When you are creating a good job listing as an employer, you want to make sure that you follow the right guidelines to ensure that your job posting is viewed as professionally as possible. There are several key elements that you should include in your job description, so it’s important to keep them in mind and to avoid any mistakes that could hurt your hiring efforts.
Create a concise description of the job
Having a clear job description is a vital part of finding and attracting the perfect candidate. The best ones are clear, concise, and provide a high-level overview of the role.
A great job description is not difficult to write. It uses specific terms to capture the attention of your reader. In addition, it outlines the duties of the position. While it’s not possible to detail all the responsibilities of a particular position, the most important ones should be covered.
Generally, a good job description has about 300 words. Some job descriptions may be longer. These descriptions can include a list of responsibilities, as well as a brief summary of the benefits the candidate can expect. Ensure that the descriptions are free of errors.
Avoid jargon when creating a job listing
When creating a good job listing, you need to avoid jargon. Jargon can be very confusing to a non-specialist, and it may even turn away some candidates.
If you’re a hiring manager, consider how jargon might affect your candidates. A study by Canva found that about 38% of job postings used jargon that was confusing to outsiders.
Jargon can include terms such as “aggressively”, “dynamic”, and “team player”. These are all words that might be gendered, and they can be uncomfortable for a female candidate. This language can also be discriminatory and reflect poorly on your company.
It can be difficult to stop using jargon. However, you can use language that is more inclusive. You might want to consider including terms that mean “fearlessly”, “work hard”, or “play hard”.
You can also improve your readability by adding industry acronyms. These are common terms that are specific to a certain industry, and can help a non-specialist to understand what the company is about.
Avoid acronyms and abbreviations in your job listing
When writing a job listing, employers need to be careful to avoid acronyms and abbreviations. The use of these short-form words can lead to an inaccurate impression, making it difficult for candidates to find and apply for a position.
While acronyms and abbreviations can be useful in some industries, such as the IT industry, they can be a source of confusion for readers. Many experts advise against their use in keyword lists, which are used by search engines to retrieve articles.
In order to minimize the impact that acronyms and abbreviations have on your company’s brand, it’s best to limit their use to the most common terms in the field. For example, the IT industry uses a lot of acronyms such as “IT” for IT services, and “SEO” for search engine optimization.
