5 Tips for Writing Effective Job Descriptions

For a long time now, employers have been under the false impression that their job descriptions should be worded to prevent unqualified people from applying for the position. But according to Business News Daily, a good job ad should be written to attract the perfect candidates. All you are doing when you are trying to keep unqualified candidates away is leaving out the information qualified candidates need to be interested in your job.

Employers looking to fill positions with quality candidates need to learn the intricacies of writing good employment ads. It is not rocket science, but writing a good job ad does require some planning and understanding of what good candidates are looking for.

Be Specific About Job Responsibilities

A good job ad outlines exactly what the position requires and tells candidates what skill set they should have. Anyone reading a detailed description of the job responsibilities in your ad will know right away of they are the right person for the job. In this way, constructing a good job description will weed out those undesirable candidates you wanted to avoid in the first place.

Highlight Great Things About Your Company

According to Inman.com, too many job ads make the companies sound like sterile places to work and no one wants to work in a boring environment. When you write your job ad, be sure to put in some of the highlights of your corporate culture and include things that will attract people who will best fit in with the rest of your organization.

Don’t Oversell It

If you plan on writing a job ad that starts off with the statement “We only want the most aggressive people,” then stop writing. The days of using overreaching statements to try and get your job ad more attention are over. Don’t oversell your company or the job opening. Just offer solid information that gives each potential candidate the information they need to determine whether or not they want to apply.

Always Include Pay Information

The competitive nature of recruiting has forced companies to do things that were unheard of just a few years ago. It used to be that putting salary information in a job ad was taboo, but times have changed. When you write your perfect job ad, include salary and benefit information to help entice more qualified candidates to apply.

Break Your Content Down

Even though you are offering someone the chance to advance their career, you still need to write your job ad with your audience in mind. These days, people skim information and read in small paragraphs. Break up your job ad with bold subheadings and provide your information in small, digestible pieces to get better results.

Your job ad will be competing with hundreds of other ads for attention, but you do not want to go overboard to have your ad stand out. When you include the right information and put your ad in the right format, then you will get plenty of interest from qualified candidates.

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