Job descriptions are important as they are often the first point of contact between your business and prospective applicants. Well written job descriptions will attract the most promising candidates to your business, and simultaneously weed out those who apply to every job opening they come across because you never know. Most experts suggest that you think of a job description as a snapshot of a job. It must give job hunters a clear overall depiction of what the job entails, and what skills you consider are essential for applicants to maintain the standards of your business.
Others recommend that before you sit down to write a job description, you first conduct a job analysis to determine the exact requirements of the job. It s important to clarify your expectations regarding the position, for example, what you would like an employee to accomplish and how you would like them to go about it. You also need to consider where the position fits within the overall scheme of your company, how it relates to other departments and the role that it plays in your company s success. Don t forget to list all of the tasks the job entails, physical as well as mental. This is important to measure what kind of qualifications and skills an applicant will need to cope with the demands of the job.
When it comes to the qualifications and skills section, you need to take care to be as accurate and as objective as possible. You may favor applicants with impressive tertiary level qualifications, but in your line of work on the job, experience could actually be more advantageous. By discriminating against applicants with a wealth of experience but no formally recognized qualifications you could be doing yourself damage. Advertising new jobs and writing new job descriptions provide an ideal opportunity for you to focus on your company s future, and the skills that will be required to ensure success in the years to come. Don t hold on to ancient systems used in the past if you believe they can be updated and brought in line with current and future goals and objectives.
Job descriptions need to be written as accurately and succinctly as possible so that applicants know exactly what is expected of them. They will also serve to get rid of any confusion or discontents further down the line should dissatisfaction regarding the scope of responsibilities arise.
Clear job descriptions are also essential if you recruit companies to assist you in your search for competent employees. As recruitment agencies aren t privy to the intimate and intricate systems that keep your business on course, the only indication that they have of your needs are your well written job descriptions. Their recommendation will be based on the information that you provide. If you find that applicants are repeatedly not coming up to scratch, it could be because your job description needs some refining in terms of content and structure.