So, I have begun the process to outline a job opening. The first thing i like to do is to look and see what others are posting and the skills to hire are, knowing that the role i am looking for may not be the same.
But my questions is, do the rest of you find that most of the postings are really generic and almost cut and paste? I have seen ones for Directors that are almost identical to Sr. and Jr designers… Must be great at sketching - adobe - solidworks - keyshot - must have good written and verbal skill - be creative, and so on.
I cant imagine that the companies are not just inundated with resumes.
Yes they are. Sometimes I feel like they are trying to check all the possible applicable boxes. Somebody posted a while back that there were jobs asking for design + (design) engineering skills required.
Yes, the generic ones outweigh the creative ones 10/1.
You have to imbue the posting with the culture of the workplace, or the culture you are trying to create, and try to communicate the emotions you want that right candidate to have, including the specific excitement they might have once they are working there.
This is really true. I think there are the basics (YOE, skills etc.) but what really will get you the right person is the right tone that goes hand in hand with your brand. Hitting the right spot isn’t that easy.
I have come across postings that were way to casual and “bro-y”, which turned me off right away. I’d actually err on the side of too dry than the other way around. I guess it’s a bit like the right handshake, not too floppy or hugg-y but also not to firm and stiff.
What is the public perception and image of the company you are hiring for?
I think job postings should look a bit more like cover letters and resumes the applicants send in. Really, it’s just the other side of the situation. Besides specific qualifications, tell me what I’ll be working on or the kind of work I’ll be doing. Tell me why I want to work for you and give me specifics to back it up. Tell me about the team I’d be joining and what they’ve accomplished and a bit of how they work. I understand that the employers don’t want to spill the beans on some of the stuff they have going on. But giving a bit more insight can make the right candidate apply and you give them something to touch on in their cover letter - which can potentially tell you a head of time if they’ll be a fit.
Don’t tell me you’re an innovative company and that you have a ping-pong table and snacks. Tell me that I’ll be joining of a team of 5 with a varied experience range and that pushed out products x, y and z and that it’s an innovative group proven by the 10 patents they’ve collectively got in the past 5 years.
Also agree with bepster, don’t give me a “bro-y” sales pitch. From the outside, I’m imagining an unstructured workplace where personalities and egos rule.
I like to be as descriptive as I can when writing these. I think the more time you put into crafting it, the more likely you are to speak to your target candidate… maybe those “bo-y” ones appeal to bros… they certainly are good indicator that I wouldn’t be a good fit there … so maybe they are doing it right.
I haven’t written one for my new studio as I’ve just been tapping my existing trusted network, but if I had the opportunity to it would be something I would defiantly put a lot of thought into. My advice is to start with a bullet point list of just the facts, and then try to write a paragraph about the culture and a paragraph about the kind of person you are looking for.
Now that I am a part of a very large corporate entity, I have posted with a minimum job description, a lengthy and very descriptive job description and inbetween. There is no doubt the lengthy and very descriptive jd is the way to go. I would never say we are swamped with resumes, if anything, I wish we got more. But with the minimal, “creative” jd, we didn’t get much at all.
You are right that a senior principle will “lead”, “masters” and “drives” and an entry level will “support”, “knows” and “contributes” to the same tasks. But in reality, all experience gives you is better capacity on a technical track. The jd for a management track is different from the technical track, but leveling up you are still only better, not different.
I’ve actually just seen a few openings that have posted the exact same advertisement for both the junior and senior position, but changed the years of experience and salary bracket.
I completely agree, particularly on the kind of work that will be taking place. The ads I’ve mentioned above say nothing about what you’ll actually be working on, besides a very brief description of the company and must be able to use Solidworks. It’s interesting that this is reasonably common, as the lack of information is a potential turn-off and I would have thought that it is worth putting the extra effort into an ad to attract the best possible applicants.
I’ve never thought about the postings that way, but that makes complete sense. What’s the perfect cover letter and CV/application look like? And then write the job description for that application/person.
That second point resonates with something I read on Quora recently, about “what does success in Silicon Valley look like”. It came down to what you had created - whether its a new company that got acquired or funded, or a new product or system. It was more about the artifacts of creation, than the trappings or rewards, bc its California and everybody has those things.
… so maybe they are doing it right.