Attract top talent with five job description tips

We, recruiters, have seen our fair share of job descriptions, and we know how difficult it is to write one. 

There is no better way to waste time than with a horrible job description. The sheer implications of a poorly written job description can have many consequences, such as attracting a bad hire, wasting time and even being costly. 

So, without further ado, here’s how to write a job description that will attract top talent. 

Stop Recycling Your Job Description 

We highly recommend that hiring managers create custom descriptions for each job description. While you might think that recycling information is efficient, the information could be outdated or might not attract the top talent you’re searching for. 

Perform a job analysis. Take the time to process and interpret data about the position, such as tasks, performance, necessary skills and working conditions. In today’s job market, candidates have more choices than ever before. When they read job descriptions, they are looking for descriptions that are eye-catching rather than the same, redundant content.

A client advocacy claims payer position description might include that the company is looking for a hire with stellar service skills to provide and adjudicate student health insurance claims—but not every client advocacy claims payer might do the same. It is crucial to give an accurate and precise job description. 

Key Responsibilities: Don’t Skimp the Details

Understanding the role’s key day-to-day responsibilities is one of the essential components of a job description, especially when it comes to attracting top talent. To attract top talent, your listed responsibilities must match the capabilities of someone who would thrive at your company. 

Once you set the performance standard, you’ll want to determine if a candidate can meet the functions of a position. Let’s examine some key responsibilities of a sales manager. They could supervise, train and mentor employees. 

Your talent must understand everything that falls within the role, or you might risk a costly hire that will quickly leave a position. 

Skills & Qualifications 

The skills and qualifications section should be the meat of your entire job description. This section is where you showcase the level of competency you are searching for in an ideal candidate. 

Let’s discuss the position of an insurance accounting manager. For example, their skills and qualification might be:

• A degree in a respective field such as accounting or finance
• A minimum year(s) requirement of industry experience 
• Ability to apply technical accounting knowledge to real-world business transactions
• Ability to develop, implement and document effective internal control
• Organized, detail-oriented and deadline-driven
• Strong excel skills and the ability to work with large data sets

Explaining the skills and qualifications you want to see in a candidate will help weed out applicants that may not be qualified. The best way to attract top talent, in this case, would be to showcase the kind of competency you expect and the level of skills you need for someone to succeed in this position. 

Cultural Fit

This tip is the easiest way to explain your workplace culture to the possible applicant. How do you want this applicant to fit into the organization? Are you looking for someone with an upbeat personality? Someone interested in learning new skills or upskilling? 

A well-written job description will include specific attributes that an organization desires in an applicant. 

Honorable Mentions: Salary & Location

We’ve included location and salary on this list as honorable mentions, partly because we often talk about the value of wages and remote work in other blogs. Naturally, including a competitive salary range to attract top talent and opening up your doors to workers all across the country may help broaden your candidate pool. 

The James Allen Companies understands the insurance industry’s struggles and pain points. If you are struggling to get started searching for top talent, contact us today and start a conversation.