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Executive Recruitment Coach Katherine Wiid writes:
Is your job advert giving all the wrong signals about what the job is really about and therefore attracting the wrong candidates?
Many managers and recruiters are under pressure to start the recruitment process, and therefore don’t invest enough time in writing their job advert and job description. Because they don’t stop to think about their own management style, who would complement them and how that person should be motivated, they cobble an advert together using stock phrases that could give very mixed messages.
Let’s consider this job advert as an example:
“Dynamic outgoing personality with problem solving skills and commercial awareness. Excited by working in a fast-paced environment.”
The problem with this job advert lies in the wording and interpretation of two of the key criteria: “problem-solving skills” and “fast–paced environment”. Why? These phrases often mean different things to people.
An applicant may be attracted to this job advert because they thrive on fixing problems, fast.
The manager who wrote the job advert may be looking for someone who is more solutions focused rather than someone who avoids problems at all costs. And the manager’s idea of “fast” may be more sedate than Formula 1 fast.
Before writing an advert or job description an important question that needs to be asked is:
What is needed in order to do the job well and for the job holder to stay motivated?
Words have power. They have the power to make or break someone’s career or send your business down the pan. Words are vital throughout the employee lifecycle, not just in recruiting. They have an impact on:
- The questions you ask in the interview and how you decode the answers
- How you write the job offer so that it taps into how that individual is motivated rather than a standard letter
- The way you induct a new starter into your business
- How you develop and manage them on a daily basis by using words they will find motivational and creating work environments that will make them more productive.
If you do this, the motivated candidate who joined your organisation won’t need motivating. They will stay motivated and stay with you.
The power is in your words.
Katherine Wiid of Recrion is one of just 550 people in the world to have mastered a psycho linguistic (conversational) tool called the LAB Profile. Katherine coaches decision makers and recruiting managers on how to use written and spoken language to attract, recruit and retain the right staff.
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