Business.com quoted Cream of the Crop Leaders’ CEO Sioux Messinger for human resource expertise. The inquiry: How to Hire the Right Talent and Set the Stage for a Top Performance Culture. Here’s the article:
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www.Business.com, August 11, 2015 – Eric Episcopo (excerpt)
HR Dilemma: Why Your Job Ads Aren’t Attracting the Right Talent:
Did you know that one in three U.S. employers report a difficulty filling their positions? Most HR departments blame this on what appears to be a growing skills gap in the job market.
With a third of companies struggling to find the right candidates, the competition among HR managers to fill positions is at an all time high. Headhunters and recruiters need to find new and creative ways to ensure that they don’t lose their edge.
One way to do this is to beef up the descriptions in your job ads. Most job descriptions miss the mark when it comes to reflecting the actual needs of the role and attracting quality talent. Potential applicants are either left wondering what the job is all about or uninterested in working for the company.
To discover simple and effective techniques to enhance a job description, we sought out the advice of veteran hiring experts, recruiters, and headhunters.
Here is what they came up with.
Be As Specific As Possible
“The biggest problem candidates face when they read a job description is understanding what the job is,” says Angela Copeland, career coach and author of Breaking the Rules and Getting the Job. “So often, companies either give a vague, generic description—or an overly creative one.”
According to Tyron Giuliani, Executive Recruiter and Partner at Tokyo’s leading boutique firm, Optia Partners, “hiring managers need to ask ‘what does this person need to achieve in the short, mid and long term in this role’ and what are the main challenges/problems to be solved.”
Giuliani offers an example of how to improve the phrasing of bullet points below.
Instead of simply stating that the candidate:
- Must have ten years experience in sales
- Must be a team builder
Be more specific and convert the above points to:
- Grow sales by 12% within 12 months
- Evaluate, plan and hire three new sales members over six months to tackle retail channel
The key is to be very clear and straightforward in the job description. Describe the position, the responsibilities and necessary skills.
Look for Intangible Traits
In addition to required education, experience, and skill sets, the CEO of Cream of the Crop Leaders, Sioux Messinger, suggests that employers also seek relevant character traits. “Including desired character traits in job descriptions is also important because many job-function skills are trainable,” says Messinger.
Messinger explains that “including sought character traits in job descriptions ignites excitement” and “clearly outlines a company performance culture.
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