Hiring great talent starts with attracting great talent.
If you’ve been looking for a job recently on LinkedIn, chances are you’ve come across at least a few impossible job postings.
You know, the type that lists mile-long requirements, demands unrealistic workloads and leaves you shaking your head in disbelief.
It blows my mind how many people put together job descriptions in 20 minutes and just post it online.
They don’t think about how the posting comes across to a real candidate looking for a job.
They don’t read the posting out loud.
They don’t share the posting with friends or co-workers and ask them to take an in-depth look.
For example, here’s how a big “successful” company messed this up.
This laughable posting for Human Resources Manager is all just broad, generic and inhuman garbage.
Feel inspired?
Better apply.
Good luck.
Here’s the simple truth.
The job description is your chance to sell the role and vision to the best candidates in the business.
If you create a bad listing, you’re going to get bad candidates.
If you want "A" players applying, you need an "A" sales pitch.
In other words, if you can’t be bothered to make a stand-out job description, candidates won’t be bothered to stand out and do amazing things for your company.
The bad news is that 99% of job postings are painfully boring.
The good news is 99% of job postings are painfully boring.
Since so few companies invest in job postings, there is so much room to stand out.
Here's a job posting in the 1%.
Your job post should be more than a list of requirements, it should strengthen your employer brand.
Paint a vivid picture of the nitty-gritty and you’ll help candidates self-select, saving time for all.
Be direct and personal so that your top candidate thinks, “Yes! That’s me.”
Be conversational and read it out loud; if you wouldn’t say the words, don’t use them.
Ruthlessly delete buzzwords.
As an organisation, it’s great to have values.
But it’s a whole lot better to use them.
Don’t be tempted to just list them, demonstrate them. (Check this rant.)
People don’t buy the object, they buy the story, so dress it up, build a story around it, and let the story do the work.
"Most job descriptions suck. And the reason they suck is, in a sense, archaeological: Job postings tend to be compliance-driven retreads from the last time that position was filled, and the time before that, and the time before that. As a result, many of them are text-dense fossils of the same language an employer used to advertise an opening back when candidates still faxed in their resumes. They do little to inform or compel the best job seekers to apply."
Above all, learn the difference between job description and job posting.
While a job description is an internal document that explains company’s job position in a formal tone, a job posting, on the other hand, is an advertisement for your open job description meant for external use, to attract candidates.
Job description explains the job, while job posting sells it.
Your job posts may be the first interaction a candidate has with your company.
Since they may be scrolling through dozens posted by your competitors, it’s essential to spark their interest and earn a second glance.
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