4 Steps for Hiring Great Employees

Step 1: Ace your job description

In this section, we start at the beginning: your job description. It’s impossible to overstate its importance. A job description is a formalized summary of the position. It includes the specific responsibilities, details about the job, and qualifications. Further, it explains why a person would want to work for your organization. (This is called an Employment Value Proposition.) A good job description will:

• Attract top performers
• Reduce the applicant pool to those who qualify
• Appeal to a diverse group of candidates
• Articulate what it’s like to work at your business

The job description is your first chance to attract qualified candidates. Additionally, it lets you showcase your company. A good description will filter out applicants who aren’t qualified. Essentially, it serves as the first step in your screening process.

How to write a job description

Writing a compelling job description is a tall order. However, you can make the task a bit easier by taking a systematic approach. Firstly, list the basic information: company name, location, and job title. Secondly, the specific skills, qualifications and experience needed. Keep it simple and to the point. However, include enough detail to attract a good applicant pool. Let’s recap the elements:

• Location
• Job title
• Responsibilities
• Qualifications
• Experience required
• Desired candidate credentials
• Statement about company and benefits
• EEOC statement

In addition, avoid acronyms, jargon, and overly creative job titles. For example, internally you might call your website manager a Digital Alchemist. Don’t do it in a job description. Above all, be clear and concise. Don’t make it difficult for applicants to know if they want to apply.

Top Tip: You can log into SDP’s HR Support Center for an entire library of pre-made Job Description templates to get you started. Simply download, edit, and post!

Get feedback from your hiring team

Furthermore, get team input before you write your first draft. For example, talk to the hiring manager (if it’s not you), team lead, and some competent employees with the same (or similar) job.

Create a consistent employer brand throughout your hiring

When writing job descriptions, use the same layout for all of them. In other words, keep a consistent look and feel across all marketing channels. As a result, it will also improve your Careers site.

Manage your job description templates in an ATS

Applicant tracking software makes it easier to apply best practices to your talent acquisition. With an applicant tracking system (ATS) you can store a library of descriptions. As a result, they’ll be on-hand whenever you need them. You can also create job description templates. Consequently, you’ll never need to start from scratch.

Step 2: Use internal recruiting first

Internal recruiting is often overlooked as a means to fill position. If you’re wondering how to find employees, look to your current employees first. There are many benefits to internal recruiting:

• Financial Savings–When an existing employee assumes another position, you save time and money. For instance, you don’t need to pay a recruiting firm.
• Minimizes Hiring Risk–If you make a hiring mistake, you may be able to move them back to their original team.
• Career Development Opportunities–Most employees want to advance along a career path. This is only possible with promotions—a type of internal recruiting.
• Faster Hiring and Time-to-Productivity–Internal recruits don’t need to be onboarded. They require less training. Plus, they often accept a job offer more quickly than an outside applicant. In addition, it’s less common for an internal recruit to ask for an extended interim before starting the new position.
• Employee Engagement and Productivity–Companies that promote from within have a more engaged and productive team. When employees see their company investing in its workforce, they feel better about their career advancement potential.
• Employee Retention–Consequently, there is a higher retention rate for internal recruits in many industries.

Step 3: Actively seek employee referrals

Many companies have learned how to find employees that are a great fit; they look to their top performers. High achievers know others like them. (We generally hang out with people like ourselves.)

In one sense, they have performed the first-level screening. Use a formal process for referral communications. ATS have templates that make it easy.

Step 4: Use a job posting distribution platform

Posting manually to each job board is tedious and time-consuming. With a distribution platform, you get access to thousands of job boards. Then the platform posts to all of your chosen sites at once, automatically.

Intelligent algorithms recommend the best sites depending on your company and job description. And going forward, they provide current analytics so you will know which job boards are performing best. That way, your talent acquisition strategy will improve over time.