The job description is often the first touchpoint a potential candidate has with your company. In addition to ensuring your job post is reflective of the position and factually accurate, it is also important to include content and visuals that will attract the right candidate for the job.
Assess your current job description
Keep your job posts short and easy to navigate in order to keep the reader’s attention. A Ladder’s study indicated that job seekers only spend an average of 49.7 seconds before deciding that a job isn’t right for them. Use bullets for the job requirements, desired skills and benefits so applicants can quickly scan to see if the opportunity is a fit. Along with condensing the job description, use relevant job titles to help job seekers find your postings when searching. Although words like “rock star,” “ninja,” or “guru” are fun, they may prevent your job listing from appearing in candidate searches.
Additionally, you may want to consider running your language through a tool like Textio which makes recommendations to improve the language to make it less biased. Don’t forget to check for spelling, grammar and syntax errors which can be aided by a spellchecker.
In addition to informing potential applicants of the desired role, the job description should highlight the personality of your brand, the mission and what it’s like to work there. As the first touchpoint, it’s essential to create a lasting impression with the candidate. When reviewing your existing job posts, consider the following questions:
- Do applicants understand the values of our organization?
- Is our culture reflected?
- Are photos, videos and/or testimonials an accurate representation?
- Are places where more information can be obtained included (website, social media, etc.)?
Include information the right candidate wants to know
A Glassdoor study found that 67% of job seekers want salary details in a job posting. If this is dependent on experience, consider providing a base level or range of pay to attract more fitting candidates. This will also help your organization eliminate anyone who’s outside of your budget right away.
In addition to salary and other, more technical requirements, calling attention to desired soft skills can help attract an ideal fit. The key to effectively communicating soft skills in a job description is to be specific. Instead of listing “communication” as a desired skill, include which scenarios that communication will be used in. There is quite a difference between regularly writing emails and delivering presentations on behalf of the company.
Additionally, detail how this position and your company will be an asset in the growth of their professional career. Include skills they will learn, the people they will interact with and professional development opportunities that will be available to them.
Paint a picture
In order to attract the best candidates, companies should market their brand much like they would their service or product. Make sure you put your best foot forward and “sell” why someone would want to come work for your company. What do you offer that others don’t? What is the corporate culture, work-life balance and your ultimate contribution to the world at large?
Highlighting these experiences can often be difficult in text, which is where rich media comes into play. Whenever possible, incorporate branding, visuals and videos directly into your job description experience. Additionally, using visuals attracts younger talent, like Gen Z who have grown up in a largely visual world. A study by Software Advice found that 51% of respondents were positively influenced by video in job advertisements. Feature a video of employees discussing why they enjoy working at your company and executives highlighting the company’s culture, vision and mission statement.
Try using VIZI to transform your job description into an engaging experience using visuals. VIZIs can be easily shared on job boards, via email, text and are ideal for social media recruitment.