How to create the perfect job description

An effective job description is the first step in finding the right talent for your company. Not only will it help you sell the role to prospective candidates, it will also allow you to make informed hiring decisions that meet the needs of your business. 

But how do you craft a great job description? To help, we’ve created this step-by-step guide including advice from Joshua Bryan, Financial Services director at Robert Walters Japan.

1. Job title

The job title is the first thing candidates will see. It’s important that the job title summarizes the position. Avoid adding language and acronyms that are specific to the company’s internal structure, as it may put off external candidates.

In order to target the right candidates and avoid confusing prospective applicants on the job responsibilities, job titles should be concise and specific.

2. Company description 

In order to attract talent, you need to present your company’s values, goals, and appeal clearly. Job descriptions should start with a clear description of what the company can offer candidates and how its culture enables employees to grow and develop their careers.

More candidates are placing importance on joining a company with similar values. Starting with a persuasive company description can catch a candidate’s attention and ensure that they keep reading.

3. Job summary

“After describing the company, provide a brief summary of the role. You should keep the language simple and avoid any company-specific jargon,” advises Joshua. “However, this description needs to get the candidate excited about the role,” he adds. “Line managers may not have the skillset needed to produce a stirring job summary, so consider speaking to your marketing department or a copywriter to add that all-important flair to your job description.”

4. Role requirements

“As well as summarising the role, effective job descriptions should include a list of the critical skills required for the role,” says Joshua. Any specific expertise needed to carry out the day-to-day responsibilities, such as programming language or knowledge of a particular software, should be included to ensure candidates are able to hit the ground running from the moment they start.

“Add these requirements as a simple, succinct list of bullet points that’s easy for candidates to read whether they’re using a desktop or mobile device to view the listing,” Joshua adds.

5. ‘Nice-to-haves’

“Alongside the minimum skills and knowledge required for the role, you may wish to include a few desired qualities you’d like to see in the ideal candidate, whether technical knowledge or soft skills,” continues Joshua. However, he warns against including more than five ‘nice-to-have’ qualities in a job description as this could end up disincentivising candidates from applying in the first place.

As he notes, “including too many requirements, even if they are only desired qualities, could make candidates feel disqualified from the role, meaning you miss out on the best available talent.”

6. Salary information

You should carefully consider whether to include the salary in a job description. Salary could be used by candidates to understand the level of the role, but companies may consider it to be very sensitive information. The decision to include it will largely depend on the role.

It’s important to remember that including salary information may turn away candidates. The amount may be too high or too low for prospective candidates. Consider using a broad range or not including it at all.

7. Layout

Job descriptions need to grab the reader’s attention immediately and convey the necessary information in a brief and convincing manner. Long job descriptions or dense paragraphs should be avoided. Use bullet points and short paragraphs to ensure candidates keep reading.

And one other thing to remember…

Ownership

“To write an effective job description, it’s essential one person has a clear sense of ownership over the process,” warns Joshua. He suggests that even though HR will ultimately need to have a role in crafting the job description – even if it’s simply providing a template – it should be the line manager of the new hire who has full ownership of the job description.

“The line manager is generally the best-placed person to ensure a job description is sufficiently descriptive in terms of competences and other requirements of the role,” he adds.