To effectively write a job description, you must have a clear understanding of the primary responsibilities of the office holder. Therefore, you should divide your description into several sections (in most cases, five) and ensure that every segment is informative and only handles a particle aspect of the job.
A contemporary job description would have Company Information sections i.e. where you introduce the applicants to the core activities of the company and why they should choose to work for you. Other sections include the Job Summary, Primary Responsibilities, Academic and Experience Requirements
How to write the Job Summary
So, how should you go about writing a powerful Job Summary? Well, a good summary must be to the point and interesting to read. You need to clearly paint the job to the applicant using the fewest words possible. Inclusion of key roles, benefits associated with the jobs and academic qualifications in the summary is recommended.
This will not only ensure that you appeal to the prospective candidate but also improve their faith in the company (people trust quality documentation). However, you should be cautious not to overstate the job benefits or understate the academic requirements. Such ploys usually appeal to the wrong people and make the recruitment exercise long or unsuccessful.
What are the Primary Responsibilities?
Every job seeker is interested in what his or her main roles would be. In fact, they read about their responsibilities with a lot of gusto (as it the main component of a job description). To avoid ambushing the applicants, you must provide as much detail as possible when listing the duties. Starting with the main roles down to the miscellaneous responsibilities is one way of going about it.
You could also subdivide the section into Main Responsibilities and Other Responsibilities. Better still, you could list and explain each point using outlined bullets or numbering. It is also important to inform the applicants of the special powers of their superiors (i.e. the fact that they could assign them other responsibilities not listed in the job description).
The Duties section should have specific keywords to improve its visibility in the major search engines. After all, it is vain to publish a wonderful job description sample if no one will ever read it. Even though the use of keyword is recommended, you should not over use them to the extent that the overall quality of your description is undermined.
Academic qualification, experience and skills
While it is true that not all jobs demand higher education, majority require a minimum of a High School Diploma. In fact, it is almost the recommended minimum academic qualification for companies today.
You job description should therefore clearly state the minimum educational requirement (whether it is vocational training, a degree or postgraduate degree). The important thing is for the requirements to look real. Manual and non-skilled jobs should not ask for high education or extensive on-job experience.
On the other hand, you should not lower the academic qualification requirements for managers and other top ranking company executives. Bottom line is to ensure you requirements are competitive and matches the pay.
Finally, ensure that you list the relevant skill sets and abilities the job requires. You are also permitted to mention the pay as you deem fit.
