How to Write a Quality Job Description

We’ve received word that job posters have asked some Job-a-matic publishers about how to put together a quality job listing. To aid you in a response, we’ve put together some info about well-written job descriptions.

In general, a good job description consists for four parts:

• Responsibilities/Duties
• Required Skills
• Optional Skills
• A brief blurb about the employers

Job seekers need to have enough information about the job to decide if it is an opportunity they are willing to pursue and assess if they have the needed background. It’s important to find a balance between excessively long job descriptions and those that do not provide enough information. Each section should be to the point while providing job seekers with enough information in order to make an informed decision when considering whether to apply to the job.

Within the description, don’t forget to include key terms and that describe the type of requirements needed for a person to perform well in a given position as well as words a someone might search for when looking for a job. It will help your jobs appear in the results when job seekers search for those keywords on SimplyHired.com and throughout the Simply Hired network. (Example: including Java or C++  proficiency in Software Engineer jobs)

And finally, a quick note on formatting: if your job description is a solid block of text, it is difficult for job seekers to see when they are—as well as are not—qualified for your position. Make it easy on them by dividing job descriptions into easy to read sections. Feel free to use bullet points to list off qualifications, so the job descriptions can easily become a checklist of requirements.

Comments

[UK Software company]

Quite inspiring,
THis is some great advice towards creating effective job descriptions,
Thanks

[Natalie Loopbaanadvies]

Great post. Thank you for sharing this information. This post should be read by employers. Some job descriptions only tell you what position needs to be filled. It does not state the requirements needed.