When you are writing a job description for someone else, you have to be mindful of the fact that they are going to be reading it. You want to ensure that they understand what they are being offered, and that you have clearly defined the tasks and responsibilities of the role. Inevitably, you are going to be describing what the role entails – what the person will be doing on a day-to-day basis. When doing this, you have to keep in mind certain words and phrases that might trip them up. One of the more common mistakes that employers make is putting in writing descriptions that are too broad. In other words, they think that writing something like, “creates effective marketing material”, is sufficient. One of the reasons why this can be such a stumbling block is because HR departments are overworked and understaffed. As a result, they have to rush through these job descriptions, trying to keep up with the demands of the business. That is usually why a lot of the material in these descriptions is so general – to ensure that they can be applied to several roles in the company.
Another mistake that often gets made is not defining terms that are important to the role. If you are writing a job description for a digital marketer, and you don’t define SEO and PPC, how is the person who is reading it supposed to know what these terms mean? The same goes for a content creator, or a social media manager – without defining what those terms mean, how is the person reading it supposed to know what they are looking for?
In some cases, the role might be so new that there are no standard examples to go off of. In these situations, it might be a good idea to redefine the role, so that everyone who hears about it knows exactly what it is that is being described. For example, the role of a digital marketer might be known as a content creator. However, instead of just listing content creation as part of the role, you could redefine it as follows:
- creates content that is relevant, on a regular and consistent basis
- understands the various distribution platforms and understands how to use them to reach a particular audience
- has knowledge of SEO and how to use it effectively to grow a site’s audience, get more visibility, and increase sales
As you can see, this new definition includes a lot more than just content creation. It describes the overall goal of the role and specifies what is needed to achieve that goal. In addition, by including the word “effectively”, you are making it clear that you want someone with real-world experience in this field. A good rule of thumb is to always, always, include the terms that are specific to this role in your job description. This will help everyone who reads it and understands what it is that you are looking for. In some cases, it might even become a selling point for the role – something that makes the person reading it say, “yes, I would definitely like to work in this role”. In other words, if you are writing a job description for a salesperson, and you include the phrase, “sales is something that I’m good at”, that might just be enough to get them to say “yes”. The same applies to any new or redefined roles that you have within an organization. You can use specific examples to help the person reading it understand what it is that you are looking for. In addition, you can outline any training that is needed for the role. This will help the recruiter understand what their new hire will need in terms of professional development. It also provides you with a way to demonstrate your expectations – if the person reading it does not see any training requirements, they might question whether or not you are expecting them to have the necessary skills. Including this information in the description is also a good idea, particularly if you are trying to get the person reading it to want the role. It shows that you are taking the time to consider their needs, as well as your expectations.
The Importance Of A Skills-Based Approach
One of the things that makes a good job description stand out is the fact that it is based on real-world experience. Obviously, you can include any academic or professional qualifications that a person might have, but the fact that you have specified a set of tasks and responsibilities is what helps make it stand out. Even if you are writing a job description for a role that does not require any formal education, it is still beneficial to list the skills that you are looking for, as this will make it easier for the person reading it to find a match. With so much information online, it is easy for anyone to find a skills-based job description, especially if they are looking for something specific, like SEO or PPC. In other words, if you are looking for a job in digital marketing, and you see a job description that is well-written and includes the terms SEO and PPC, you can rest assured that you are looking at a job description that has been written by someone with experience in this field. In some cases, it might even be someone who is currently working in the role.
The important thing is that the description is accurate and provides enough information for the person reading it to understand what it is that you are looking for. If the description is not based on real-world experience, it can become very difficult to determine how effective the job might be – especially if the role is relatively new, and there are no other professionals who can take on the responsibility. In these situations, it might not be a bad idea to hire someone who is already working in the role, and who can take on the responsibility immediately. In most cases, this will ensure that you do not have to spend a lot of time training someone who is already on the job. At the end of the day, employers have to stop putting off hiring until someone is available. By acting sooner, they can increase their productivity, and minimize the chance of errors. In the interim, they can either train the person who is currently doing the role, or put in place processes and systems to minimize the risk of errors. If you are in a position to define a process or system, do so – this will earn you some brownie points with your manager, as well as increase the likelihood of the role being fulfilled to a certain level of effectiveness. In other words, if a role involves traveling, and you know that a certain type of traveling happens to be really expensive – do not write the role as “travels occasionally”. Define the role as follows:
- Travels within a certain distance of the city or town in which the company is located, at least once every three months
- Travels internationally, once every six months
- Considers new destinations and finds value in visiting different parts of the country
Including these sorts of things in your job description shows that you are taking into account the unique challenges that someone might face when assuming this role. In addition, it shows that you have considered the person’s motivations – why they might want to do this particular type of work. If you define the role as follows:
- Helps to grow the overall size of the firm’s customer base
- Improves existing customer relations, through effective communication
- Serves as a face to face salesperson, when dealing with existing customers