Applicants know it and recruiters know it to… Job descriptions are boring! We WOW applicants with great web pages and savvy recruiters but when we get down to the “nitty gritty” we continue to “bore them to tears” in the area that leaves the most lasting impression… the description of the job they are applying for. The very best firms use market research techniques to find out what criteria applicants use to select which jobs they will apply for. Almost universally they find applicants want:
- Challenging work
- An exciting team
- Opportunities to grow
Unfortunately when potential applicants get their first chance to see if this job meets their expectations they are confronted with a job description that contains no excitement and gives them little of the information that would excite them. For years recruiters have been using dated or rapidly put together job descriptions. With the advent of web pages the practice has become even more prevalent because it is so easy for a firm to put massive numbers of job descriptions on its web site. If the goal of the recruiter/manager is to excite the candidate it’s time to dump the job description and instead put together an exciting list of projects and assignments they might face in their new position. In short give them a POD (projects and opportunities description). What Is A Project And Opportunity Description? Recruiters need to re-think their use of these traditional job descriptions if they are going win the war for top talent. Focus groups are useful in identifying what applicants want to know about a job. For example one leading hi-tech firm found that there are indeed “triggers” that cause potential applicants to make the decision to apply. Application “triggers” include:
- Interesting Projects
- Opportunities and challenges
- Learning and growth opportunities
- The team they will work with
- The culture and the management style they will work in
However most job descriptions contain:
- A list of daily tasks
- A list of required experience and skills
- Reporting relationships
- Pay ranges, shifts, etc.
The difference in content is striking. A job description gives basic information about daily tasks while the candidate wants to know about the WOW’s and exciting elements of the job. Steps In Putting Together A Project And Opportunity Description (POD):
- Identify the factors that cause potential applicants to become excited about your job(s). Start by interviewing recent hires, then consider a focus group with potential applicants and finally put the question on your web page.
- Meet with the manager and several position incumbents and ask them to identify the types of potential projects, learning and growth opportunities that the new hire will be involved in.
- Do profiles of key team members. Include some interesting points about their skills, interests and background. Make it fun and interesting.
- Identify WOW factors about the firm and its culture. Survey employees and find out what makes your firm/culture unique and interesting.
- Prioritize the factors for inclusion in the POD. Arrange them so that the pre-identified factors fall in these categories:
- Projects
- Learning and grOwth opportunities
- WOW’s about the firm
- A profile of key team members
- Pre-test a sample POD with recent hires, managers and team members to judge and refine its excitement capability.
- Gradually evolve the POD on your web page so that it includes virtual job previews and plant tours, video clips of the team and samples of the results of previous successful projects.
- Over a period of time “feed back” what factors work and excite so that the managers can learn how to better excite and manage their current employees.
Summary: Think of POD’s as an exciting job brochure that replaces a dull job task oriented job description. It needs to be continually updated to ensure that the “POD” stays current. As you learn how to market the growth and learning aspects of any job you will see an increase in both the quantity and the quality of the applicants!