Poorly written job descriptions share certain things in common. I’ve analyzed (by hand) many thousands of job descriptions and created this checklist of the”worst job description practices” to avoid. 1. Poorly Written Job Descriptions Have Long Job Titles The job title is key. It’s usually the first thing a candidate sees. Job titles with 1… Read more »
Action verbs are the most effective verbs to use in job descriptions. What is an action verb? It’s a verb that expresses physical or mental action. Examples of action verbs: The CEO motivates his team. The developer writes code. The accountant approves the balance sheet An action verb is distinct from linking verbs (am, are, is, was,… Read more »
Job descriptions are in the news lately. A lot of controversy. I’m hoping you’re not in any of them. That got me digging. I went back a few years to find stories related to controversial job postings. There’s Uber, Abercrombie, Walmart and other lesser-known names as well. I’m starting a list here as a central… Read more »
Recruiting is like dating. Before Ongig, I had a great job as CEO of a dating advice company. We helped millions of single men (and some single women) become more successful at dating. Here are a few ways I found that recruiting is like dating: “Be yourself; everyone else is already taken” Oscar Wilde is… Read more »
Well written job descriptions aren’t easy to come by. Most JDs are written by busy hiring managers or recruiters. They read more like a legal contract than clean ad copy. Below are 7 tips based on examples of well written job descriptions I found on the web. Tip #1 for Well Written Job Descriptions: Use Questions… Read more »
When Cynet Systems, an Inc. 5000 company out of Ashburn, Virginia, had its job posting debacle last month, I decided not to write about it. Cynet CEO Nick Budhiraja and his team had reached out to Ongig (we have software that helps avoid such issues). I thought I’d hold off on giving my take on… Read more »
The placement of a single bullet in a University’s job description cost it $250,000 under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Job descriptions, under the ADA, can be the “evidence” that courts use to rule in a lawsuit. This is a cautionary tale for employers, especially those who consider rotating work schedule to be an… Read more »
I’d love it if you used Ongig’s Text Analyzer software for writing job descriptions. But it’s not free and I understand we might be beyond your budget. So, in the meantime, here are 5 free “hacks” (tools) for you to write more effective job descriptions. Writing Job Descriptions Free Hack #1: Word Count Optimizing the word… Read more »
Where should your “About Us” section go in a job posting? The start? The middle? The end? If you guessed the start, you’re not alone, but you might be in for a surprise about its effectiveness. An informal survey of job postings on Indeed, Glassdoor and Google for Jobs shows that 53.8% of employers start… Read more »
If you want your career site to attract and convert the best candidates, it helps to borrow lessons from the best storytellers. Screenplay writers, for instance, are masters at getting us (the viewer) to sit down for: 2 days, 15 hours and 30 minutes (first 7 seasons of Game of Thrones) 22 hours and 40 minutes… Read more »
If you’re a recruitment marketing or employer branding leader, you probably have tons of energy around company review sites like Glassdoor. A new Glassdoor alternative that has grown rapidly is Comparably. I spent some time with Comparably CEO Jason Nazar to dig in on this important new part of the employer branding space. Special thanks… Read more »
If you’re into employer branding, you’re in for a treat. Below is my interview with Andrew Levy. Andrew and I first met in 2012 at a TMP Worldwide/Intuit vendor day. Jason Webster of Ongig/Glassdoor/Greenhouse fame was there too. Since then, Andrew has worked on the talent branding teams at WeWork, Uber and Autodesk. He’s got a… Read more »
People with disabilities can, of course, be your most productive workers. But just one word or phrase could make them feel excluded. This bias against people with disabilities is also called ableism. One type/example of ableism in job descriptions is the words we use to describe physical demands. If a candidate has a physical disability,… Read more »
It’s no secret that your company career site is one of the most important elements of your recruiting strategy. In fact, it’s a culmination of many initiatives: candidate experience, employer branding, recruitment marketing, diversity and inclusion. Bottom line? If you want to attract, engage and convert more candidates, optimizing your company career site is a… Read more »
Gender bias is a hot topic! There is an absolute movement right now to attract more women in the workplace. Check out these 3 recent news stories: California became the first state to require that public companies have at least 1 woman on their board of directors Catalyst (the non-profit) launched #BiasCorrect as a gender… Read more »
