Job description;

noun
    a formal account of an employee's responsibilities.

There isn’t a must-follow-format of a job description, but the more transparent and straightforward a job description is – higher the chances of getting the right candidate.

Better understood as Karma: What goes around comes around.

Often in a haste, it is believed that a good number of employers don’t bother writing up a good description and end up reviewing and hiring wrong candidates. What they don’t realize is that a one-time distinctly written description could go a long term. 'That' incremental effort, goes a long way!

According to Monster.com, “A well-defined job description will help attract qualified candidates, as well as help, reduce employee turnover in the long run. We all know the ingredients of a conventional job description. But how many are aware - what are the Secret ingredients that constitute in a distinct job description?

A job description, in order to attract the best, should scream Transparency, Creativity and Opportunity!

Job Title

What’s in a name you ask? It’s supposedly the first thing a candidate sees so there’s definitely a lot then it seems. This single line could alter a candidate’s decision – to apply or not to apply – or to seriously do well in the application or just apply. Surely the entire description takes a toll on the candidate’s judgment, but the title takes away a major chunk of it. Psychologically, it has a lot of significance on the new employee’s mind as well. Depending on how the new employee soaks in the job title, the performance of the job may be influenced by it. It is seen that some employers even let the employees choose their job title. This is a good practice for employee engagement as well.

The Reporting manager

After a candidate gets to know the post he/she will be applying for, a question may pop up in its mind asking – who will he/she report to? The employer may choose to put this in or not. But be informed that this will help in mentally prepare the candidate for the job and the interview. With this information, the candidate may do a little research and get to know a little about the person he/she will directly report to. So the more information the employer gives out in a job description, the less number of questions the interviewee may ask in the interview and this would save time for the relevant discussion. The recruiter also has an option to reveal this information during the interview and see how the candidate reacts to it. This may assist to get to know the candidate a little in depth as well.

Duties and Responsibilities

This aspect is a must include information in the job description these days. Candidates are more aware and curious before they take a decision than just jump into a water right away! A serious candidate would want to know what his/her job will expect him/her to do. The more clear-cut the description in this section, more the number of relevant candidates apply to this job. This is a kind of candidate screening in it. Based on the points mentioned in this part, the employers may develop a few questions for the interview and get a feedback from the potential candidate.

Qualifications

When a candidate goes through a number of job posts at times, he/she often directly jumps to this area to know if he/she is eligible to apply before reading the entire description. While the Duties segment may act as a secondary line of screening, this segment acts as the primary line of screening. Hence it is crucial that the employer does not take this section lightly and makes sure to enter the appropriate skills, specialized knowledge, abilities, educational qualification, experience, etc., relevant to the job. Stating the minimum qualifications seems like a good idea than setting up a range.

Performance Indicator

This piece of detail is relevant for a potentially serious candidate to figure out how his/her key strengths and weaknesses align with the expected performance. So, the more precise and honest the employer is with this detail, the more it is beneficial for both the parties. Chances of acquiring proper talent increases with this area in the job description. An employer has to develop the points in this based on the company values and vision so that the candidate can align its focus and performance accordingly. Writing this section will probably enable you to define what is most important for the organization as well as the employee. Mentioning the intervals at which the performance review would take place is also a good point to be included as well.

Special Requirements

This is additional information for attracting the right candidate for the job and to avoid future complications. What is required from the candidate during the job can be expressed in advance to filter out the non-serious candidates. This section may include the working culture, the working conditions and if the job demands a little bit of fitness, then it may be worth mentioning that as well just to avoid further misunderstandings or conflicts. This piece of information is crucial for the serious candidates who want to perform their best, but in order to do that they need to know what they are getting into and want to be mentally prepared for it.

Compensation

Finally, a job description is an advertisement in its own so, this part may get the eyes of most of the candidates. However, being specific about the salary could recoil; hence an employer may consider putting up a range in this case and leave the final fixing for a later stage of recruiting.

Concluding with the following quote should light the spark in an employer “to go to exceptional lengths” in order to get the most distinguished out of the lot. A little effort on an employer’s behalf should get the need in hand.

"The secret of my success is that we have gone to exceptional lengths to hire the best people in the world." – Steve Jobs