How to Tailor a Job Description to Find the Ideal Candidate

Master the art of writing effective job descriptions that attract qualified candidates while highlighting your company culture and growth opportunities.

The following is a guest post from my bloggy friend Taylor McKnight on behalf of Franchise Direct UK. Interested in having a guest post on my website? Click here for my guest post submission form.

Key takeaways from this post:

– How to define roles clearly and effectively

– Importance of inclusive language in job descriptions

– Strategies for highlighting core skills and requirements

– Ways to communicate company culture authentically

– Tips for specifying educational requirements appropriately

– Methods for evaluating candidates holistically

– Importance of clear compensation and benefits information

– SEO optimization techniques for job listings

Writing Job Descriptions That Attract Your Dream Candidates

Finding the ideal candidate to run your franchise can be challenging. It starts with determining the qualities that you need in a perfect candidate. Then, it requires writing a great job ad that will attract the attention of people with the qualifications and personality to excel. Finally, you are required to judge the applicants to find the best one that meets your needs. Let’s dive deeper into each of these steps so that you can find the perfect person who will bring you years of success by being an ideal team member.

Finding the Ideal Candidate

Finding the ideal candidate is crucial to your company’s success. Happy employees are more motivated to do a great job, so hire someone who fits your team’s culture well. They are also more likely to be team players, making them a great asset when the chips are down. Employers often find it easier to teach job skills that the candidate is missing, but teaching things like honesty, work ethic and reliability is much more difficult. You will also want to hire a candidate with the minimum skills required and a willingness to learn.

Define the Role

Each position in your company should have a job title that tells potential applicants about their duties. Use common industry language when possible so potential candidates know what the job entails. Then, outline the critical responsibilities of that position. Consider working with the position’s supervisor to ensure that your role description is accurate as they know what they expect the individual to do.

Use Inclusive Language

Especially in tight job markets, you must attract many applicants. You should not use gender-specific words in your job ad. Ensure you keep the ad focused on the skills needed to do the job and the characteristics required to be successful in your workplace. For example, fun-loving accountant or studious receptionist. Ensure your ad meets local, state and federal regulations for when you can and cannot mention age, religion, race, disability, birthplace, marital or pregnancy status.

Highlight Core Skills

Clearly list the key skills required for the job, making it easy for candidates to identify if they are a good fit. Start by listing the required skills for the candidate coming in the door. Using straightforward language, classify skills into technical, soft, and any industry-specific skills in your ad. This is crucial so that potential candidates know what you expect. After you list the core skills, list other skills the ideal candidate might possess.

Specify Educational Requirements

If the position requires a degree of some sort, clearly state that in the ad. If you are in a tight job market, list if you will hire and help the candidate upgrade their education at company expense or if alternative certificates are available. For example, if you are a school superintendent, then you may be able to hire a person with a college degree as a substitute and help them obtain their teacher’s certificate. On the other hand, if you only need a person to be able to perform core skills regardless of where they learned to do them, then state that. Eliminating education requirements where not mandated by government can often get you terrific candidates who have years of experience in the field.

Emphasize Company Culture

Each company has unique values, attitudes, goals and practices that define it as a company. One of the most important things you can do is state that honestly in your job ad. Possible words that you might want to consider include:

• Adventurous

• Fun-loving

• Collaborative

• Creative

• Agile

• Cutting-edge

• Innovative

• Inclusive

• Results-driven

Do not include a description of your company culture that is not true. Candidates know what type of environment suits them best. Lying only will frustrate them and cause them to want to move on quickly.

Provide Growth Opportunities

If there are opportunities to move up within the organization, ensure that you mention them. For instance, state if the company has tuition assistance or if you usually promote from within the company. If you are proud of the opportunities for growth within your company, this is a perfect place to brag a little so that potential hires see your company in a positive light.

Flexible Work Environment

If your company has a flexible work environment, then mention it. For example, you may allow employees to work from home. Alternatively, let employees choose the work hours that suit them best. On the other hand, you may not care how many hours the employee spends working as long as they complete the job. You should also state if the job requires extensive travel.

Compensation

You need to decide how you want to state compensation, but you should not leave it out. If your company offers many benefits besides the base wage, consider posting a smaller base salary to attract employees who will be a great fit based on your company’s culture. On the other hand, if you know that you pay close to the top salary for the job, then state it to attract applicants who are considering changing companies. Consider whether your benefits package will help attract top applicants when stating your compensation. If it will, then list those benefits.

