Crafting a job description for tech recruitment is an important task that can enhance or ruin your search for tech talent. The reason is, a job description is the first thing that hits the eye of prospective hires when they choose to apply for an open position. The better the job description, the better will be the tech recruitment and tech talent pool. Most of the time, the tech recruitment job descriptions do not represent the exact position to be filled, nor do they attractively represent the company. So how do we write the best technical job description to hire the right tech talent? The straightforward answer is to be simple and honest.

An In-Depth Look at Creating the Right Technical Job Description.

Sourcing the right tech talent is one of the biggest recruiting challenges of the present day. According to a popular survey, 86% of the respondents stated that they find it very challenging to hire technical talent. However, just as candidates make the first impression on a company with an impressive CV, the recruiters can make the first impression on a potential tech candidate by way of an eye-catching job description.

Let’s dig deeper into why and how to write a technical job description that fits.

Why is it Necessary to have a Good Tech Recruitment Job Description?

Tech candidates are in great demand now. Gone are the days when companies could command terms of employment as per their wish. Attracting tech talent has become the order of the day these days. Skilled and talented candidates get to choose what and how they want to work, and they negotiate a lot. Hence, companies that want the cream of the crop should have to stand out from the rest in order to attract the best talent. The best way to achieve this is by way of an ideal job description.

An ideal tech job description should lure the right tech talent at every step during the recruitment, and the first gateway for this is a neatly crafted job description. Job descriptions are the ones that candidates see before everything else in the recruitment scenario. Since the candidates maybe scrolling down similar job descriptions posted by competitors, it is vital to ignite their interest and earn a second glance.

According to a survey by the ladders, [a] candidates spent approx. 49.7 seconds to 76.7 seconds to review a job posting. So the first few seconds when they browse through the job description are very crucial.

Phrases such as “rockstar developer,” “ninja,” “penetrate the market,” “hit the ground running,” etc., in the job descriptions and job titles have caused a fair amount of controversy. The problem with these verbatim terms is the ambiguity. Some feel they are OK, while most employers and developers ridicule them as terrible labels. So it pays well to strike all these IT harassing words from the job description.

Crafting a good and simple job description (sans buzz words) by giving a positive first impression is a vital step in tech recruitment.

How to Enhance Your Job Description?

Understand the Tech Position that one has to Fill

The first problem that most recruiters have is understanding or relating to the tech positions. As a result, they fail to match the specific skill sets needed for a particular tech position. For instance, for developer jobs, one has to clearly demarcate whether the company needs a back-end, front-end, or full-stack developer and what are the most critical skills these developers should have. Once you have understood and defined the skills, it becomes easy to craft the right job description.

Create an Effective Job Title

A Monster survey found that 64% of the participants were unwilling to apply for a job if the title was unclear. So, be sure to choose a clear and succinct job title. The majority of technological job descriptions occasionally include buzzwords like “ninja,” “rockstar,” and similar expressions. So attempt to steer clear of these and place more emphasis on the appropriate technology that the organization requires as a skill set.

Keep Creativity within Limits

Creativity can be fun (especially when it comes to technical job descriptions) as it makes your job title stand out. For instance, terms like Innovation Evangelist, Badass, etc., may look fancy but can also be confusing. Do not be so over-enthusiastic upon being creative that you miss out on the candidates who search for the same tech recruitment job under a different title. Using too many jazzy words can cause the main message to be lost. One must keep in mind that both the company and the job have to be visible to seekers. Try to use industry-standard lingo rather than using more of the company’s internal technical terminology.

Do Not Keep a Laundry List

Most tech job descriptions are likely to have a laundry list (too many requirements) of responsibilities and skills needed for a particular job. The result is that this laundry list presents issues to both the companies doing the tech recruitment and the candidates with tech talent. As a result, the companies miss out on the right tech talent, and the candidates miss opportunities. Plus, most candidates may fail to apply as they do not have all the requirements.

So it is generally advised to keep your requirements in mind when hiring, prioritize the requirements and mention the ones that are definitely needed. For instance, one can avoid the wish list and instead focus on must-have requirements. To begin with, you can add a short overview of the company and then an overview of the role. Then one can list out a few essential points stating the position’s day-to-day responsibilities, followed by the required tech skills and some extra preferred add-on skills.

You can also categorize skills as technical skills, communication skills, management skills, and the like. Do not overlook soft skills as well. It is a good idea to involve current employees in writing the job description as it helps to get the best out of the job description.

Try to Focus on Training Opportunities in the Job Description

With the skill gap creating a major shift in the recruitment process, most companies are going out of the traditional practice of looking for credentials previously thought of as must-haves, like degree-based recruitment.[1]

Companies are considering whether the current technical skills that the candidate has acquired through additional certification will enable them to do the job even if the candidates are degree–wise less qualified for the job.

Hence, it pays well to recruit candidates who have undergone the latest project-based learning courses from reputed training centers or colleges pays well. Thus, the recruiter can focus on the required skills (rather than degrees alone) in the technical job description and tell the candidates how they can learn, get trained, and grow with the company.

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