Job post vs job description
A job post and a job description are often considered as being one and the same. It’s true that both serve similar purposes are usually located together, but they actually differ in many ways.
A job description communicates the role responsibilities and the desired qualifications and experience for a job.
On the other hand, a job post acts as an advertisement. It complements a job description by being a shorter but more dazzling version that captures the attention of candidates.
A job post should include information about the company, as well as a sneak peek into the company’s culture (benefits, perks, values, etc). The goal is to provide as much information as possible, while motivating desirable candidates to apply.
How to write a job post and job description
Most companies overlook job descriptions and posts and don't realize that, more often than not, they make up the first impression that a candidate has with a company. Too often, we encounter the same generic descriptions, as if there was a universal template that all organizations follow. That’s why we’ve identified a 10 simple action-items for you to craft a compelling job description and job post to help you stand out from the crowd and attract top talent.
1. Have a realistic job title
Since the job title is the first thing a job seeker sees when viewing a job description, it must be clear and enticing. It must include the job function, like accounting or engineering, as well as the organizational level, such as assistant or manager. The job title needs to be relatable to prospective employees, for this will motivate them to pursue the job description further. These days, companies like to spruce up their job titles by using non-traditional ones, like “Marketing Guru” or “Accounting Wizard”. These kinds of titles can be problematic because they can demotivate qualified professional candidates from applying and they aren’t optimized for search engines, meaning your job post may not appear when job seekers enter titles that they relate to.
2. Make the work location obvious
Displaying the location in the center makes it easy for candidates to filter to see if the role is something they should apply to. The last thing that you want is to waste time sifting through resumes from qualified candidates, who are unable to commute to your position’s location. If the location is in a major city, we recommended that companies indicate a neighbourhood in the job posting so that extra research is not required. Some companies have roles that can be remote and some companies are remote altogether. If you have roles like this, it would be beneficial to mention that on the job posting as well.
3. Include a role objective
Before you get into the meaty parts of the job description, it's important to have a brief description of what the nature of the job role includes. Explain the reasons why your company is recruiting for this position, the desired goals to be accomplished by prospective employees, and how they can go about attaining them. Don’t forget to mention who the successful candidate will report to and which team he or she will be working with. The role objective should be a pretext to the specific job responsibilities.
4. List the important duties of the position
Here is where you elaborate on the role objective by listing responsibilities in bullet points. It’s crucial to list the exact duties that are required from the new hire so that prospective candidates can determine if they are qualified to apply for the position or not. Your job description can be much more effective if you use terminology that is consistent with the industry you are recruiting for when listing the job responsibilities.
5. Quantify a reasonable number of required years of experience
At first glance, the necessary qualifications component of a job description may seem self-explanatory. You simply state both the desired education and the number of years of experience required, right? In reality, it’s common for many companies to overestimate the necessary amount of years of experience desired. This is because organizations do not normally spend time pondering about the years of experience component, and as a result, this lack of thinking can prevent qualified candidates from applying. Instead of making short-sighted guesses of appropriate ranges, we recommend that you consult with hiring managers to determine what their opinions might be and whether they are reasonable or not. It’s also important to take into account the levels of experience among other employees in the department you are recruiting for to better understand what is required for the position.
6. Give a brief description of your company
This section seems like a given, but in reality, not many companies choose to put considerable effort into making this appealing to candidates. A company description should include information about what your company does, the kind of work culture that is present, as well as a summary of your mission, purpose, and values. Having a clear work culture, mission, and purpose is very important because job-seekers not only want jobs that they are qualified for, but they also want to be a part of an organization that fits their interests, values, and personality traits.
We recommend taking some time to ask your current employees about what their perspectives are on your company culture and values to better understand your employer brand.
7. Showcase your company’s culture and recognition
To add some more dazzle to your job post, your company can add photos that feature your employees and your company’s culture. It’s also a great idea to include links to your company’s social pages (Instagram, Twitter, linkedIn, and Facebook, etc) to show top talent what you have to offer. You can even go further and talk about industry awards and recognition that your company has received, as well as the various community involvement initiatives your company takes part in.
8. Mention an exclusive benefits package
Even though it’s always a good idea to indicate the kinds of benefits your company provides, like health and dental insurance, vacation time off, and retirement savings plans, it’s important to also talk about exclusive benefits.
Nowadays, job seekers are more attracted to benefits and perks that include flexible work hours, discounts on gym memberships, mentorship programs, employee wellness programs, or fun office niceties, like free lunches. Company perks like these help your company to be seen as an attractive place to work. If your organization does not already offer exclusive benefits, it’s a good idea to have a meeting with management to discuss the possibility of incorporating them into your offering.
9. Generalize a salary range
Many organizations question whether a salary range should be mentioned in a job description. It’s common for companies to provide a general range, as well as a collective phrase, like “competitive compensation” or “compensation will commensurate with experience”. We recommend giving job seekers some idea about how much they can earn at the beginning of the recruitment process because it ensures that salary expectations are consistent with yours from the start.
10. Communicate work, travel, and compliance-related information
Similar to location, job seekers are not interested in applying to jobs that operate during work hours or have mandatory travel requirements that are not compatible with their schedules. To avoid this, it’s a good idea to provide as much detail as possible in the job description to ensure that candidates feel confident in their abilities to work in accordance with job requirements. In addition, your organization should always be informed about the kinds of legal information that need to be mentioned in your job description. As an example, government organizations and banking institutions are required to perform background checks on candidates before offering employment, so this is mentioned in the job descriptions. We recommend that you consult with a legal adviser to determine if any other information should be mentioned.
Extra tips
Refrain from using patronizing language
Be cautious of crafting a job description that tells candidates not to apply if they are not ambitious or over-achieving. This kind of language or similar statements can demotivate exceptional candidates from pursuing your job roles.
Implement gender-neutral pronouns
It’s best to not use pronouns like, he or she or him or her because it shows job seekers that you are interested in a specific person or gender. As a result, this can create a negative bias of your company in the minds of candidates. Try pronouns like “their, them, etc”.
Attract desirable candidates by individualizing pages
If your goal is to target a specific talent group, like seasoned professionals or new grads, then consider designating a job post page with titles that are geared toward those groups. For example, to attract new grads, use a title that says, “mentorship programs, internships, and entry-level opportunities”. You can build on this section by showcasing photos, testimonials, and videos that talk about recent employees who have held these roles and their experiences with your company.
Job descriptions and postings might seem daunting to write, but once you have a formula that works, showing off your company will be no problem! In short, your job postings should aim at being as informative as possible, while not sounding like other descriptions that came before it.
Blog written by: Humi is Canada’s HR, Payroll, and Benefits solution for Canadian small-medium sized businesses. Companies use Humi to manage their employee data, employee onboarding, time off tracking, performance management, recruiting, reporting, payroll, and employee benefits. Humi enables companies to ditch the paperwork and focus on what's important – their employees.
