When searching for new opportunities, candidates often read dozens of job descriptions per day, so if you want yours to stand out from the crowd, you need to put a lot of time and effort into its creation. Simply reusing the same job descriptions year-after-year or writing them as an afterthought will attract mediocre talent at best, and you can do better than that.

Follow these five tips to create an eye-catching job description sure to capture the attention of high-caliber candidates.

Make it Scannable

Top talent doesn’t have the time or desire to read a lengthy job description composed of long blocks of text. Make it visually appealing by using bullet points to break up the content, so it’s easy to scan. Separate different sections — key responsibilities, requirements, company details, etc. — with headers, so the reader can quickly learn key points without achieving information overload.

Outline Main Responsibilities

The best candidates don’t just want any job — they’re only interested in an exciting, engaging position. You don’t need to give an in-depth description of every task associated with the job, but remaining mum on key responsibilities will only deter quality candidates from applying. Keep them interested by listing five or six main duties the person hired will be responsible for, including two or three sentences about each one.

Focus on the Candidate

The kind of person you need to hire certainly wants to do great work for your company, but these ambitious, driven professionals also want to further their career. Keep them interested by using a section of the job description to really sell the position as an incredible experience. Highlight learning experiences, interesting projects, company perks, and anything else that makes this job at your company a better choice than a similar position with a competitor.

Match the Tone to Your Culture

No one wants to read a dull, monotone job description, so spice up your content by writing it a fun, engaging tone that represents your company culture. This is an effective way to introduce contenders to your company culture, giving them a preview of the attitudes, beliefs, and practices that power your organization. Of course, this may not appeal to every job seeker, so it can also help weed out those who aren’t a great fit for your team.

Proofread, Proofread, Proofread

No candidate worthy of your organization will keep reading a job description laden with errors. Spell check does not catch all misspellings and grammatical mistakes, so have a few different people review the content before posting it. Sloppy job descriptions reflect poorly on your entire company, making it appear to lack pride or like a questionable organization.

Let ECS manage your contract labor force, so you can focus your efforts on growing your company. We assist recruiters and companies in a variety of industries, including Fortune 500 companies, defense contractors, information technology, accounting, and engineering firms. Contact us today to get started!