I have to write about this every year so lets start 2012 by resolving to write better job descriptions. 

It starts with your JOB TITLE.

The title is the first thing a job seeker sees when searching online so its important to give it context. It must inform the job seeker, not confuse them. And its a chance to add keywords which will help make it a more search engine friendly posting. I recently worked with a few clients of AllCountyJobs to adjust their job titles to help increase applicants and make them more meaningful to seekers.

EXAMPLE 1

Before: Process Support I

What does that mean? After reading the rest of the job description I saw that it was in the banking industry working with loans. I changed it to reflect that.

After: Process Support - Loan Banking

EXAMPLE 2

Before: Team Member

Team member for what? What kind of team? This is very vague so we modified it.

After: Restaurant Team Member - All Shifts

EXAMPLE 3

Before: Director

Director of what? It turned out to be for a children's gym so this was a simple fix.

After: Children's Gym Director

EXAMPLE 4

Before: Account Executive

This is one of the most common mistakes. An account exec is all about sales so say it and give the seeker an idea of what industry its in.

After: Sales Executive - IT Consulting

I've been running local job boards at AllCountyJobs.com for over 13 years so I've seen more than my share of bad recruiting techniques. I hope this helps you recruit better in 2012.

Happy New Year.