One Mistake to Avoid When Designing Job Descriptions

When creating job descriptions, hiring managers often fall prey to common pitfalls, such as being vague, including excessive requirements, or relying on niche buzzwords. However, one critical mistake can lead to prolonged vacancies and significant hiring delays: the development of person-biased job descriptions.

In recruitment, we frequently encounter situations where clients express frustration over job mandates that remain open for an extended period. Despite significant efforts and collaboration with various experts, these positions often remain unfilled.

Upon careful evaluation of the job requirements, along with our industry expertise and recruitment experience, we often find that the underlying issue lies in the design of the job descriptions. Many of these descriptions are crafted in a person-biased manner rather than following industry best practices. This focus on personal preferences instead of objective role requirements leads to dead ends in the hiring process.

What are Person-Biased Job Descriptions?

Person-biased job descriptions are crafted based on the personal preferences of the hiring manager rather than adhering to industry best practices. This means they often reflect:

The specific traits or experiences the hiring manager values, rather than what is genuinely necessary for the role.
Criteria that focus more on compatibility with the current team rather than the requirements of the position itself.

Issues with Person-Biased Job Descriptions

Merging Multiple Roles: This approach can overlook the natural career growth trajectory within a function.
Unnecessary Qualifications: Including criteria that do not impact overall performance can deter qualified candidates.
Company-Specific Experience: Expecting experience in tasks beyond industry standard roles restricts the candidate pool. Instead of emphasizing on willingness to learn, these must have non industry standard requirements become dead end.
Contradictory Conditions: While rare, some descriptions contain conflicting criteria that confuse potential applicants.
Unrealistic Expectations: Higher expectations regarding proven delivery based on age or experience can limit opportunities for emerging talent.
Narrow Candidate Search: Focusing only on candidates from select high-profile companies ignores the vast talent available in other organizations.

The Consequences of Person Bias

Person-biased job descriptions often lead to unfilled vacancies or extended hiring timelines. Both situations represent a loss for organizations, resulting in delays in achieving broader organizational goals.

Action Plan to Address Person Bias

To mitigate the impact of person bias, consider implementing the following strategies:

Remove Unnecessary Conditions: Eliminate criteria that do not affect role performance.
Internal Training: Align hiring managers on industry standard role and through training focus on tasks that are not part of standard roles. This enables the selection of candidates who meet essential criteria and are eager to learn.
Categorize Skills: Work with hiring managers to differentiate between "must-have" and "good-to-have" skills for clarity in the job description.
Expand Candidate Search: Encourage hiring managers to look beyond candidates from select companies, broadening the search to include diverse talent.