Post idea: How to Write a Job description

[SeanKilleen]

I got a surprising amount of positive feedback on a job description I wrote lately, both internally and from candidates. So, I figured I'd write up my process here in case it can help anyone.

• Authenticity is key
• I like to structure as "About Us", "About You", "About This Role", and "Where You'll Grow"
  • I want people who want to grow
  • I want people who have certain characteristics and I think these and their attitude matter more than specific skills, which can be taught
• I keep the list of skills and buzzwords low -- again, most of these things can be taught and I don't need great people self-filtering due to imposter syndrome. I try to keep it to "Day 1 skills" -- things I need people to be proficient in when they enter the organization.
• "If this sounds like you, we encourage you to apply, even if you don’t tick every box. It’s okay to let us know where your strengths and weaknesses are on this list." -- anyone who takes me up on this gets a positive note for sure
• The job description is a way for you to live your company's culture. Does it reflect the values of your organization? Does it reflect the way you intend to show up as a leader?
• Think about key words and ideas that reflect your culture/value that you feel strongly about and work them into the post. In our case, several applicants really resonated with the way I described our mindset as "humble".

What were the results?

I had a number of candidates I really liked for this position, and in the end, i was able to make offers to two phenomenally talented coders.

In both cases, they saw this job post through messages from other professionals who said "this sounds like you", and they felt the job description authentically described a place they wanted to be. That feels like a resounding success.