How to Write Better Job Postings

These days the competition is tight as companies work to recruit talent in a market where there are two job postings for everyone one unemployed person in the US right now. But despite it being a candidate’s market, companies are falling short in the “easy wins” category of attracting talent. Below are a few suggestions of how to put job postings out there that will result in qualified resumes, and even better—great hires. 

1. Post the salary range

I know—this one is scary. But it shouldn’t be anything to hide, and I promise you that it will result in better resumes and better hires. These days, candidates are telling me that they won’t even bother applying to some jobs if they don’t post the salary range because they don’t want to waste their time. They spend so much time in phone screens or interviews, only to be told the range is much lower than what they expected, or worse, to get an offer that’s below market or their expectations, resulting in a complete waste of their time. Listing a salary range (that’s been researched and hopefully vetted by a consultant or your in-house talent staff) is one of the easiest, surefire ways to attract good talent right now. It shows prospective hires that you’re willing to be transparent, that you have done your homework and are willing to compensate them well for their skill set, that you likely value pay equity, and most of all, that you value their time (and your own). 

2. Check your language

Long gone are the days where it was totally cool to talk about how much everyone at your company loved Star Wars and that you were looking for “unicorns.” Language has a huge effect on how candidates, especially minority and women candidates, perceive their own qualifications and the environment they’d be entering based on what you’ve written. Using a tool like textio.com can go a long way to analyze your language to make sure it’s not falling too far into masculine or feminine territory, that you’re not presenting as ageist, and that your language is inclusive and not ridden with cliches. Neutral, objective job postings that don’t discourage qualified applicants from applying are what bring good, unique talent to your door. 

3. Give actual insights into the role

This one seems pretty obvious, and yet most job descriptions that I read when I’m working with my coaching clients as they apply to jobs tell us mostly nothing about what this person will actually be expected to do in their day to day job. Candidates have lots of questions about this role, such as: 

• What will I be doing all day? (How is my time split between collaboration, individual contribution, meetings, travel, etc.)

• Who will I be working with? How big is the team? Is it cross-functional?

• How will my success be measured in this role?

• What kinds of equipment and/or tools will I be using? Will I have to provide them myself?

• What are the expectations of when I can get my work done? (Is it a straight 9am - 5pm or do I have leeway to work during my best/preferred hours? Can I drop my kid off at school and pick them up?)

Put yourself in the candidate’s shoes to think about what kind of information you’d want to know, and don’t make them wait until they’re in the interview process to know some of these more important answers that can help them screen themselves in or out of your process based on their own needs. 

4. Be clear about the process

This is another really simple one that’s unfortunately almost always missing from the job postings that I read. Ironically, many companies have really been putting candidates through the ringer in the interview process (I have heard of as many as 9-10+ interviews for a mid-level role) despite the demand for talent being so high. You’d think this would cause them to make the process easier, not harder, but alas. Whatever your process—tell the candidate what to expect! It’s not hard to outline your process in the bottom of your job posting so that your candidate can decide if they want in or out. For example: 

Step 1: We review your resume, and if we like to chat further about your experience, we’ll have our recruiter schedule a 30 minute phone screen with you. 

Step 2: If you make it through the phone screen, we’ll move you through to an (in-person/video) interview for 60 minutes with our co-founder and tech lead. During that interview, we’ll focus on your previous experience and discuss further how your technical skills and aspirations align with the role. 

Step 3: We’ll ask you to complete a 30 minute coding assessment that you will present to us in a 60 minute interview with 3 members of our development team. 

Step 4: We will either call you with an offer, or let you know of a rejection based on the results of Step 3. We aim to have this entire process completed in 2-3 weeks, but it could take longer based on candidate and team availability and scheduling.

When you map out the process, candidates can decide if they’re willing to complete a 30-minute assessment for you, and if they don’t, you’ll be able to avoid wasting each other’s time. (Pro tip: Don’t make them do an assignment. If you insist, consider paying a candidate for their time and give them something actionable to do instead of a useless project where they can’t really showcase their skills. Be clear about whether or not you will use their work product, and do not require a task that will take multiple hours as many candidates cannot justify or commit to this kind of time commitment and are interviewing for multiple jobs at any given time). 

5. Ask someone (or multiple people) to proofread it

While you and your talent staff are probably great, at the end of the day, the person writing the job description is often not the person who is actually doing the job you’re advertising every day. Because of this, critical information and details can be overlooked or missed. You should always solicit feedback from your team to see what else you could include that would be helpful, or truly attractive about your environment. Who better to say why it’s great to work there than the people who already do? 

These are just a few of the easy wins you can employ when sharing your job postings out in the world. The war for talent is on, and it likely won’t be slowing down any time soon. Feel free to try some of these out, and let me know how they work for you and your team. If you have any other tips you’d add, share those too! 

As always, if you found this article helpful, consider buying me a coffee to support my site and help keep the lights on!