Here is a guide on how to make a job description. Laying out the various expectations of the company for any job post to the candidates is essential in the recruiting process. Once you understand the expectations, you will get a clear picture of the perfect candidate for the task. Even the candidate gets an idea of whether or not he is fit for that job.
To make a clear job description, you should understand there are two recruiting situations in a company.
1) When you are hiring for a completely new job and in an existing job to replace an employee. When the job post is new, you should make specifications of your right candidate. In your job description, make sure you have fully described the positions responsibilities, experience, and qualifications, to ease the hiring process.
2) In case the job position is an existing one, it is the best time to polish the existing job description by making changes where needed. Since the responsibilities and duties of a job position changes with time, make sure the description is in line with the requirements and tasks of the position.
The importance of a good job description includes:
- Acting as performance management tool.
- Forms the basis of the employment contract.
- Describing the competencies and skills required for outstanding performance in the job.
- Defining the position of the job in the hierarchy of the company.
Mistakes to avoid when making a good job description
Not reviewing regularly – Because companies are evolving with time, you should review the job description for any position regularly without failure, to make it valuable.
Use of discriminatory words – Although this rarely happens, you should avoid the use of some of the words in the job description, making it look discriminative, and as a result turning away some good candidates.
Avoiding reality – Do not make an impossible wish list, but achievable and realistic roles of the position.
Here are steps on making a good job description
1) Job title
The job title is the most fundamental element of a job description. For effectiveness, the job title should be specific, to precisely describe the role of the job post. Also, the job title should be concise, and it should not include internal lingo, to avoid confusing the job seeker.
Here are some of the qualities of a good title:
- Self-explanatory, to make the recruitment process easy. When advertising online, you should note that the title acts as the keyword.
- Free from age and gender implications.
- Generic enough for comparison with similar jobs in the industry, to ensure there is equity in conditions and pay.
- Specific on the nature of the job and duties.
- Shows the ranking order of jobs in the company.
The job title, Parking Inspector is a perfect one, as in clearly shows the position and duties of the job position.
2) Job Summary
After crafting a good job title, open your job description with an attention-grabbing summary. The summary should give the candidates an overview of the position expectations and the company as a whole. The job description acts as an introduction to your company. Therefore, include details that make the company outstanding, as a summary of why one would work for the company. Also, you should include the location of the company in the summary.
3) Duties and responsibilities
This entails listing the main duties and responsibilities associated with the position, as well as the expected time of delivery. However, the duties and responsibilities should be concise but detailed. Responsibilities that are unique in the organization should be emphasized with details, to ensure those applying are candidates with all the qualifications.
To help the candidates in understanding the work environment and daily activities in the company, make sure you highlight all daily activities of the position. By doing so, the candidates will weigh if they are fit, and you will only get the best candidates attending the interview.
4) Skills and qualifications
Since skills and qualifications are different, you should list them separately, both soft and hard. Qualifications are attributes the candidate should show in the job position, while skills are activities to carry out based on what the candidate has learned previously.
Among the skills to include in the job description are job experience, the level of education, and certifications needed in the position. On the other hand, qualifications to include are personality traits, ability to solve problems, flexibility, teamwork, leadership, and communication.
Since skills can be obtained through training and learning, most jobs consider behavioral qualifications of the candidates keenly, because they can be taught. To avoid blocking potential candidates in your interview, ensure the skills and qualification list is concise.
5) Relationships
Your job description should include the working relationships and reporting lines by showing the position of the job in the hierarchy of the organization. To give the candidate a clear structure of the organization, and where the position fits, you should clarify who reports to the candidates and where they also report. The working relationship shows the departments the candidate will be working with and the people in those positions. Off course, this is generally done for job descriptions above executive levels.
6) Salary
Instead of assigning a specific salary to the position, let your job description have a salary range that is not only competitive to similar positions in different organizations but also gives room for variation in experience and level of education. However, the salary range should be updated regularly, based on time and change in pay scales.
In conclusion, you should come up with an interview outline based on either updated or new job description that has all the qualities you are looking for from the candidates. To come up with the best job description and to ease the hiring process, you should seek advice from other managers.
To make your job description good and attractive, make it clear and concise. A clear and concise job description will give the candidates the sense of priorities required, and a clear picture of the best candidate for the position. Additionally, a good job description is the best reference when disciplinary and dispute issues happen, and it is a tool for measuring the performance of the candidates.
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