicant’s role and responsibilities in this area. There are three employment statuses to consider here: full-time, contract, and part-time. Internship, traineeship, or entry/mid/senior level are all used to describe this work.

Your job description should include the wage since people are more likely to apply if they know their compensation.

Responsibilities

To ensure that the candidate is fully aware of their responsibilities, include as much information as possible about the position’s daily responsibilities, work schedule, and supervisor.

*Remember: the less turnover you have to deal with, the clear you are here.

Requirements

It is important to state your needs in the context of your employment. Here, employers often specify the qualifications they’re looking for in a candidate, such as language abilities, credentials, visas, and geographic area (where the individual will be working physically).

Benefits/Offer

In order to attract high-quality applicants, the “what’s in it for you” section of the job description is critical. Your potential colleagues will know how much you care for them by reading this portion of your resume

In this section, you may include the following:

  • Relocation packages
  • Health care coverage
  • Special classes and training
  • Team building
  • Vouchers for meals
  • Visa assistance
  • Options for working remotely
  • Gym memberships
  • Other benefits

Meaningless job titles are another trait that all bad job descriptions share.

Meaningless job titles put candidates off. Why? They don’t accurately represent the available positions, obscure the position described in the job description, and lead to misunderstandings among job seekers. Consequently, a position with an ambiguous title is unlikely to draw in qualified applicants.

The following is an example of an appropriate job title:

  • Clear
  • Short
  • Simple
  • Attractive

Job adverts should be separated by language if you’re seeking someone who can speak several languages. Put another way; only one language should be used in a job posting. Many sites, such as Europe Language Jobs, enable you to put the language needed on a dedicated tab, so you don’t necessarily need to include a “with Spanish” or “with Dutch” at the end.

Assume you’re looking for someone to fill a sales position. You may use the following job names to attract skilled German applicants, as well as Swedish, Dutch, French, and other candidates:

Account Manager

Internship for a Business Developer In addition to having significant job titles, international interns bring a lot to the table for a firm.

Sales Executive

Acquisition Manager

Use keywords that are relevant to the searcher’s goals! As a result, your job post will be seen by more people, and you won’t have to deal with candidates looking for extremely broad keywords.

Don’t use the following names:

  • Growth Manager
  • S&M Administrator (Sales & Marketing Administrator)

Among the things to avoid are the following:

  • Do not uppercase the full job title.
  • Do not put your work description in your job title; you will be able to clarify things throughout the offer.

Glaring spelling and punctuation errors.

Isn’t it simple to guess? Your job description is just as important as your resume regarding grammar. A candidate will evaluate the attention to detail and seriousness of your firm in the same manner that you would evaluate a resume’s spelling and punctuation.

Your company’s ethics and stance will be reinforced if your free offer description is carefully written and correctly spelled. Grammarly, the most popular of them, is one of the numerous tools available to help you improve your writing.

Lack of personality is a common denominator in bad job descriptions.

Job descriptions reflect your company’s beliefs and aim in more ways than you think. In this article, it was previously noted that displaying your company’s overview is a crucial aspect of the job description. You may utilize the jargon of your organization to explain why and how people can connect to your purpose and why working here is so fantastic. What distinguishes your firm from the rest? Don’t overlook the tiniest things since they may be what some prospects seek in a potential employee.

Many individuals nowadays want to be a part of something greater, global initiatives, a varied team, professional growth, and a place where they can achieve all of these things in harmony. Be sure to mention all of the great things your firm has to offer so that your employees feel appreciated and heard.

Who’s the Audience?

When looking for a job, it’s fascinating to observe that individuals of all ages and backgrounds seek different types of material. In contrast to some, others focus on the day-to-day activities of the firm as well as the organization’s mission. Avoiding a bad job description is easier if you know who you’re writing it for.

An audit of your firm or the department looking for a new employee might help you figure out what information to include in the offer you’ve made to the candidate. Make an effort to learn what your present employees like and dislike about their jobs and what they think may be improved.

Make sure you’re prepared for the next procedures after you’ve published your nicely written job offer. As soon as you get an application, you should have a follow-up email ready. A standard email informs you that you’ve received a new application. It’s a good idea to note in this email that their CV will be checked by a real person and not a robot (if it’s genuine). In addition, tell them what they may anticipate in the future and how they should prepare for it (status of the application, interview, etc.)

Conclusion

After reading through this article, you should better understand how to convey an offer to potential employees. If you’re having trouble coming up with ideas or getting your creative juices flowing, imagine that you’re the person reading your work. What would you like to see? What information would you seek out first?