Job Description Tips Archives

How to Write a Good Job Description

Writing a good job description involves sharing the duties, responsibilities, expectations, and requirements for the role. This information helps job seekers determine whether they can see themselves in the position and should apply.

Creating a clear job description helps create questions for the interview process. It also supports the hiring team throughout the candidate selection process.

Having an effective job description helps create new hire goals and training and development plans. It also supports job performance evaluations, career pathing, and company growth.

Implement these tips to write a good job description.

Choose a Targeted Job Title

Use a title with keywords that many job seekers search for. Titles that indicate what the role involves, such as “Call Center Agent” rank higher in search engine results than vague titles, such as “Rock-Star Marketer.” Job postings that rank well typically have a high number of clicks that can lead to qualified applicants.

Outline the Job Duties and Responsibilities

Highlight what would be expected of the new hire. Include the day-to-day activities and to whom the individual would report. Help job seekers determine whether this is the right position for them.

Limit the Qualifications

List the most essential education, skills, and experience required for the role. Keep in mind that hard skills can be taught while on the job. Limiting the number of qualifications encourages more candidates to apply.

Share the Salary Range

Let job seekers know what type of compensation to expect. Candidates who desire a higher salary can apply for other positions. This saves time reviewing resumes and scheduling interviews.

List the Benefits and Perks

Let job seekers know which benefits and perks make the role desirable. Examples include health insurance, a retirement plan with a company match, paid time off, a remote or hybrid work environment, and a flexible schedule. Supporting job seekers’ quality of life encourages them to apply to your openings.

Are You Looking for Help with Writing Job Descriptions?

Choosing a targeted job title, outlining the job duties and responsibilities, and limiting the qualifications encourage top talent to apply for your open positions. Sharing the salary range and listing the benefits and perks show job seekers what they can gain from working for your organization.

For additional help with writing good job descriptions, get in touch with Casey Accounting & Finance Resources. Contact us today.

4 Updates You Can Make to Job Descriptions to Gain More Applicants

Your job descriptions provide managers with clear guidelines for hiring, developing, and managing employees. The descriptions also clarify the job expectations for employees and support compensation, performance standards, and development decisions.

Your job descriptions are an important part of your job postings. They let candidates know the duties and responsibilities of a role and the requirements to be successful in the position.

Because your job descriptions serve multiple purposes, they need to be current. The following are four ways to can make sure the information is updated.

Implement these four tips to update your job descriptions to increase your applicant pools.

1. Position Summary

Summarize the main job duties and responsibilities.

Make the role attractive to job seekers.
Share information about your department.
Include who the employee reports to and whether any employees report to them as well.

2. Minimum and Preferred Qualifications

Clarify the qualifications that candidates must have to apply for the role. Include the qualifications that make candidates even more attractive to the hiring manager. Focus on the major end results of the role.

The minimum requirements are a shorter list of your objective criteria.
- Include the minimum education and experience required for success.
The preferred qualifications are nice to have if applying for the position. A candidate without the preferred qualifications still may be hired.
- These qualifications are on a longer list of more subjective criteria that can be discussed in more detail during an interview.
- Examples of preferred qualifications include soft skills such as communication, attention to detail, and organization.
- The preferred qualifications set candidates apart from those with the bare minimum qualifications.

3. Duties and Responsibilities

Include the main job functions in order of importance.

Be as specific as possible about the job duties and responsibilities.
Explain whether the employee makes recommendations to a decision-maker or makes the actual decisions.
Use clear action words and specific adjectives for each task. For example, “Create Excel sheets from raw data, including pivot tables and formulas such as if/then. Perform data entry to update, sort, analyze, and summarize in reports for leadership.”

4. Physical Requirements

Clarify whether there are any physical requirements to complete the work. Include whether accommodations can be made for candidates who need them.

Want Help Hiring Accounting and Finance Professionals?

Sharing clear, updated information in your job descriptions lets candidates know what would be expected of them in the role. Clarification of the position summary, minimum and preferred requirements, duties and responsibilities, and physical requirements help candidates decide whether to apply for a position. This narrows down your options when deciding who to contact for an interview.

If you need help with crafting your job descriptions or recruiting candidates that best meet the hiring qualifications, contact the experienced recruiters at Casey Accounting & Finance Resources. Reach out to discuss your needs today.

Write Better Job Descriptions to Eliminate Gender Bias

Writing accurate and descriptive job summaries is essential for attracting the right type of talent. If your job descriptions are too vague or generic, you may end up attracting a large talent pool that isn’t qualified for the job — and your screening process will take that much longer. Another important thing to keep in mind is the risk of gender bias. Some roles may often be assumed by either men or women, but you cannot discriminate based on sex for any position at your company. You need to make sure your job description conveys that anybody qualified for the position should apply — regardless of gender.

Here are some ways to write better job descriptions to eliminate gender bias:

1. Be mindful of word choice.

Avoid using masculine words in your descriptions, no matter how much you want to emphasize a certain trait or characteristic. For example, avoid using words like ‘assertive,’ ‘decisive,’ ‘driven,’ and other terms that tend to be linked to masculine energies.

2. Highlight must-have skills.

It will be in your favor to prioritize the must-haves and ‘nice-to-haves’ within your job description. Even a bulleted list can make it easier for the candidate to determine whether they are truly qualified for the job. This will help screen out candidates that could be a ‘maybe’ so you don’t have to move forward with an interview.

3. Eliminate nonessential skills.

Unless having an outgoing personality or similar qualities are required to perform the job well, eliminate nonessential skills that tend to turn otherwise-qualified female talent away. Provide a taste of company culture, but you don’t create a job description for a model employee. You want the employee’s unique personality and contributions to benefit your team, so you may not need to create a laundry list of traits, work habits, or personal characteristics as part of the job description.

If you need help with your financial recruiting efforts, consider working with an award-winning staffing firm. Casey Accounting and Finance Resources can help you attract quality candidates.