Most hiring managers never thought they would have to master the art of copywriting. Documentation – yes. Report writing – yes. Ad copy – not so much.
Job descriptions are at their essence advertisements. You’ve got an open role and you want the world of great talent to know and come your way. Sounds simple. But we are so far from the days when the balance of power in the hiring dynamic highly favored the company. In all the digital trust disciplines (IT audit, IT GRC, cybersecurity, etc.), candidates are scarce and choosy.
In considering career opportunities, millennials and Gen Z candidates are thinking about career growth, what they will learn on the job, the culture of the company, chemistry with the team, and very importantly, the impact their role will have.
The pandemic and the role-modeling of millennials the Gen Z-ers has pulled Gen X and Boomers along and driven an overall mindset shift in the way job candidates assess companies and opportunities. Everyone is choosier.
I spoke with a recruiter from a large global tech company about the problems with job descriptions and how they so often do a poor job of attracting active candidates – and an even worse job supporting the verbal presentation recruiters need to make to draw in passive candidates (i.e., a candidate not actively looking for a new role). She made a comment that was spot on: “The market is shifting. The job description is a very targeted piece of marketing information that needs to be on point because we are fighting for the top talent, not the middle of the road.”
Which is why the work of the lowly job description has become that much more important. It has to pull talent to you with the force of a mighty magnet. If your pull is weak, candidates will land with the other guys! With remote and hybrid work models, the candidate pool now spans the entire country. Competitors are ALL other companies seeking similar candidates.
Most job descriptions are written in haste. New headcount was authorized and speed is of the essence. Someone just resigned and the backfill on that role was needed – yesterday. The job of “content creation” generally falls on the hiring leader. In the US, Talent Acquisition or Human Resources may assist with the updating, and will typically review and vet for language to ensure the job description meets diversity, equity and inclusion requirements – which is critical.
For the harried hiring manager looking to get that job posted quickly, a past job description with a few tweaks is the solution for a task that appears to be administrative and one that has to get ticked off so that the real work can get done.
The problem is that tweaked boilerplate job descriptions often fail, often epically. A key indicator of that failure is low candidate flow.
Over the course of my many years in recruiting, I’ve read thousands of job descriptions. For this article I reviewed a heap more.
Here are key issues that surface in job descriptions that miss the mark:
- Missing a snappy introduction to the company, its values and culture
- Lacking information about the specific hiring team and its mission
- Not calling out the value the person taking the role will have – on projects and for the enterprise
- Not including responsibilities or opportunities that will positively differentiate the role
- Including a long wish list of skill sets
- Painting a picture of a very specific sort of candidate that will discourage a broader array of potentially very good candidates from applying
- Listing certifications, certain skills, and possibly even education levels as “required” when they might be only “preferred” and able to be earned (certs) or learned (skills) on the job
- Not highlighting exciting employee benefits or unique perks
- Poor grammar, typos, unattractive layout and/or poor readability.
In my review of job descriptions, I was testing the thesis that big-name companies, especially in tech – companies that loads of people in digital trust are clamoring to work for – would have the best job descriptions. That did not prove to be the case.
The big names do a pretty good job of selling the sizzle of their companies, and in many cases, providing context for roles and the special stuff they can offer candidates. But their job descriptions did not turn out to be the hands-down winning role models for others to emulate.
For example, a well-known manufacturing company posted a job description for an information security compliance analyst that included multiple grammatical errors.
And then there was the huge Silicon Valley company that has a job description on its website for a technical auditor that includes a list of 24 key requirements. I asked the head of IT audit at another highly regarded global company to review the posting. The feedback was that the company appeared to be looking for three different skill sets rolled into one position, and basically, good luck with that.
The job description was the epitome of portraying a role that only the proverbial “purple squirrel” candidate could fill. However, this company has a magnetic name (and a small army of internal recruiters), so maybe they will find this unique individual. But this job description would be a hindrance to hiring for most companies.
Recommendations for job description improvement:
I spoke with some innovative Talent Acquisition and hiring leaders to see what they are doing to improve their job descriptions. There was strong agreement on all sides that starting with a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion mindset was critical as a foundation for effective job descriptions. Assumptions about qualifications and experience need to be carefully analyzed and a broad, outside-the-box perspective taken to bring in candidates with diverse profiles who can effectively do the job.
Actionable fixes you can jump on:
- Think hard about what the job is now (as opposed to past iterations). What do you really need the person to do?
- Let it sizzle! What makes your company shine? What is the value and impact of the role?
- If there are cool projects or special initiatives that this role will be involved with, add that.
- What can you say about the management style of your team?
- How do you work with your team members to build their careers? Are there a number of alumni from your team that have grown their careers with the company? (This is especially compelling to millennials and Gen Z; also a very important selling point for audit functions.)
- Cast a bigger net by keeping the skill sets required broader rather than very specific. For example, do they have to know Python or simply have some coding experience? Do they have to come from “Big 4” or are you really looking for someone with consulting and client-facing skills?
- Be clear about what skills the person needs to have walking in the door. What can be trained on the job?
- List the preferred (nice-to-have) skills in a separate section.
- If certifications can be earned on the job (perhaps within a specific timeframe), say that.
- Identify the character traits that are important for success in the role and on your team. Persistence? Creative problem-solving? Resilience?
- Work to make the language vivid and engaging: modern rather than back-in-the-day. Employ active verbs like: influence, improve, analyze, lead, and ensure. Identify responsibilities rather than “duties.” Phrasing might include something like: “You will be involved with …”
- Add perks or benefits that are unique to your team or company.
We are so busy. Is all this worth it?
Absolutely.
Writing a great job description is akin to writing a great résumé. The goal of both these marketing pieces (which is what they both are) is to create an attractive value proposition that draws the attention of the right people. The process is not hard but it does require thought, and sometimes, stripping away old assumptions.
The benefits of the time you will spend to draft better job descriptions are enormous with strong ROI:
- Increased candidate flow
- An improved corporate and departmental brand
- More effective interviews
- Faster and more successful hiring
When you and your team know clearly WHO you are looking for, and WHAT they will do, and WHAT the value proposition of the role is, you will be able to identify qualified candidates faster, across a broader range of candidate profiles.
Your team will be better able to engage their networks and bring in referral candidates.
Your interviews will be more focused because you have done the work to know WHAT interviewers should be asking and listening for.
You’ll have more confidence in making your pick and getting your offers out faster – before the competition scoops up your target candidate.
Finally, there will be less room for candidate fall-off and buyer’s remorse because you and your team were able to give the candidate a clear and transparent view of what they will be doing on the job during the interview process.
There you have it. As always, I welcome your feedback and comments!