- Location
- For Location consider using the nearest major city, city section, or suburb -i.e., Portland -Downtown, Portland -Lloyd Center, Tigard, Salem, Hillsboro, etc.) Telling the location helps potential applicants hone in on opportunities of interest. They may be concerned with commute times, traffic issues, or having to relocate and the potential impact on their family.
- Job Title
- The Job Title should be easily understood by the potential applicant. Don’t use a complex organizational job title if it would not be understood by the average applicant. You may understand that a “Lead DBA I” is an entry level position, but the potential applicant may not.
- About the Employer
- In two or three short sentences, tell the potential applicant why he/she would want to consider working for this employer. What’s special about the employer or the work environment? Is there something unique or special about what this employer does -or the industry?
- Descriptive Paragraph (Overall Responsibility)
- As with most marketing efforts, you have this lead in paragraph to toss out your line, grab someone’s interest, and entice them to take action. You should write a descriptive paragraph that really gets the potential applicant interested and excited. Consider including: why the position is open, what kind of growth is offered, will training be supported and included, is the manager or team ‘special’ in some way, is the project or work exciting or interesting, is the pay exceptional, how will this job effect the applicants’ lifestyle, is travel involved, is scheduling flexible, are there remote work options, will the potential applicant manage other employees or contractors, what about the work environment makes you want to work there.
- Key Areas of Responsibility
- Give the potential applicant an overview of what they would be doing at this job. What are the main duties/tasks of the job? Some folks will provide a bullet point list, others will write a few sentences in paragraph form to describe what is involved with the job. Keep it short and sweet -only list the most important and obvious tasks.
- Qualifications
- Don’t fall into the trap of trying to list every conceivable item on the wish list. Hit the important high points. Remember to validate the requirements. Don’t ask for 2 years experience on a ‘just released’ technology. Research indicates that as requirements list get longer, fewer potential applicants will respond. Try to keep the number at five, or less, absolute make/break requirements -and list them in priority order. Don’t get involved with playing esoteric keyword or acronym bingo -keep it related to the ‘real’ job.
- Additional Info
- This is the ‘would be great if you had’ list, the bare mininum educational requirements, terms of employment (short/long term contract, contract to hire, direct hire, etc.) Avoid the ‘include the kitchen sink’ type listing
- Respond Via (email or job specific landing page)
- On the Oregon SQL Website, your email address is clearly visible to people, BUT invisible to those hated email address collecting spambots. Your email address should be safe with the listing. Or direct the potential applicant to a specific job listing on the organization’s website. If you just send them to the employers’ home page, or generic Careers page, don’t expect much activity. The easier you make the process, the more responses will be received. If you really want to build relationships, use your email address, and respond to the contacts. Draw out their interests and concerns -there may be a different position that is a better match. You can always direct qualified candidates to the employers job page after you establish contact.
- Your Contact Info/company
- Be sure to include your name and contact information. Potential applicants may gain some familarity with your ‘reputation’ by the types of jobs that you post. You do want them to contact you the next time are looking, don’t you?
- Remember, this is NOT the be-all, do-all, one and only chance to ferret out the one perfect applicant. You should be primarily concerned with getting the applicant to contact you and develop a relationship. If this job is not a good match, you want the applicant to have a great experience with you so that they will not hesitate to refer their colleagues and friends to you, and contact you next time they are looking -or the next time you post a job listing.
Addtional references
http://blog.jobscore.com/how-to-write-great-job-descriptions
http://www.wisconsinjobcenter.org/recruiting/writelisting.htm
http://www.wikihow.com/Write-an-Effective-Job-Description
http://guides.wkbw.com/How_to_Write_an_Effective_Job_Description-a992011.html
http://www.recruitersnetwork.com/articles/article.cfm?ID=1146
http://www.icpas.org/hc-career-center.aspx?id=366
http://www.businessknowhow.com/manage/jobdesc.htm
