How to write good job requirements for your job ad

Imagine you are looking for the perfect pair of shoes. You have been thinking about it for a while and it is time to see what is out there. With a clear goal in mind, you head out, visit different shops and try on sizes. Eventually you find a promising pair and walk up to the till, finally ready to buy. Suddenly you are met with a long list of requirements for how you are expected to look after the shoes: polishes, brushes, cedar wood and wax. You have never used an organic waterproofing spray before!? By the time the list ends, you may not be quite as excited about buying those shoes.

An overly long and detailed list of requirements in a job ad works in much the same way. If we take the candidate’s perspective and see the job market as a shopping trip and jobs as products, it becomes clear that the product needs to be marketed. In other words, more what’s in it for me and less this is what we require from you.

Attract more candidates with a shorter list of requirements

That does not mean you should drop the requirements altogether. They still help explain the scope of the role and what candidates can expect. But research shows that women tend not to apply unless they meet every requirement, while men often apply when they meet only a few. A long, detailed list therefore risks putting people off and reducing the number of relevant applications. Here are our tips for writing inclusive job requirements that attract more candidates.

1. Avoid stating a specific number of years of experience. Use phrases such as “a few years” instead.
2. Keep the list short. Remove anything that is not necessary and aim for a maximum of five points.
3. Mix soft and hard skills in your list.
4. Try replacing the bullet list with running text that weaves the required experience and skills into the description of the role.
5. Be clear about what is essential and what is a merit or nice to have.
6. Use a tool such as Gender Decoder to check that your text has a gender-neutral tone.

Read more: Tips for successful recruitment