Use SEO-friendly Language

If you are going to post the position online, ensure that you use SEO-friendly language because it will increase visibility in search engines to potential candidates. Start by writing a job title with your main keyword in it that is about 60 characters long. When possible, include the location in the title if the job is not remotely based. Organize the content using subheadings while putting the most important details first. Ensure that you write for the people you want to attract, not search engines. Finally, use Schema Markup and meet the most current standards of Google for Jobs.

Ensure Candidates Understand Your Team Environment

Your job listing should tell candidates who they will report to if hired. You should not give a name. Instead, it should be a job title. For example, if you are looking for someone to run a franchise, then state that the person will report to the director of franchise development Also, mention if the person is equal to others on your team. Finally, ensure you list if the position requires the employee to supervise others.

Include a Call-to-action

End the job ad with a clear call-to-action telling potential employees the next step that they should take. Leave no doubt in the mind of a potential applicant about how to apply for the job, whether that is filling out an online application, calling someone or emailing someone your resume. Keeping this step as simple as possible ensures that more people consider following what you want them to do. Ensure that you include a deadline, so applicants know how long they have to apply.

Finding an Ideal Candidate to Run a Franchise

Now that you have several applications, the next step is to start choosing the right person. This can be a time-consuming process, but making a great choice who has the skills you need and is a good fit for your company culture means you will not have to repeat the process often.

How to Select the Right Applicant

Once you have the applications, then you start the process of selecting the person who will do the best job of fulfilling the role.

Experience and Qualifications

Consider each applicant’s resume and application and their experience and qualifications. If people are not qualified, then you can eliminate them quickly. Again, you must decide how strictly you will require particular educational experiences. Sometimes, you will have to trust your gut instincts.

Financial Stability

Since you are looking for a franchise operator, consider each candidate’s financial stability. The right candidate will exhibit that they can build wealth as a financially stable candidate is better positioned to handle the initial investment and navigate potential challenges.

Rate Personality

Do some emailing and phone calling to check the background of the top candidates. See if you can get personal references to describe the person’s personality. You want to select a person who fits with your brand’s personality.

Ask Top Candidates to Develop a Business Plan and Strategy

Ask the top candidates to develop a potential business plan and strategy for your location. Set a relatively tight deadline to present the finished plan to you. This allows you to judge the candidate’s ability to work under pressure. At a minimum, the plan should include marketing plans, operational procedures, and growth initiatives. Judge the plans against what you know about current market conditions and their ability to drive success. Since they will not have access to insider information, do not be alarmed if the plan does not entirely align with the details.

Evaluate Candidate’s Communication Skills

You will count on this person to communicate with you, other executives and team members. Therefore, you should evaluate their written and spoken communication skills.

Judge Local Market Knowledge

You cannot be an expert on every community where you have a franchise located. Therefore, you must rely on the person running your local franchise to be tied into local market conditions. Ideally, you will choose a candidate with that knowledge, but if you are still looking for one, select somebody who has shown that they have done this task in an area that is not where they grew up.

Assess Innovation and Adaptability

Franchise operators must be agile. While looking at their resume can hold important clues, you will also want to conduct a behavioral interview. Ask them about a time that they overcame a challenge by being adaptable. Furthermore, ask them about a time they came up with an innovative solution and how they achieved buy-in from team members. Present them with a problem and see if they can come up with an innovative solution to solve it.

You’re Ready to Write Better Job Descriptions

Finding the right person for the job is crucial as it ensures a harmonious alignment between the individual’s skills, values, and aspirations with the organization’s objectives. A well-matched candidate enhances productivity and plays a pivotal role in maintaining organizational culture and achieving long-term goals. In order to find that person, you need to craft a well-done job posting. Ensure you clearly articulate your expectations and what you offer the candidate in return. 

Provide essential details while adding information about your company’s culture. Give candidates clear instructions on how to apply. If the job ad is for a person to run your franchise, look for someone who demonstrates the knowledge and skills to perform the task. Ensure they are an excellent fit for your organization and can think of innovative solutions. Pick out a person who is detail-orientated and willing to change. Good luck with finding the right individual. The right person will significantly enhance the strength of your franchises, so take your time and choose the right one. If you follow this procedure carefully, you will hire a workhorse that you wonder how you lived without.