How is a recruiter supposed to know what specific requirements a job description should have for a biomechanical engineer? The position might have detailed requirements laid out on a sheet of paper, but they don’t work with the position. It’s hard to strike a balance between culture and structure. Sometimes the description could be too laid back for the position; it could seem like nothing but hitting the books all day. An article and infographic by Jillian Kurvers , delineates the difference in job description opinion. Want to know what 400 marketing and advertising executives in the United States say is the most difficult part in creating job descriptions? Find out in the infographic below:
The top three biggest concerns for professionals writing job descriptions are:
1. Identifying the necessary interpersonal and soft skills
Possibly the bigger problem with pinpointing the necessary soft skills is the common trait that most Millennials have… poor soft skills. Interpersonal communication is lost among the tech-savvy generation. 60% of employers agree that the young professionals lack many of the soft skills required to function well in an office setting . However, it’s not solely a Millennial problem. Simply writing the job description that identifies the soft skills correctly is difficult for 28% of those who develop them in the first place.
2. Identifying duties that are essential versus “nice to have”
Certain abilities and training truly are required for a job. A truck driver, for example, has to have a CDL to be able to drive the massive pieces of machinery. It doesn’t matter how many years of experience they have simply driving. With that said, however, there are many gray areas between the requirements and preferences in the qualifications portion of a job description. 24% of those surveyed by The Creative Group found that distinguishing “must haves” and “nice to haves” was the most difficult part of writing a job description. According to a survey by Careerbuilder , 27% of employers agree that over the last five years education has become more important to employment .
3. Accurately describing job duties
As a former employee in the same position, it would be easy to say what the job actually entails; possibly even somewhat simple for the position supervisors. However, for the professional writing the job description, which happens to be somewhat removed from the position, it would be much harder. Accurately writing a job description if you’ve never – in some way – performed the job, is nearly impossible. Correctly describing job responsibilities is the most difficult aspect of writing job descriptions for 24% of those who create them.
Kurvers gives some tips on how to write job descriptions despite these commonplace problems. She says it’s critical to keep job descriptions updated, especially those that are for creative positions, because of the consistently evolving tools.
Although it would be wonderful to find that one person who could do everything, the likelihood is that you won’t find them… just like you shouldn’t “hunt for unicorns.” Because if you’re hunting for unicorns, you’ll find that unicorns pop up during the application process. Disappointment ensues when you realize that it was just a horse with glitter and a stick glued to his head. You can’t expect jobseekers to be themselves when you’re not honest about the company in the job description. In order to not scare off the ones who don’t pretend to be that jack-of-all trades, keep the must-haves to sincere necessities. Make a better delineation between the requirements and the preferences.
The classic job description is outdated . Considering many professionals have a hard time writing them, it’s difficult to make hard lines in the sand when it comes to creating a position description. You can rewrite them. Think of it as taking a rug outside to beat out the dirt. The more you work at it, more dust is removed, and therefore the brighter the rug that frames the room. How can you find a good candidate if don’t have the framework to find them in the first place?
The rugs in the office are a bit dusty . Give us a call , and we can help you brighten them .
photo credit: quinn.anya via photopin cc