SteffaniLane
HR Specialist
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Feb 8, 2006, 12:47 PM
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Making your Job Descriptions Stand Out in a Crowd
Steffani Lane, President Windsor Executive Search & Founder of SeniorHousingJobs.com
Recruiting top talent is not easy (I know this because I do it for a living). Attracting caring, compassionate staff is not for the birds. Effectively using job boards and the standard “help wanted” ads requires creative planning and a strategic execution. Not only do you need to get them out there, you need to sell top-notch candidates on your career opportunities or you do not stand a chance of attracting the talent you seek.
I truly believe there are some outstanding, talented people out there. These gems tend to be the passive job seekers who look for jobs infrequently. The passive job seekers are the ones who have not been laid off in the last re-shuffle or were not let go due to the company’s most recent downsizing. They are the candidates still working (probably harder than ever) and do not visit the job boards or read classifieds every single day to find the latest and greatest position the senior living industry has to offer.
Most employers have difficulty attracting the passive job seeker (that is why we recruiters stay so busy). It is not impossible to find them (or for them to find you) amongst the mediocre talent pool but you need to know how. These gems do not have time to look. If you do catch them peeking, lucky you, they are looking for a bigger, better challenge not just another job. The good ones are quickly off the market (usually by an executive recruiter like me) so when you actually do get their attention, YOU NEED TO KEEP IT!
Here are a few tips to think about when writing your job postings: - Stop Using Traditional Job Descriptions! If you want to attract better people, you need to define better jobs
- Keep the Job Descriptions as SHORT as possible! You want to attract their attention, but not bore them with too much information. Give them enough to interest them in calling or emailing you for more information. They do not want to read a book about your position
- Jobs need to be highly visible. You need to direct your recruiting efforts to the right audience. If you have posted on Monster, chances are you are familiar with the large number of resumes you need to go through to get to the good ones. This is the nature of the beast (yes, pun intended). A better bet is to post a job on your favorite association careers page (ALFA, AASHA, and ACHA) or a niche job board (SeniorHousingJobs.com). Your responses will lessen but the quality will certainly outweigh the volume
- Use bold (I am not talking typeface here), creative (on the verge of outrageous) lingo and/or job title to attract attention. A powerful, persuasive title will ensure candidates cannot resist peeking further. A pinch of sizzle will set it apart from other similar position openings
- Once you have their attention, make sure you KEEP their attention! By using what I call “scanners format” create a compelling description of what the candidate will be doing as the company’s new CBW. Most people don't read long text online; they scan it. Therefore, format the body of your posting with headlines and bullets so that it can be reviewed and understood at a glance
- The best people will only apply for jobs that will stretch them, challenge them. Your job descriptions need to offer growth, challenge and excitement. Compensation is secondary to a person’s desire for challenge and growth
- Traditional job descriptions do not define the work itself but the person who does the work. Define in detail the work the person will do to get the job done, not the skills required. It is what the person does with their skills, not the skills themselves that counts
- Have hiring managers write job descriptions. Help your corporate HR Manager or Director of Recruiting recruit more effectively by writing the description yourself. As the hiring manager, you are more likely to properly define the work that needs to be done. This will allow your HR department to properly target the most desirable candidate.
- Clarify expectations. People want to do a good job and be recognized for their accomplishments. Clarify expectations by telling them what you need them to accomplish in the position you seek
- Use Keywords. Keywords are words, word combinations, terms or phrases job seekers use to search a career site’s job postings. Having the right keywords in your ad can help it show up higher in job seeker’s search results
- Answer candidates' questions before they ask. As a minimum, tell them:
- What they will get to do
- Whom they will get to work with
- What they will be able to accomplish
- What they can learn
- What skills and experience they must have to be successful on-the-job
- Why will they want to join your company
- Salary range and details about compensation package
- Geographic location
- % of travel
- A little information about your company and a URL to site
- Follow up quickly! There is nothing worse than having the résumé of “the perfect candidate” sitting in your inbox for days before finally getting to it. Make sure your in-house recruiter responds quickly (within 24 hours) and professionally
- Act quickly! Ok, so you followed up with the candidate. When you finally have the interest of this great candidate DO NOT take three weeks to set up an interview. We have a saying in the recruiting biz, “TIME KILLS ALL DEALS”. Responding quickly and moving forward will keep the jobseeker’s interest high while letting her know she is important. Why wouldn’t she want to take the job with your company?
So there you have it. When a killer job description in conjunction with a solid hiring process is implemented to attract the passive, semi-active candidates, job boards and classifieds can be a useful and cost-effective way to finding and recruiting strong candidates.
Steffani Lane is President & CEO of Windsor Executive Search. Windsor Executive Search is an international search firm specializing in recruiting senior housing professionals. Steffani is Founder of seniorhousingjobs.com, a niche job board for assisted living, ltc and senior housing.
Feel free to contact Steffani @ 603-356-4591 or Steffani@WindsorES.com.
(This post was edited by SteffaniLane on Feb 8, 2006, 1:09 PM)
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