A manager can boost his chances of getting the ideal candidates if he first makes sure what he wants from them. This necessitates a properly drawn-out job description. Asking himself these following questions will help the manager decide the job description.
● What are the formal skills, knowledge and attributes needed for the job?
● What is the relevance of these skills and attributes?
● Can a person who does not possess these skills still do the job?
● Are there skills which can compensate or substitute for these skills?
● Does the recruitment go hand in hand with the description?
● Will the candidates feel the recruitment to be fair and justified?
● Where is the position on the Organizational Chart?
● To whom will the candidate report?
● Does the candidate need to supervise anybody?
● To what extent the compatibility of the candidate matters?
● Do informal or dotted lines also report relationships?
● What will the working environment be?
● Is the nature of the job permanent?
● Will there soon be any change in the description?
● Is travelling involved in the job?
● What is the duration and frequency of these travels?
● Are there specific working hours?
● Are the working hours flexible?
● Is regular overtime very common?
● What is going to be the initial salary?
● Is there any flexibility or room for negotiation in the salary structure?
● What is the structure of the commission?
● Do the company incorporate any rewards or bonuses?
● When is the review period of the salary?
● Are there opportunities for salary hikes before the standard review period?
● Does the company provide facilities like health insurance, life insurance, etc.?
● Is there a profit sharing, gratuity, retirement, or pension plan?
● What are the vacation, holiday, sick day, and disability policies?
● Does the company offer training, education programs or tuition reimbursements?
● What is the policy of the company with respect to promotions?
● Are there inter-departmental promotions and/or lateral transfers?
● Can an employee opt to turn down promotion?
● What will be the impact on future offers?
● What was the style of communication used by the previous position-holder?
● What were the advantages and disadvantages of the previous job-holder?
● What kind of communication style will best suit the needs of the opening?
● What kind of strengths and weaknesses are associated with this pattern?
● Will this pattern help diminish any weaknesses of the team?
● What will ideally motivate a person in this job?
● What can possibly be a secondary motivator?
● What motivates others in the team internally?
● Will they be compatible with and complementing to each other?
● What more is expected and/or provided—for example, company car, tools, uniforms, dress code?
To conclude, the job posting will not get all these questions answered. Only those most relevant to the job are needed to be answered. Think of them as the answers needed versus the answers that sound nice.
For example, if travel is the larger percentage of the time and requires a car (that the company is not liable to provide), then this should be specified in order to focus on the appropriate candidates. After all, not mentioning crucial facts or responsibilities on the job description is always considered to be misleading, and eventually result in a wastage of the candidates' time as well as the manager’s.