If you followed me on Manager’s Sandbox, you probably know that I hate the typical boring job descriptions that HR pros are great at cranking out. If you really want to pull in great people and get them excited about working for you, you need to think of job descriptions as a marketing tool.
Cool People Care is an awesome startup by Sam Davidson who’s mission is to “save the world, five minutes at a time.” Sam gets the power of job descriptions. Not too long ago, he wrote an article on his blog about how he recruited a handful of interns for his company.
The article is packed full of gems about how to successfully recruit – and not just interns. Among Sam’s words of wisdom:
I’ll turn down an unmotivated, super-qualified person for one that’s energetic and untested.
As you can see, we pay our interns. That’s because all interns should be paid. And that’s because they’re doing work that is worth something. If you have interns that aren’t doing worthwhile work, then why do you have them? Better yet, why does this work even need doing in the first place?
Some of these interns should be working at PR firms or larger companies in town. But we snatched them up because the work here is more exciting. And no one gets anyone coffee. Coffee here is free and is only about 8 steps from the farthest chair.
Check out the full article for more.
This is really great, Chris — thanks for pointing it out! Cool People Cares definitely has the right idea. Making your job description stand out among the rest is vital. Theirs is honest, insightful, and humorous — all great elements for a job posting description. Those employers who work to be unique and interesting in their job descriptions will likely attract better-matched candidates to their positions — and more of them.
@Amy – thanks for the comment! I think the ROI on spending a little time developing a better job description was pretty apparent in the quality of work they feel they got out of their candidates. They attracted, as you say, “better matched candidates to their positions – and more of them.” Hopefully the trend catches on!
- Chris
Chris – thanks for highlighting this. I want to add that a good job description has legs…for example, I got an email last week (yes, weeks into the semester) from someone in CA wanting to intern…if the Web is about ‘being found’, then this job description has allowed us to be found by great and qualified college students the world over. Literally.
@Sam – Glad I could bring people’s attention to it. I love the work your organization does, and I think you’ve got a great attitude towards both recruiting and the role of interns in your organization. Thanks for stopping by and replying to the article!