How to Write a Job Description to Attract Quality Candidates

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As the world’s #1 job site, we know how employers can connect with quality candidates.* Set your job post up for success by creating a thoughtful job description before posting it on Indeed. A great job description should include enough information for unqualified candidates to know they’re not a good fit and enough benefits to encourage qualified candidates to apply.

Help your job post stand out to qualified candidates by making sure your job description follows these four guidelines.

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Be specific about required and preferred qualifications

Potential applicants look at the required and preferred experience sections of a job post to determine how qualified they are for a position.

So once you’ve aligned with your colleagues on the qualifications for the role, make sure that each qualification is clearly labeled, straightforward and easy to understand. Use specific numbers when describing necessary years of experience; for example, use ‘3+ years’ instead of a more vague description like ‘some experience’.

If you’d like your candidates to be skilled in a specific tool, name which tool or skill you’d like them to have. The more explicit you can be in your job description, the more qualified candidates you’ll receive.

Be open about salary

Include a salary range in your job description to let candidates know how they would be compensated. Quality candidates appreciate knowing they will be paid the industry standard for their position.

If you can’t include a salary range, you could also describe any advancement opportunities in your job description to let candidates know that they will be able to work toward more responsibility.

Promote your company’s culture

Let applicants know what it’s like to work at your organisation. Write this section in the same language you would use to write an email to a co-worker. This will help your company’s true culture show through in the job description.

A few key details to mention about your company’s culture include the work/life balance, benefits, holidays and how employees are evaluated for their work.

Be honest in your details, but be careful not to exaggerate or overpromise.

Don’t forget to include screener questions

Make sure you’re only spending time reviewing quality candidates by adding a few screener questions when you post your job. These can help to automatically screen out candidates that don’t meet your minimum qualifications, so you can spend time on the candidates that might be a good fit.

Learn all about how to add screener questions to your job posting or post your job on Indeed now.

A great job description can mean the difference between wading through hundreds of unqualified applications and ten good ones. Take a moment to review your existing job descriptions today and update them with these tips!

*comScore, Total Visits, March 2019

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Indeed’s Employer Resource Library helps businesses grow and manage their workforce. With over 15,000 articles in 6 languages, we offer tactical advice, how-tos and best practices to help businesses hire and retain great employees.