#TalentAttraction #Tuesday The Lowly, Misunderstood Job Description

How can this Talent Attraction post be interesting?  It is about Job Descriptions…the single most important element of the search for candidates.  You may have thought that the interview process is the most important. Interviews are important. 

Accurate Job Descriptions are the foundation for the entire Talent Attraction process.  As a Recruiter, the entire recruitment process is based on that single, lowly Job Description.

Why Is The Job Description SO Important?

In my speech, Make Your Company ROAR (Recruit, Onboard, Actuate, and Retain) Top Talent, to companies and business associations, I begin this way –

“Do you Hear That?  It sounds like Managers are saying HR can’t give me the right candidates.” Lean the opposite direction – “Do you Hear That? It sounds like Human Resources is saying, I don’t feel the Hiring Managers know what they are looking for!”  Then I look towards the floor, and say, “Wow!  Do you Hear THAT? They’re candidates in the Applicant Tracking system jumping up and down screaming, Pick Me!  Pick ME!… But no one knows how to get them out!”

How do we find ourselves in this pickle?

My feeling is companies began by measuring the wrong activities (see Last Week’s Talent Attraction Blog – Recruiting Metrics Revisited https://recruiterguy.com/talentattraction-tuesday-recruiting-metrics-revisited ) When they began to measure how many candidates applied to a position, the quantity, not the quality of candidates became important.  Therefore, they made their job descriptions with the proper title and a vague description.

Then this happened (taken from another speech) – “Since the Job Description was vague, the recruiters recruited a pool of the Wrong Fit candidates.  From the pool of Wrong Fit candidates, the Hiring Manager selected some of the Wrong Fit candidates to interview.  Then, thinking this is the Best candidate I will find, the Hiring Manager selected one of the Wrong Fit candidates to hire. There is good news to this story – two months to two years later, they fired the Right Wrong Fit candidate… then they pulled out the same Job Description and started to search again.  What possibly could go wrong?”

As a Talent Attraction Expert, I have seen the above story played out in company after company. Since I am a consultant, I will recommend changes and help the company implement the changes, if they choose. Many times, their staff chooses to continue down the wrong path.

Consider that we source candidates based on the job description. We screen them against the skills and experience required. We interview them based on their skills and experience.  We choose the best-qualified candidates based on the skills and experience required. We expect the chosen candidate to perform their job because we feel they have the required skills and experience.

We put a lot of effort to select the best person with the wrong job description – and THEN, the interviewing process is blamed!!

How Do We Attract Top Talent With Job Descriptions?

Vague Job Descriptions drive the best candidates away.  The only people vague Job Descriptions fool are the company.  Instead of attracting talent who will make a difference, vague job descriptions (transitioning to vague in lower case) only attract desperate candidates who apply saying, “I can do that job!”

Managers need to be taught that Job Descriptions must be on target.  How else will they measure the new employee’s productivity during the annual review in 12 months?

My secret sauce is to request that managers give me the 3 month, 6 month, 9 month, and 12 month goals for the first year.  Top Talent candidates love to know the expectations for their first year!  (Remember, since I am a professional career coach, I am the Candidate Whisperer!)

Typically, to my amazement, many managers push back when asked for those goals.  If Managers do not have goals in mind, how are they allowed to budget for new positions?

Think about this concept for a minute.  By definition, Goal Setting and Goal Achieving Employees are Engaged Employees!

Does your company want Engaged Employees?  If I were an Executive in a company, you had better believe my staff would set and achieve goals.  Assisting my direct reports set goals would be one of My Goals.

When I worked at McLeodUSA in Cedar Rapids, Iowa as the Recruiting Manager, the entire company from Clark McLeod (Founder and CEO) to the junior sales or customer satisfaction employee were required to set 100-day goals.  The company was growing quickly because everyone was Excited and Meeting their Goals.  Employee Engagement!

How Do We Start Creating Better Job Descriptions?

My experience demonstrates that we begin with the basics.

1. What are the day to day responsibilities?  When new responsibilities are added to the employee, add them to the job descriptions. Delete responsibilities that are passed on or no longer required.
2. What are the weekly, monthly, quarterly, or annual responsibilities? All positions have a cadence.  As a Talent Attraction consultant, I give my client a weekly report on activity and progress. 
3. What are the Special Project Responsibilities? We live in Park City, Utah. Every January, the Sundance Institute hosts the Sundance Film Festival.  Their Accountants during those ten days have special project responsibilities. They are assigned screening locations where they are responsible for ensuring the money matches the ticket sales.
4. What are Planning Responsibilities? Once a person becomes a Manager, they assume planning responsibilities for their team, possibly including budgeting.  Executives have Strategic Planning responsibilities.
5. Add the 3 Month, 6 Month, 9 Month, and 12 Month Goals.  One of the 12 Month Goals should be to work with the Manager to create the 3 Month, 6 Month, 9 Month, and 12 Month goals for the following year.  Hey, Once you have Engaged Employees, keep them Engaged!

And You Thought This Blog Was Only About The Lowly Job Description? I Tricked You To GROW Employee Engagement!

My skills will help your company improve your Talent Attraction processes.  Top Talent will increase company Productivity and Profitability!

I help organizations Recruit, Onboard, Actuate, and Retain Top Talent.

Bill Humbert is available for Speaking, Talent Attraction Consulting, and Training contracts.

RecruiterGuy@msn.com  435-714-4425

https://www.espeakers.com/marketplace/speaker/profile/23767/Bill-Humbert

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USA 01-435-714-4425 Bill@RecruiterGuy.com

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