Why Job Descriptions Are A Waste Of Time
Michelle Ansell
Helping CEOs hire leaders who stay longer & are more successful | Headhunter, 20+ years in Operations; CX, EX, Transformation, Diversity. Driving retention, growth,impact. Utilities. Insurance/BFS. Travel. Housing. SAAS
And what you need to do to start attracting top tier talent instead.
Your Job Description is out of date:
Most job descriptions are old. They have existed for many years and every time you come to hire you dust off your old job description and start adding more and more duties and responsibilities of what the role now looks like.
They are even often put together by someone who is not attached to the function, HR for instance. You will be surprised at how many clients ask us to put together a job description for them.
Are you attracting top talent, or chasing it away?
Your Job Description is not helping you attract top talent. It is more likely chasing them away.
Job descriptions are often filled with unrealistic, out of date and inauthentic information. A long list of uninteresting information that looks exactly the same or, very like every other company or role.
How much has your business changed in the last 10 years, let alone the last 3 months?
Now ask yourself how much your recruitment process has changed over the last 10 years. If it is anything like many of the companies we start working with, their business has changed dramatically but the recruitment process hasn’t.
Your ability to hire the right individuals who can deliver what you need is critical to your future success.
Job Descriptions stop innovation and creativity
Employees are restricted by staying within the bounds of their job description, rather than looking creatively and innovatively at opportunities for improvements and ways to make the company better, seek their own betterment and career development opportunities.
Jobs change, job descriptions don’t
I speak to a lot of candidates and all to often the reason they are leaving a business is that their job has changed, or isn’t matching up to their expectations.
Maybe the job was mis sold, or the hiring manager has moved on, or, the company strategy has shifted.
Either way the job they have no longer aligns to their aspirations or career direction.
Ok – on to the good stuff…What you need to start doing to help attract better and top tier talent for your next role.
What makes you special?
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What is your purpose? Having a shared purpose is almost as important to top tier talent as the role and company.
Communicate why you, and yes that is you as the hiring manager, as you are and your role are different to the rest
Present the challenge and the opportunity.
Visualise the future…
What will your future hire look like?
What do you want them to achieve?
What do you want them to save?
What’s in it for them?
Top talent aren’t just looking for a job, they are looking to acquire skills and experiences that take them where they want to be.
That may or may not be with your business in the long term future but they can transform your business now if they believe you offer them a better opportunity to do so than the next business.
Be innovative
Encourage your leaders, your CEO, MD, HR Director and hiring managers to make a short video where they talk about themselves the company and the opportunity.
Encourage potential applicants to do the same and send you a short video, or outline instead of a resume, telling you a little bit about you and why they are right for your company.
Be?Bold
Dare to be different.
Don’t look like all the other adverts or job descriptions.
Share why you are different to your competitors, stop trying to show how you are the same.
Best of luck with your hiring strategy. If you would like to know more and would like me to take a look and offer some advice at your current process, then please do book in a no obligation initial discovery call,?you can do that here.
User Experience | Design Thinking | Digital Transformation Design
2 年Great suggestions Michelle Ansell I do like the idea of a video from the hiring manager. Nice to get some transparency, and I normally like to start a brief outline of the role and the challenges / skills needed so the candidates feel they have a good grounding going into the process. I agree on the job descriptions though. I’ve seen a lot, written a lot and seen how these are handled internally, it can so easily turn into a list of internal buzzwords / project names that mean very little to an outsider.
I find JDs that are too "fluffy" counter productive. I find the expectations, how ever broad or collectively unachievable for one person alone to deliver, a clear view into the company culture and appetite to develop. Its something to make a quick judgement on (as a candidate) and build a plan and structure around to deliver. That structure could be a phased plan delivered individually or could be a scaling team from day 1. It depends on the situation but it's a situation one can plan for if the JD lays it all out in full view.
Regional Director SE Asia - Omningage | Consultancy & User Training | Quality Management | Product & User Guide Writing | Test Management | Business Case Development | Sales Demonstrations
2 年Hi Michelle. I like that idea! Why not tell applicants in plain language what need this position has to meet? I think the challenge is that many hiring managers don't know, or haven't thought it through, themselves. For this reason, you get a lot of "legacy" hires who are hired to replace someone else,using the job description that was used to hire that guy. Job descriptions are also the human version of an RFP form, which anyone in tech sales will tell you is one of the worst way to communicate with vendors you can imagine.
Marketing Consultant, CEO, Marketing Communication Executive, Adj Professor, CMO, Market Research
2 年I guess it depends how a job description is designed. If it is the old way l, I am with you ! Yet if if it entails HOW the candidate is expected to contribute to the development of the “pertnership” it may be relevant and a good base to talk performance and future development! I think the WHAT is OLD and gone, the HOW, if formulated well, is solid ground for both sides to forge a transparent and agreed partnership. I guess that is your “assignment briefing pack” !?Making sense??