So you’ve held the hiring meeting.

You’ve been given a list of requirements, conditions, and responsibilities and now you’re tasked with creating a job description that hits on every single one, a seemingly impossible task.

If you resonate with this, you’re not alone. Writing a comprehensive, engaging job post that also covers all of the company’s needs is no easy task. But the standard job description is becoming inaccessible to job seekers, leaving a potential candidate overwhelmed, disengaged, and far more likely to give up midway. It’s time we take a look at how we are approaching our job posts.

Why?

Let’s look at the numbers for a minute. On average, an applicant on Wantedly will spend ~1.5 minutes on your job post. On our platform, the average application rate is 2.5% (meaning for every 100 page views of your job post, you will get 2.5 applicants), poorly written posts will generally fall under 1%, while well-written ones can receive over 4%. This is a sizable difference, and all the more reason to ensure you are optimizing the undivided attention the jobseeker gives you.

At Wantedly, we believe a job post should give the reader a snapshot of your company’s culture, get them excited about the role and have them thinking, “This sounds perfect for me!”

1. Write from the candidate’s point of view, not the company’s

It’s important to write your job post in a way that helps the reader really visualize the role, what kind of person should do it, and what tangible impact it will have. This is why on Wantedly’s job post creator, we give prompts like, What will a day in the life of this position look like? What is the team working on this year? What kind of person usually thrives in this environment?

It also helps to write as though the reader has already gotten the job. For instance, instead of the usual ability to work independently, you can write you will be able to take ownership of your work.

2. A picture tells a thousand words.

We find that adding real pictures to your job post is a wonderful way to break down barriers and bring in the human aspect of your company.

3. Make it casual

To appeal to candidates who may be on the fence, try signing off your job description with an invitation to get in touch casually to learn more. Doing so could open you up to talent you may not have otherwise met. Want to know more about the casual interview? See our pros and cons of adding it to your recruitment cycle here.

4. What’s in a name?

The job title is the first thing a potential candidate will see when scrolling through positions. Make sure you are optimizing it!

Finally...

Of course, all said and done, listing requirements and responsibilities are still important and are effective for getting the most important information across in a small amount of space. However, your job description should not alienate a potential candidate. These tips are tried and tested and can go a long way in creating more accessible job postings. We hope you found them helpful!

See here and here and examples of engaging job posts that have been popular on Wantedly!