One of the key elements of any recruitment process lies in preparing the job description. After all, this document defines the responsibilities that the talent will need to fulfill in the organization, the skills required for the vacancy, as well as the monetary and non-monetary benefits associated with the position.
A well-written job description will improve the chances of finding the right person or people during a selection process. Let’s understand its objectives, the elements it includes, its differences from a job announcement, and what we should do to write a good job description.
What’s a job description?
It’s a document that details the main responsibilities, duties, and requirements of a specific role within an organization. It includes information about the tasks and activities the employee must perform, the necessary skills and knowledge, and the working conditions.
This information is crucial for candidates to assess whether they are qualified for the position and for employers to identify the most suitable professionals. It’s also very important for defining a career development plan, determining salary ranges, and setting the short, medium, and long-term goals that need to be met.
Although they are often confused, a job description is not the same as a job announcement. The former aims to provide an in-depth review of the role, its responsibilities, conditions, and future prospects. On the other hand, a job announcement is much shorter, aiming to attract both passive and active candidates who haven’t started the selection process yet.
Goals of a job description
From the recruitment team’s perspective, the job description is an invaluable document during the personnel selection process and also drives the successful professional development of candidates.
Let’s look at three key goals this resource pursues.
Attracting candidates
First and foremost, the job description aims to attract internal and external candidates to the organization, encouraging them to apply for the position. To do this, the job description is a fairly comprehensive summary of the position. This way, all candidates will have a reference of what is required to perform the position, which will encourage more people to apply.
Defining the job
As the name suggests, the job description serves as a defining document for everything related to the position, from responsibilities to economic and non-economic benefits.
Additionally, a good job description outlines the career path of the personnel, providing information about promotions and the timelines and tasks that must be completed for them to occur.
Reference for administration
The job description also serves as a guide to the duties of each member of the work team.
For example, if a new leader arrives, they can request a job description of the people under their supervision to better understand their roles, responsibilities, and impact on the organization, which will streamline their adaptation process.
What to include in a job description?
A job description should be functional, whether it’s part of a job ad or a separate internal document. The idea is for all the people who consult the document to receive the same information about the characteristics and tasks of a position.
Therefore, a job description should include the following elements:
- Job Title: A complete and precise title that reflects the uniqueness of the position within the company.
- Job objective: Information that explains why the position was created and its respective goals.
- Hierarchy in the company: This part specifies the hierarchy of the position within the organization and its place in the chain of command.
- Working conditions: Where, how, and when the job tasks will be performed. This also includes the salary range.
- Responsibilities: This part details, from the perspective of superiors, what the talent will be responsible for.
- Employee authority: Specifies the series of activities the employee is authorized to perform.
- Hazards: Identifies factors that can put the talent’s performance at risk.
- Training: Required training for the position.
- Qualifications: Knowledge, skills, and qualifications preferred for the position.
- Skills: If applicable, identification of additional skills required for the position.
How to write a good job description
Use a compelling title
Focus on mentioning only the role name and the modality you need (on-site, remote, hybrid, etc.). If necessary, you can add how urgent the incorporation is or whether the contract is long-term or project-based.
When it comes to describing a position, less is more. While it’s tempting to get creative when describing a position to attract more attention, you may work against what candidates are actually looking for and what job search engines index.
Introduce yourself to your potential candidates
Indicate the name of the company, its purpose, values, goals, and any other information that helps convey its identity and organizational culture.
This will make it much easier for candidates to understand who they will be working for and why they should join the company.
Be clear about expectations
It’s very important that you clearly define your expectations about the person you’re looking for. Take the time you need to provide as many details as possible.
From their education and experience to personality traits and other data, everything you can establish from the beginning to help identify the ideal person for the vacancy.
Describe the tasks well
Don’t leave anything to the imagination. When the potential employee reviews the tasks section, they should have a very clear idea of what a typical day would be like in the company.
For this, it would be great if you can classify between general and specific responsibilities. For example, if we’re talking about digital marketing, the general responsibility could be generating leads for a company, while the specific responsibility could be leading the marketing team, carrying out SEO actions, etc.
The job description is a key resource in any recruitment process. Regarding the requested vacancy, it is the main source of information for both candidates and recruiters, also serving an administrative reference function.
At CodersLab, one of the first steps our recruitment team takes when receiving a request from a client is to write the job description. This way, it’s possible to establish criteria in the search for talent and define in a single place everything that candidates and recruiters need to carry out the process.
