How to Convey Culture Through Job Descriptions

Why wait until the interview phase to demonstrate your company culture?

Most importantly, job descriptions should effectively communicate a job and what it entails. After outlining the essentials of requirements and expectations, job descriptions should also go into as much detail as possible about the company and its culture to attract the best candidates for the job. When companies partner with recruitment firms and their openings are posted without naming the company, the description can still give an accurate portrayal of the company’s culture to attract candidates who would be a great fit at the company—top recruitment firms find ways to creatively and accurately describe what makes companies unique without breaking confidentiality.

A job description must always include the basics: title, location, objectives, responsibilities, and desired skills and experience. But in order to attract qualified candidates who are also a “culture fit,” the description should also include information about compensation, benefits, work hours, and a company description. These pieces of information may seem straightforward; however, expert recruiters have subtle yet effective ways of describing what it is like to work at the company while maintaining anonymity.

Role objectives:This section should outline the high-level expectations of the role and long-term goals. Companies can send a subliminal message about their culture in the section by making statements about the organization’s long-mission, the ideal experience that it strives for clients or customers to have, and how the role at hand adds value to these goals.

Role responsibilities:
Once the specific duties of the role have been communicated first and foremost, this section can provide insight into the company’s culture by detailing what a typical day in the office looks like for the role. Mentioning whether the work is fast-paced, highly collaborative, analytical, or independent will help potential candidates envision the company’s workforce and gain a more detailed understanding of the company as a whole.

Desired experience:
Rather than merely including the desired number of years in a role and education requirements, be as detailed as possible to grab the attention of candidates who would be a great fit in hard and soft skills. Use this section to detail the leadership styles or specific techniques used by the company and any other skill sets that have made professionals in this role successful in the past.

Benefits:
It is always helpful to include the company’s standard benefits package to assure candidates that they are applying to an organization that cares about its people. However, most companies offer a similar standard benefits package when it comes to retirement plans, insurance, and PTO. This section provides an excellent opportunity to outline what makes the company unique through the description of any unique benefits such as flexible hours, stock options, learning and development opportunities, and more.

If including some of the unique benefits seems like it would give away the identity of the company, communicate this with the recruiter—great recruiters are experts at communicating essential details without making the company’s identity obvious.

Company description:
Finally, top-tier recruitment firms always include an overview of their client company in job descriptions. Without giving away information that may break confidentiality, this section provides an opportunity to effectively communicate any details about the company, its culture, and values that were not previously stated. While discretion is necessary for job postings in which the company is remaining confidential, providing as much detail as possible is imperative for drawing the attention of candidates who are ideal for the role and company.