When Was the Last Time You Updated Your Job Descriptions?

Are you getting the right candidates for your open positions? Are you getting any qualified candidates at all? Do you have to sift through reams of unpromising resumes before you find that rare exciting applicant?

If you’re getting the wrong answers to these questions, you should rethink your process. In fact, you might need to start from the very beginning. It might be time to update your job descriptions.

After all, you don’t get much time to make a connection with job seekers. One study, using eye-tracking technology, found that potential candidates reviewed a posting for an average of 14 seconds before deciding whether or not to apply. So, in the time it takes to send a text message, you’ve either hooked them or they’ve moved on forever.

Given this small window of time, it’s crucial to make the most out of your opportunity. But how do you know if your job descriptions need an upgrade?

Here are some steps you can take to determine whether you need to consider a rewrite:

Create the Right First Impression

Job descriptions work like profiles on a dating site. You probably don’t want to think of it that way, but they serve the same fundamental function: to spark interest and to start an ongoing dialog.

Make sure you accomplish this goal. Use pithy language that engages an audience. Tell a story. Deliver an effective sales pitch. Think of this as a marketing exercise, directed at job seekers rather than at customers.

Track Your Performance

Sometimes it’s hard to know whether a job description is working or not. When you place a posting online, you’re likely to see a good response, at least in terms of raw volume. As a result, you can’t just count applications. You have to go deeper to tell if you have optimized your opportunity to introduce yourself to candidates.

Create performance metrics that allow you to track how well your job postings attract the candidates you need. Don’t just rely on total applications. Set measures that allow you to analyze the quality of job seekers as well.

This will let you know whether you need to rethink your job descriptions the next time around. If you fall short in the number of high-level candidates you entice, you can start reviewing your process to find the weaknesses in your procedures.

How to Upgrade Your Job Descriptions

The decision to upgrade your job description opens up a new avenue of inquiry. Specifically, you need to figure out how to improve it. Here are a few common issues to keep in mind:

Check the Title: Your first chance to attract good candidates comes with the title of your job post. Or, if you don’t grab their attention, it can also represent your last chance. Make sure you craft something interesting and inviting.

Don’t Overwhelm with the Description: You want to provide enough details to give a good idea of what the job entails. However, you don’t want readers to lose focus or drift off. Remember: you’ll have further opportunities to communicate with applicants. Your job in the description is to encourage the right people to apply, not to tell the whole story in one shot.

Talk about the Future: The best candidates will have their eyes on long-term career expansion. You want ambitious, growth-oriented team members. Entice these job seekers by spotlighting the opportunities for promotion and development.

Emphasize Culture: In its most basic form, culture describes what it’s like to work at a company. Not just the duties and responsibilities, but the feeling your employees get during their day-to-day interactions. This represents a key component of life at your organization. As such, it should represent a crucial part of the job description. Explain your corporate culture in detail. That way, you will attract like-minded job seekers.

You have to master every step of the recruiting process to land the best candidates. That means optimizing everything from the job description to the interview, and everything in between. It helps to have expert direction. A top-notch recruiter, like SmartTalent, can give you the insight you need to maximize your team-building process.

Contact SmartTalent today to upgrade your recruiting efforts.