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Finding talent is hard.
Finding the right talent is even harder.
If you’re in the market for a new hire, one of the key things to get right in your candidate search is your job or position description.
Not to be confused with your (also incredibly important) job ad, a job or position description is an internal company document that dives into the details of a particular role. A position description covers basic information such as the job title, job summary and company mission, as well as specifying the requirements and responsibilities of the role.
Why is my position description important when selling a job?
A position description (PD) combines all the relevant information about a role in one place, and if used correctly, will help you attract the most qualified candidates to your job.
For example, your PD can be used to:
- Write a detailed, accurate and interesting job ad. Use your PD to write your job ad so it truly reflects the vacant position.
- Benchmark applicants against position requirements and responsibilities. Cross-check each applicant’s resume with your PD to identify their degree of suitability for the role. Then you can focus your time on selling the job to the most relevant applicants.
- Structure your interview. Use your PD to identify the job’s top selling features and build your interview around them. You can also use it to plan what questions to ask your candidates.
- Supplement the interview process.
Provide a copy of your PD to interviewees. This complements the job selling process as candidates can delve into the details of the job that interest them long after their interview.
- Retain great employees. Selling the role doesn’t stop just because someone has accepted the job. Employees should buy into their role day-after-day. Use your PD to set your new hire’s expectations and guide them to success.
As you can see, having a compelling PD is essential for recruiting and retaining great employees. Read on for our guide on how to write a compelling PD that actually sells the job.
How to write a compelling PD to secure great talent
A great PD should contain a few ‘must-haves’, and some optional ‘should haves’ that can take it to the next level and help sell your job to the right candidates.
Here are those all-important ‘must-haves’:
Position Title
Your PD starts with a position title that accurately reflects your job’s roles and responsibilities. It shouldn’t be overly wordy. If you have to take a breath when saying it out loud, it’s way too long!
It’s also important to make sure it’s a true representation of the employee’s level of responsibility. For example, don’t call an Accounts Payable Officer the Chief Executive Officer for Accounts.
Position Team or Department
Name the team or department the job belongs to in your company. This could include the authority they report to as well as any team members who directly report to them.
Here you should also include position progression opportunities to show your applicants future career paths - a key selling point for ambitious candidates!
Company’s Mission and Values
Culture fit is arguably one of the most important factors employees consider when taking on a role (and whether they stay in it). Often overlooked, including company mission and values will help a candidate identify alignment between your values and their own - a fantastic hook.
If you want to take this one step further, include information about the line manager and department team members. We spend around 40 hours a week with our work colleagues. Including information on existing team working styles and personalities might be what pushes an unsold candidate across the line.
Position Statement, Summary, Brief Description
The position statement, also known as the position summary or description, is an expanded version of the job title.
To help you form a good position statement that sells the job, think of it as an elevator pitch. Imagine explaining the job to a stranger in a matter of seconds. It might be a summary of the major responsibilities associated with the job, where the role sits in the workplace, along with who the employee reports to. For example, in a sales and marketing job description, a good position statement may read:
“This is a high-quality sales and marketing role that pushes sales of our core product – premade website designs. You will act as an intermediary between producers and clients, arranging and attending face-to-face meetings but also making cold calls to boost sales.”
Responsibilities
This is where you get to the nitty-gritty of your PD – the part the applicant hones in on to see what they’re really up for on a day-to-day basis.
Write a detailed but concise bullet point list of core responsibilities, including all day-to-day activities incumbent in the job.
As an example, here’s what a good responsibilities section should look like for a Senior Payroll Officer.
Reporting to the Payroll Manager your responsibilities will include:
- Setting up new starters
- Assisting with processing fortnightly payroll
- Processing annual leave, sick leave and long service leave requests
- Processing payroll adjustments
- Assisting with payroll queries via email and phone
- Award & EBA Interpretation
- Working closely with the rostering and HR teams
Skills, Experience, Qualifications
List the minimum and preferred skills, experience, and/or qualifications you require. Avoid listing all of them as a long list. This is a good way to overwhelm and scare people away. This section is another good spot to use bullet points.
Requirements
When creating a compelling PD, it’s important to list the requirements of the job role so people understand the level of skill demanded.
For example, a Call Centre Customer Service Clerk may require proficiencies in using a specific ERP system such as SAP, Pronto or Oracle.
Note: you might find it easier to combine the requirements and skills/experience/qualifications sections together.
Now you know the essentials for a great PD, here are the ‘should haves’ that are guaranteed to help sell your job.
Five tips to take your PD to the next level
Highlight the important
When writing your PD, it’s vital you prioritise what's important in the role to help a candidate visualise a picture of the job and its expectations. A good way to do this is to use actionable keywords to describe how their everyday job will impact the company.
For example, “Assist project teams to implement communication programs, campaigns, products and events to boost our brand and increase market share”, or “Champion innovation in our company by supporting the change and adoption team with a variety of tasks such as (list two or three key tasks).”
Spice it up
This is your opportunity to show off your unique points of difference to attract candidates who are the same. Avoid the generic and spruik what makes you great to work for.
It’s also a chance to show off your company’s personality (hopefully you have a good one!). Use our Position Description Template as a base and then add your flair to it. Consider using humorous language if appropriate - if you can make someone smile or laugh, you’ll keep their attention.
Avoid buzzwords and jargon
Things like ‘rock star’, ‘ninja’ or ‘wizard’ might be buzzwords but as with all fads, it doesn’t take long for them to fade and become irrelevant. Plus, they offer no true value. What does it really mean to be a ‘rock star salesperson’? Your words matter. Ensure they mean something.
Lead with benefits, follow up with details
Features tell, but benefits sell. When writing the responsibilities section of your PD, be sure to include benefits of the listed tasks where possible.
For example, a Personal Assistant may be required to provide administrative support to their boss’s wider team. When leading with benefits this responsibility may become:
“Work closely with, and learn from a team of industry experts as you provide administrative support to the GM’s wider team.”
Better yet, include a dedicated section for benefits and perks to really highlight what makes your company and the role great.
Be inclusive
Some words may turn your female contenders away. Words like ‘competitive’, ‘chairman’, ‘salesman’, ‘aggressive’ and a number of others in your PD may not the best choices if you want to sell your job to a diverse range of applicants.
A final word on your position description
Taking the time to write a great PD will bring its rewards, tenfold. You can use your PD throughout every stage of the hiring process to help sell potential candidates on the job. From writing your job ad, to interviewing, to your new hire’s first day on the job, your PD will save you time and effort finding the right person for your vacant role.
To get a head start in your PD writing game, download our Position Description Template. It has all the essentials to ensure your PD is on point. If you need some extra support using your PD to sell your job to great candidates, please draw on our resources here at Veritas Recruitment. We’d love to help.
Date published :11/08/2018
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