After experiencing departmental reorganization or even an entire restructuring of your organization, you will undoubtedly have openings for new hires to join the team. One way to attract the right people to the departments that need filling is to post the job description on a hiring board or website and wait for the resumes to pour in. However, some clients have said they experience a less than satisfactory volume in applicants, or they say that the people who are submitting their resumes do not have the correct skills or knowledge.
What is happening?
It all boils down to the quality of the job description. Regardless of the job, your ability to describe it well is like making a winning sales pitch. If the description does not explain the job properly, people are likely to get confused—and that leads to applicants that you can’t call back. A well written and concise job description is important, which is why we are going to discuss some ways to write them better than before.
What Job Descriptions Are
We have all seen examples of badly composed job descriptions that add layers of confusion to the job hunt. In order to attract the correct candidates to fill the positions you need filling after department reorganization, you need job descriptions that do the following:
- Describes the minimum qualifications for receiving the job
- Serves as a guide for comparable salaries in the industry
- Details skills and knowledge that helps applicants match up their own abilities
- Functions as a basis for developing assessments and job interview questions
- Provides details about the position that translate into “help wanted” postings
- Shows ways employees can set goals within their careers and grow with the organization
- Serves as documentation that can be used in the event someone files for a discrimination lawsuit or termination against the department or organization
It Is All In The Details
Although a job description should never read like a novel about the time it is done, you do want descriptions that are as detailed and in-depth as possible. You need to balance this with brevity, however. A well-written and informative job description is anywhere from 700-2,000 words.
When you think about what is included in a job description, it is easy to see how you can reach 2,000 words quickly.
The details you should include in job descriptions for departments and individual positions include:
- A run down of day-to-day tasks and responsibilities
- How the role functions within the organization
- Describes who the role is going to be communicating with regularly, such as management, administration, customers, and so on
- Outlines the desired skill set and years of experience required to perform the necessary tasks without issue. This is particularly essential for those in technology.
- Add some of the department culture in the job description. What makes the department unique? How does it work with the other departments and organizations? Is there anything that could be a perk or deciding factor, such as unique benefits?
Now, you might be thinking that writing job descriptions sounds like a long and arduous task, especially since reorganization has you managing other tasks as well. Luckily, there are consultants who can create job descriptions for your department, whether you are a small business or a federal government branch.
At Beva Global Management, we have consultants who can write the ideal job description for your reorganized departments in various governmental sectors or organizations. Our consultants have years of experience and are well-versed in the anatomy of an excellent job description. Don’t waste time with second-guessing what you have written. Hire a consultant who can translate the needs of the job and get you the recruits that will empower the department.