Improving Your Tech Job Descriptions to Attract Better Candidates

The tech industry is booming, and you have an endless pile of job applications to prove it. But are any of those candidates you’re sifting through actually qualified to do the work needed for your open position? The odds depend on how thorough your job description was. 

For tech workers, specificity is essential. The better your job description, the more likely it is to attract the right candidates. In this article, we’ll share the top tips to help you write a job post that brings you a new problem — how to narrow down all the ideal applicants you’ll get!

1. Start With the Skills

Every job position requires a set of skills, so why not be upfront about what the work entails? Include a “must-have” list and follow it up with a “preferred but not necessary” sentence. 

Yes, you’re narrowing your candidate pool down when you say “Certification in Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) required,” but if it’s truly a vital part of the job for them to have a certification for your insurance or other company policies, it must be in the job description. 

On the other hand, if you are looking for the skills, whether the candidate is self-taught or not, then you can say, “Certification preferred but not necessary.” If you don’t mind training the right person, say so. However, it’s wise to give the applicant a baseline foundational knowledge or experience that they should have.

2. Include the Salary

Talking about money can be uncomfortable for many people, but when you get right down to it, the salary and perks make or break whether someone takes the job. In fact, studies show that you could be losing out on applicants if you don’t show salary transparency. Potential candidates may think you’re trying to hide something, and they don’t want to waste their time applying for a job that isn’t in their preferred pay range.

Understandably, not all tech jobs can compete with the impressive salaries offered by mega companies. If you’re hiring someone for an IT role in your small business, you might not reach the average pay for similar jobs. If that’s your situation, being honest means you won’t have to interview applicants who won’t take the job anyway. 

If your perks and benefits more than make up for a salary discrepancy, you can include that in the job description. “$X salary per year, with impressive perks like flexible schedules, low-cost health insurance, paid mental health days, and accessibility-friendly equipment provided!” 

3. Discuss the Company Culture

Whether remote or in-person, you want your new hire to fit in with the workplace culture. Include those expectations in your job description. 

For example, many tech companies focus on diversity, recognizing that those organizations with diverse teams significantly outperform their less diverse competitors. (This article by Obsidi® shares more about the benefits of diversity hiring.) 

If diversity, ethnicity, and inclusion (DEI) are vital to the workplace atmosphere, this language should be shared in the job description. It will attract those who feel that your company will be a safe place to work, and repel those who don’t fit in with inclusivity. 

Whatever your company’s mission, letting potential candidates know before they apply ensures their values and goals align with the business.

4. Encourage Development With Your Language

Successful candidates have more than the right skills and diversity values. They also believe that they can continue to grow and develop, and that mistakes are opportunities to learn lessons. Use growth mindset language in your job description to attract people who work this way.

Growth mindset language emphasizes skills like problem-solving, teamwork, innovation, and critical thinking. These traits guide you to candidates who can work well with others while also troubleshooting issues before asking for assistance. 

Both teamwork and independence are essential in tech work, where the pressure of deadlines can be fast and furious. Hiring someone who doesn’t work well under tight conditions or only wants to work alone can substantially reduce productivity and negatively impact your workplace atmosphere.

Conclusion

From your company’s values to the job itself, everything a candidate needs to know to determine whether the position is a good fit must be condensed into a few sentences. Your well-written job description, using growth mindset and diversity language and including salary and perks, is the wall that separates you from a pile of useless resumes and the unicorn you’ve been looking for.