Forties People

You're looking for the right person, and once you've found them, what are they expected to do? For anyone applying for a new job, the scope of the tasks they are expected to perform is vital to how they perceive the company and it's management.

You can't successfully fill a vacancy unless you've accurately defined the role in the first place. This is as helpful for the employer as it is for the employee, because it clarifies what the applicant has to do on a daily, weekly or monthly basis, and it helps the employer determine performance and any potential training needs that might be required.

Don't get bogged down with intricate details - those are for the operational manual - and the general rule of thumb is to include between 10-15 short sentences or points that cover the main responsibilities of the role, not the detailed processes.

To create a perfect job description, answer these five questions -

• What is the main purpose of the job and what is its contribution to the individual department or the company as a whole?
• What are the essential skills the candidate needs to fulfil the role? Are there specific technical or IT-based skills? What software or hardware (including versions) do you expect the candidate to be able to use proficiently?
• What are the main responsibilities and duties the candidate is expected to carry out, regardless of whether they are daily, weekly, monthly, annually or on an infrequent or irregular basis?
• Does the job have a supervisory role? How many subordinates will be reporting to the candidate? Who is the candidate subordinate to?
• Ideally, what experience and education is needed in order to successfully fulfil the responsibilities and duties of this job?

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For more information and advice, click here to contact the specialists at Forties People.