How to write an outstanding job description to attract your ideal candidate?

Job title — Be specific and avoid creative titles like wizard and rock star, which are vague and can be off-putting to candidates. Instead, choose a title that job seekers are searching for and will understand. Job titles should be short: Refer to a position as a bookkeeper, even if the official internal title is Bookkeeper and Occasional Copier Technician/Intern Manager, Level 15.

Opening hook — A powerful opening connects with your audience and generates excitement about the position’s possibilities. A compelling introduction will also work to encourage potential candidates to read the rest of your job ad, which leads to a much greater chance that they will respond.

Organisation and culture — To attract the best candidates, you’ll want to make them excited at the prospect of working with you. Promote the company’s strengths, lay out its mission and paint a picture of the corporate culture and what it’s truly like to work there.

Department and reporting structure — Identifying the department will help job seekers research the position and decide whether it’s right for them, making the application process and the vetting smoother. The candidate also needs to know how the position fits into your organisation, including the number of direct reports the person would supervise if you’re staffing for a managerial role.

Summary of the position — This is the heart of the job description. In a few sentences, give the job’s broadest responsibility, function or priority within the organisation. Include an overview of expectations for the person who fills the role, their immediate and long-term objectives, and define what constitutes exceptional performance. If this section is running long, consider presenting it in bullet points to make it easier to digest.

Key duties and responsibilities — This narrows down the primary responsibility mentioned in the summary section. Help candidates envision themselves already in the role. Give a very rough percentage of the time to be spent on each duty (which should add up to 100%) and how often each is performed (daily, weekly or periodically) and verify this is still correct by running the description past the current team.

Compensation — There are pros and cons to including a salary range in a job posting, but candidates should know upfront whether the position comes with a comprehensive annual package or is made up of various components. If you decide not to give a figure, include language about offering a competitive salary. Also, highlight any benefits and perks — for many job seekers, that information is as important as the salary figure.

Job location and work arrangements — Be sure the posting includes the location of the office where the employee would work. Emphasise any options for remote or hybrid working and flextime since such arrangements are hugely attractive to today’s candidates.

A qualifying statement — No job ad will include an exhaustive list of duties — nor should it. Make clear that the employee’s responsibilities may be revised from time to time based on business needs.

Qualifications and educational requirements — What skills, training, language fluency, education or relevant experience should the successful applicant have? The more specific you are here, the more qualified the applicants who apply are likely to be. Make sure the qualifications you set are necessities rather than nice-to-haves, or you might deter individuals with otherwise great potential

Soft skills — Consider what qualities and interpersonal skills would contribute to superior performance. List the four or five of these you value in top performers already holding this or a similar role in your company and explain why these qualities are needed for the job.