Writing The Job Description
If you want to hire the right person then firstly you need a clear picture of the type of person you’re looking for. Your job description has to go beyond just experience and education to include work and personality traits that can impact a person’s ability to thrive in your business.
The job description you create serves multiple purposes:
It forms the foundation of your recruitment advertisement and should attract suitable candidates to apply.
It gives you a great opportunity to make a good first impression of your company and the role itself.
It ensures you have identified the key skills and experience required thus making the resume screening process easier.
It helps you formulate and develop relevant interview questions that can help you select the most appropriate candidate for a role.
Every Job Description should be based on these five features:
1. Job duties: What will the person do?
Take the time to spell out the specifics of the job. Start with the job title which should be descriptive (“National Sales Manager – Electronic Security” is better than just “Sales Manager”), conform to standards for your industry, and make sure it fits with your own company’s organisation structure.
Then develop a summary of the job’s responsibilities as well as a list of the key duties that will be performed. Think this through carefully. A vague or inaccurate job description will make it harder for you to match a candidate and a job.
2. Work experience: What background is required to get the job done?
Industry experience. Specific previous on the job experience. Education and certification. These may all be crucial to helping you screen and choose candidates. Clarify ahead of time the specific experience and background a qualified candidate should have to make them suitable for the job. For example, does the job require experience specifically gained from working in the Fire Protection industry, or are the skills transferable from other building services related industries such as Security or HVAC.
Determine whether the person’s education level will is important. Industry or job specific certification such as a Security Licence may also be vital.
Relocation may also need to be considered. Will you be willing to pay to recruit someone from another region? Finally, consider your willingness to invest time and resources in training a new hire. This can create some flexibility in your experience requirements.
3. Skills: What unique skills must the person possess?
Look at the duties the person will perform on the job and assess what skills are required to complete the tasks associated with the job. An Electronic Security Sales Executive, for example, will need good rapport building, listening, and presentation skills.
Your list should include hard skills (what the person knows) and soft skills (how the person applies that particular knowledge).
4. Style: How will the person get the job done?
In a small business, the way a person works can be as important as what they do. They’ll need to mesh with your corporate culture and the team you currently have in place. For instance, a person who thrives off the energy of others won’t succeed in a company where everyone works remotely.
5. Character: What kind of personality succeeds in your organization?
Consider the attitudes and traits you want in the ideal candidate. Your aim is to identify the type of person who would be most productive in the work environment you’ve created and who can complement your current team. Develop a list of the character traits you value most. It can include things like integrity, sense of humour, loyalty, drive and passion. You might not list these in your Job Description but they can help you choose between candidates after the screening and Interview process has been completed.