Write Stupid Job Descriptions, attract Stupid Candidates!
A template to attract only the smartest candidates in the market
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đ Hey, Pramod George here! Welcome to ⨠The Business Of Products Newsletterâ¨. Every other week I share insights that help product leaders build and scale their product management function.
This week on The Business of Products Newsletter
How to write job descriptions that will attract amazing talent while repelling bad talent.
Write Stupid Job Descriptions, attract Stupid Candidates!
Iâve heard many company leaders say things like
Itâs difficult finding great candidates for our teamâŚ
Irrelevant candidates apply for the jobâŚ
Candidates submit irrelevant CVsâŚ
Candidates ask for too much compensationâŚ
The hiring process is tiringâŚ
Weâve interviewed 100 candidates so far...but not hired even oneâŚ
Chances are youâve said them too. Many organizations struggle with finding, attracting, and hiring great talent.
After a while in this field, Iâve recognized that the failure to attract great talent begins at the very first step: writing the job description.
I can tell how good a company is to work for by looking at the jobs they post. Iâve heard one too many job descriptions looking for a âRockstarâ candidate, who is interested to work in a âFast-Paced Environmentâ with âFlexible Work Hoursâ and has the âAbility to Adapt to Changing Business Requirementsâ. This roughly translates to the fact that the company is looking for a âguy who can do everythingâ on an âurgent basis every timeâ and is âavailable all hoursâ because the âcompany has no idea what they are doingâ!
If this is how your company is still writing job descriptions, please send them a copy of the advice Iâm going to share in todayâs newsletter.
How To Write Better Job Descriptions?
In this section, Iâm going to give you a template for writing better job descriptions.
The fundamental shift that I recommend is that instead of posting the âjob descriptionâ, you instead share the âproblem descriptionâ.
While most recruiters write down what they expect from the candidate, I share my problems and request the candidates to reply with what they can offer me.
Itâs less stressful, filters un-inspired people, and allows me to identify a candidateâs caliber even before I meet them.
So what would this look like and how to do it? Itâs a three-step process.
Step 1: Write Down Your Projectâs Description
In order to attract the right talent, start with a clear explanation of the project that your team is working/ going to work on.
The reason is that it gives the candidate a clear picture of the work and the goal that the team is trying to achieve.
Not only that, but it also gives you a refreshing view of the work that youâve done or the work that is yet to be done.
For example, you could say âOur team is helping a very well-known furniture brand expand the capabilities of their CRM.â
Keep this part short and clear (maybe not a one-liner, but not an essay either). The goal is to provide a clear statement of the overall scope of work.
Why this works for candidates
Sharing your projectâs description helps candidates understand the industry, technology, and tools of the job instinctively and filters out many who may not feel like they may not want to work on such a project.
Things to avoid
Do not overstate the companyâs achievements: High-caliber candidates can instinctively recognize when companies overstate their achievements and is an immediate turn-off. They know that the only reason a company has to show off is that they do not have confidence in the quality of the work that they offer.
Do not inflate the meaningfulness of the project: Sometimes youâre just building a simple solution and thatâs okay. Youâre not finding a cure for cancer or solving the clean energy crisis and thatâs okay. Whatâs not okay is trying to inflate the impact of the solution that youâre building. Youâre only fooling yourself and great candidates will see through this. For eg; If youâre building a login page for an e-commerce site, do not hyper-inflate the work to sound like youâre âbuilding the next level of ai-powered âaccess protocolsââ when what you actually need is simply someone who can implement an SSO using an existing solution in the market.
STEP 2: Explain the problem
The next step is to explain the problem. This is a powerful exercise as it forces you to review and pen down the problem that requires an external hire to resolve.
Putting your problem down in writing will give you a better idea of the kind of person who would be the right fit for the job.
Letâs see how that would happen in reality.
Letâs say that youâre building an analytics dashboard and you need someone to create the front-end reports and dashboards for you. Youâre thinking of a front-end developer who can build charts, reports, and dashboards in REACT.js.
You could define the problem as âWe need to design and create the complete customer-facing reports/ dashboards and experience.âŚWe prefer to use REACT.js to build this out as we have some working knowledge about it.â.
This might sound simple, but when I do this, I have received applications from full-stack developers who were part-time designers and were looking for an opportunity to do both design and development at a new firm.
Because I did not create an artificial barrier to the success of this role (i:e define a designation or title), I got applications from people who are excited to âsolve problemsâ or âtake up challengesâ in this space, which is more than I can say for a frontend developer looking for a frontend job.
It is important to define the problem properly and ensure that applicants understand the role that they are applying for.
Why this works for recruiters
When I share the problem and avoid putting in details like designation and required years of experience, I get applications from all levels of candidates. The best man/woman for the job is someone who can solve the problem and not someone who can meet the number of years of experience or designation title.
â Keep reading to see a full Job Description Example.
STEP 3: Ask For A Detailed Cover Letter
After explaining the project details and the problem statement, I ask the readers to apply using a detailed letter stating how they would help resolve the issue and why they would be a better fit as compared to the other candidates who may apply.
I ask for a detailed cover letter because
It helps filter out candidates who spam email applications and who are not detail-oriented & systematic, which is a necessary trait for SaaS teams.
Helps filter out candidates who cannot articulate their answers well. Good written communication is a sign of an organized mind and is a trait that is super helpful for SAAS teams, especially while working remotely.
Because Resumes are useless and no one reads them anyway. (The only information I mostly look for in a resume is whether they have worked in reputed companies or how many years of experience they have)
For example, you could say âIf you think youâd be a great fit for the role, please send us a detailed cover letter telling us how you would solve the problem and what makes you stand out from your co-applicantsâŚsend your email toâŚâ
Sample Job Description
About the Job.
Remember this is just a sample and some of the details may not seem realistic.
Omnicell Job Application Template
âHi, over the past 6 months, we have been developing an analytics SAAS product for MarTech companies that allows them to connect their data and see insights about their performance really quickly. We are doing this by standardizing the top reports and dashboards for the BPO domain and building algorithms that can automatically understand industry-standard data on the clientâs side and map it to our predefined data models. (about the project/product, keep this short)
We know exactly which reports and dashboards need to be built. We are looking for someone to help us design, build and deploy a progressive web application (front end application), which must have intuitive charts, reports, and dashboards that can convey a very specific metric or story, multi-tenant deployment capabilities, access controls, etc. We host our solutions on AWS (our cloud solution partner) and code the front-end in React.js. (about the need..expand as you see fit)
We are a group of inspired individuals who are on a mission to help make MarTech firms more profitable by providing them with actionable insights from their data. The company was established in 2019 and has steadily grown into a team of 50 individuals netting over $500,000 of profit every year. You can learn more about our company culture here<company website url>. You can find the team members that you will work with here<team list url>. (about the company and the team, optional)
If you think youâd be a great fit for the role, please send us a detailed cover letter telling us how you would solve the problem and what makes you stand out from your co-applicants. If we like your reply we will get in touch with you to set up an interview. (filter criteria for candidates)â
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