Write a compelling job description and advertisement

To encourage ideal candidates to apply for your vacant position you will need to write a compelling job description and job advertisement.

Writing a compelling job description

The purpose of a job description is to accurately explain the requirements and responsibilities of the position. A job description typically has four main sections:

  • job title,
  • job summary,
  • responsibilities and duties,
  • qualifications and skills.

The starting point for writing a job description is to draw on your persona that you created for the vacant position.

A compelling job advertisement should provide enough detail for potential applicants to determine if they’re qualified for the position.

Job Title
  • Call the job what is – don’t be fancy, be concise (80 characters or less is recommended)
  • Include the experience and or grade level – e.g. senior, new graduate,
Job Summary
  • Write a strong and attention grabbing first paragraph introducing your business, the employer brand and why potential employees will love working for your business
  • Include the job location including links to CCP resources.
Responsibilities and duties
  • Write a concise outline of the core responsibilities of the position
  • If specific experience or skills are needed include the details — so candidates can determine if they’re qualified.
  • Highlight the day-to-day activities of the position—this will help potential candidates determine if the role and your business are the good fit for them.
  • Specify how the position fits into your business structure by including information about who the person reports to and where the position fits within your business.
Qualification and skills
  • Include a list of hard skills needed to perform the role (education, previous job experience, certifications, technical skills)
  • Drawing from your persona, consider including identified soft skills needed to be a success in the position (e.g. communication, problem solving and personality traits)
  • Be concise — only list the essential qualifications and skills needed
Contact person
  • Include the contact details (both mail & phone) of the line manager for interested candidates to discuss the position and consider adding an alternate.

Writing a compelling job advertisement

  • Use the concise job title decided on in the job description
  • Don’t exceed 2,000 characters for the job advertisement
  • Use a mix of bullet points and paragraphs to describe
  • Use ‘You’ to talk to potential candidates
  • Choose words and tone that reflect your business brand and EVP
  • Your first paragraph should highlight why a potential candidate would love to work for your business —What’s in it for me (WIIFM)
  • Contact number and/or email

Effectively advertise the position

There is no single formula on the type of content to develop and the best communication channels to use. These will differ depending on your ideal candidate persona and their life stage and the media channels they are like to use. What we do know is, that for successful recruitment it is essential that your business has an online presence.

An online presence includes having business pages on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram. This is simplest fast and most affordable way to promote your business brand to potential employees.

A LinkedIn survey found that nearly half of all professionals (49%) are following companies on social media with the intent to stay aware of their jobs.

Another effective way is having a business website with a careers page.

The same LinkedIn survey found that 75% of jobseekers research a company online before considering a job opportunity.

To generate positive feedback about your business consider gathering and sharing testimonials from your current employees.

Other proven channels for reaching potential employees include in-person events such as a having a business stall at career expos or at professional conferences.

Next Step:

Module 2: Recruit