When your organization has a job opening, don’t hire for the role as it was yesterday, but the role as you need it to be tomorrow. In your rush to fill a position, don’t miss this opportunity to hone the role. We have three guidelines to enable you to craft a better job description uniquely tailored for your successful candidate.

  1. Ask for feedback. It is important to see this role from the macro and micro levels. How does this position fit within the whole of your organization? How does it interface with another    department? That should influence the competencies required. At the same time, you should seek input from those in the department who see the functioning (and malfunctioning) of the position on a daily basis. How could this position be more effective? Are there any key pitfalls to avoid?
  2. Consider your growth. Evaluate this position in light of your strategic goals for your institution overall. How can this position help you pursue those goals? What areas is your organization hoping to expand? Don’t be limited by what this position has looked like in the past. Be creative and reimagine how it could best function.
  3. Organize it. Even if you have all the right content in a job description, it won’t do you any good if it is hard for potential candidates to navigate. Use clear headings, logical sections, and bulleted lists. Your goal is to give the reader enough information to understand what you are looking for, without bogging them down in needless detail.