4 characteristics of effective job descriptions (with examples)
“I have made this longer than usual because I have not had time to make it shorter.” - Blaise Pascal
Tldr: The 4 characteristics of an effective job description are: describes the job (...); uses inclusive language; is on brand; inspires action. Good examples for each attribute in the above order are: Lego, Zalando, Tony’s Chocolonely and Mollie.
Job descriptions provide a window into your company, the team and the day-to-day for a specific role. Even though sometimes I ask myself if candidates really read them, the way your job descriptions are written says a lot about your company.
A quick job search on LinkedIn reveals some less than ideal ways to represent a company, and by “some” I mean a lot. From basics like lack of headings and paragraph spacing (who needs that anyway?), through some confusing examples of switching between two languages in the same paragraph, to the classics like lengthy descriptions and a laundry list of requirements that couldn’t possibly be met by one human being.
We can do better.
You only need to read 5 job ads on LinkedIn to see that you have a low-hanging fruit type of opportunity to stand out.
Here are 4 characteristics of well-written job descriptions with examples, including some ideas about how to achieve that.
Describes the job
When I read a job description that doesn’t actually describe the job, I am reminded of Shabu-Shabu, a restaurant chain in Amsterdam that doesn’t serve Shabu-Shabu.
If you’re only going to do one thing with your job description, please describe the job.
So many job ads leave candidates confused about what the role actually does. I pulled up 20 descriptions for a Full Stack Developer in Amsterdam at random and 5 of them missed the mark on clearly describing what this person is expected to do. They were mostly a bullet-point list of technologies and skills they needed to have. I did the same for a DevOps Engineer, similar results.
Here are some ideas about how to avoid that trap.
Use a clear, industry-standard title. Candidates search for titles they are familiar with and you don’t want to miss out on qualified applications because you decided to be creative or you weren’t specific enough.
Describe the role from a few different angles. You could include a few sentences about how this role fits in the team and organization, what are the tangible deliverables, the core responsibilities and how a day in the life looks like. You could also split the responsibilities into topics. A lot of employees wear multiple hats in their roles. It is helpful to split these and organize them in buckets for more clarity.
Keep your language clear and consistent. Make it easy for the candidate to picture themselves in this role or to filter themselves out, because it doesn’t fit what they are looking for.
Lego does this (among many other things) well. Their job descriptions describe the team, where it sits within the organization, the core responsibilities for the role and how it contributes to the larger goal. Approaching it from multiple angles helps paint a good picture of the role.
Uses inclusive language
76% of job seekers and employees consider a diverse workforce as an important factor when evaluating companies and job offers. A well-written and effective job description is one that speaks to a diverse candidate pool, while being specific about required competencies.
Make diversity part of the conversation. While including a commitment to diversity and inclusion in your job descriptions does not make you a diverse organization, not including a written commitment shows, well, a lack of commitment. It is a bit like the chicken and the egg problem. I often hear from leaders that part of the challenge in building a more diverse team is “top of funnel” diversity. There is no silver bullet for solving this challenge, but going through the process of verbalising your commitment is a step in the right direction. Candidates and employees care and take notice of the language you use.
Check, double-check and triple-check your list of requirements. Keep your list short and clear, only include your must-haves. Double-check if you are unintentionally and unknowingly excluding candidates. For example: have you written “native English speaker” instead of “fluent English” or perhaps you are asking for a degree from specific universities which sounds like an education requirement, but is also a socioeconomic one?
Use a language analytics platform. Platforms like Textio and Datapeople were considered “next-level” some 7 years ago when I first heard that such tools even existed. Today, being mindful and intentional about the language you are using is (or should be) the norm. If you cannot afford a pricey platform, there are still some free tools out there that provide basic functionality and can help you on your journey of building a diverse team. These platforms can help you use non-biased language and invite candidates from all backgrounds to apply.
Zalando does this well. They start with a short description of the role and team, then have an inclusion statement where they also share their D&I strategy and employee resource groups. They have kept their requirements list relatively short, even though it seems like they bundle multiple requirements into one bullet point, which only makes them harder to read. Overall however the language used is inclusive and inviting. I love their heading for the “Requirements” section: “We would love to meet you if:”
On brand
Your job descriptions are an employer marketing tool. Try to keep them on brand and focus on user experience. Sometimes a job description is the first marketing material a candidate comes across from your company. Here are some ideas about how to make a good first impression.
Communicate what you stand for as a company. Draw attention to what is important - your mission, values, team, culture and how this role contributes.
Use a tone of voice that represents your brand well. Playful, professional, fun or powerful - it doesn’t matter from the perspective of a job description as long as it’s consistent with your brand’s personality.
Keep it consistent with the rest of your job descriptions and career site content.
Tony’s Chocolonely does this well. Browsing through the job descriptions on their career site you will see all of the above. They include their company values in every job description, use their brand tone of voice well and have a consistent structure across all descriptions.
Inspires action
When I see a requirements section that is 18 pages long, FRONT AND BACK, I go back to my TikTok binge and forget about applying. Just kidding, I still use YouTube.
There are a lot of things that would deter a candidate from completing their application. Here are a few things you can do to reduce the number of candidates dropping out.
Keep your requirements list short and clear. I covered the requirements topic under inclusivity, but given how hard it seems to stay clear of the long laundry list, it bears repeating. Only include the absolute must haves.
Give candidates a reason to apply. Paint a picture of what it’s like to work with your company. Describe the team, career growth, talk about your values in action, describe the day-to-day, include office, hybrid or remote work rituals that capture the atmosphere, tell candidates what you offer.
Reduce the uncertainty. The job search process can be daunting and filled with uncertainty. Include a sentence about how your interview process looks like or at least your timeframe for getting back to candidates.
Mollie for example is doing an excellent job at this. The information they have included makes it easy to picture yourself working there. Their job descriptions include profiles of the team, reasons to join, what they offer and what to expect from the recruitment process. Their list of requirements is on the short side as well, even though they do include nice-to-haves.
Are you still with me after my 18-page letter about how to make your job descriptions concise and clear?
Good.
The irony is not lost on me. But if you only take away one thing from this: job descriptions are often one of the first interactions candidates have with your company (especially true if you are a B2B company). They are more important than you think and deserve more of your energy and attention.
What do you think characterises effective job descriptions? I’d love to explore more examples.
