Trying to find the right candidate?
You are rolling the dice if you don't take time to simplify your job spec / advert

Trying to find the right candidate?

You are rolling the dice if you don't take time to simplify your job spec / advert!

It's sound simple - and it is, mostly - but it's also too easy to get it wrong!

After spending some time (months) searching for and applying for Product roles (Chief Product Officer / VP Product), here is some advice from an old hack to those organisations and recruiters trying to attract good product people - although I believe the?principals below are good for any role - less is more!

Be concise - nobody wants to read War & Peace when applying for a role

Minimum 3 and Maximum 7 - things you...

  • Need from the candidate
  • would Like from the candidate
  • Expect from a candidate?
  • will Offer to the candidate

Explain Who you are, and Why you matter - but not verbosely

Provide key information, including:

  • org Strategy - where is the org going
  • Who (role or person) the role Reports to
  • what Team, including direct and in-direct reports
  • Why this role is Available

Show the Salary range - otherwise you are just delaying the candidate from rejecting you later down the line - that wastes your time, and p!sses off the candidate, who might one day work for you or you for them!

Finally provide a summary of your org's core values - what are they expected to buy into emotionally?

Remember - don't be verbose. If (ever) required, that comes in conversations or additional material, like a web site!

Here's an example

Chief Product Officer (CPO) for ABC company

Role is new* / due to staff promotion* / maternity cover* / vacancy*

* delete as appropriate

ABC company is the, e.g. world leader in XYZ, producing X billion Y globally, with Z customers.

www.abc.com

Our goal is to increase X by %, and diversify our Y into two, whilst increasing our customers by %

The CPO reports into CEO, and collaborates with c-suite, and senior leadership team across the org.

CPO manages a team of X, with Y direct and Z in-direct reports spanning (a), (b), and (c) groups

Successful candidates are likely to have

Minimal

  1. n+ years in similar role
  2. Direct experience of []
  3. Expertise in []
  4. Management of diverse groups of disciplines
  5. Stakeholder management from c-suite to lowest level of org
  6. Demonstrable experience in []
  7. Pastoral care, mentorship and coaching of teams

Desired (but not essential)

  • n+ years experience of []
  • Expertise in []
  • Eduction / training / qualification in []

Expected from candidates

  1. Define (with CEO) and own the suite of Products KPIs
  2. Deliver two out of three: on-time or on-budget or on-feature
  3. Continuously drive best experience for end-users
  4. Be ever-ready to present, at Boards, to customers, with teams, etc.
  5. Attract, retain and motivate your team

In return

  • Salary of £$€ xxx,xxx plus bonus (tied to KPIs) of xx%
  • All the other usual stuff (that is expected), e.g. Pension, healthcare, holiday, etc.
  • Something that is genuinely unique to your org

Our cultural values

(a)

(b)

(c)

Application process

Easy Apply*

Turn around is approximately 2 weeks, but we will get back to you.

* no need to re-invent the wheel - do not make the candidate jump through hoops to get to the same point as the next org who offered a "Quick Apply" option!

What not do to?

Don't...

  • Do long lists of requirements - it says you don't really know what you want. And if you genuinely think you need 25 things, then you need to split the role into more than one!
  • Use unnecessary words - people can read between the lines - certainly if a Product person cannot do that, then you probably don't want them to apply!
  • Use Education as a first filter - you are losing out - and arguably it's prejudicial. If a person has 10+ years "doing" then there education is no longer relevant!
  • Hide Salary - you are just delaying the inevitable - and why do that? Nothing more annoying than stating "Competitive Salary" only to find out it is the polar opposite. Be up-front, otherwise you just look like you are being shifty!
  • Declare employee rights as "perks" - they are rights, enshrined in (employment) law. It sends the wrong message (of we will dress anything up to be good). Instead focus on what is genuinely unique about your org. / the role, which will attract the right fit of person.
  • Make the candidate register on (yet another) site - they don't want to complete and crucially track yet another recruitment board, and most of the time the "import" features on these are rubbish. LinkedIn is a superb public-facing summary of the candidate's experience!
  • Not get back to the candidate - they bothered to apply, even if it was just a quick application of just their CV - the least you can do is acknowledge that interest.

Hope this helps :)

Happy to have feedback and discuss the topic.

Peter Franks

Partner @ Neon River | Technology and Games Industry Headhunter

2 年

You're absolutely right that most job specs are far too verbose and focus on the wrong things. Ultimately a job advert is partly a sales document - there to entice the best candidates to your role. Most job adverts describe the company using a lazy copy-and-paste from the company website rather than tailoring your message to your audience. Think objectively about your business - what makes it attractive to candidates? You're also right that most descriptions of role responsibilities and requirements are too long and focus on irrelevant areas. The only thing I'd add is that the "Responsibilities" section also has a role to play in selling the role to candidates, and is a chance to make the role sound interesting. For example; "Manage a team of product managers, designers and user researchers" Sounds less exciting than; "Lead a team of product managers, designers and user researchers. Provide them with leadership, coaching and guidance as an important member of the leadership team"

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