How to Attract Candidates
Summary
TLDRThis script discusses the importance of job descriptions as a product, comparing them to items like bags that carry more than just their functional purpose. It emphasizes the impact of job descriptions on perception and identity, and how they should be tailored to appeal to various demographics. The script also touches on the need for companies to evolve their job offerings and marketing to attract a wider range of candidates, using examples like Facebook and Google's strategies to attract young male engineers.
Takeaways
- 📄 **Mashup of Two Documents**: A job description is often a combination of a job advert meant to sell the role and a detailed description of responsibilities.
- ⏱️ **Time Constraints**: Recruiters and candidates quickly judge resumes and job descriptions, respectively within seconds.
- 📈 **Impact of Word Choice**: Masculine-coded words in job adverts can bias the hiring process towards male candidates.
- 👜 **Job as a Product**: A job is like a product that carries more than just functional value; it also communicates status and identity.
- 💼 **Perception and Status**: The job's perceived value can affect how one is seen by others and how one sees oneself.
- 🏠 **Comprehensive Package**: A job encompasses not just the role but also includes salary, benefits, work-life balance, and community.
- 🎯 **Targeted Demographics**: Jobs, like products, are often targeted at specific demographics, which can unintentionally exclude others.
- 🚀 **Evolution of Job Appeal**: Successful companies like Facebook and Google have tailored their job offerings to appeal to certain groups.
- 🔄 **Shift in Mindset**: The focus should shift from finding more of one demographic to changing the job and its presentation to appeal to a broader audience.
- 🌟 **Inclusive Job Design**: The goal is to make jobs attractive to a wide range of people by considering various factors beyond the job description.
Q & A
What is the typical issue with job descriptions combining job adverts and detailed descriptions?
-The typical issue is that job descriptions often combine selling the role (like an advert) with detailing responsibilities and duties, which can result in neither aspect being effectively communicated.
What is the average time a recruiter spends looking at a resume, and how does this relate to how long candidates look at job descriptions?
-Recruiters spend an average of nine seconds looking at a resume, while candidates spend seven to eight seconds looking at job descriptions, indicating that first impressions are crucial and must be impactful within a very short time frame.
How can the use of masculine-coded words in job adverts affect the likelihood of hiring a male candidate?
-Using masculine-coded words in job adverts can make the job seem more appealing to male candidates, increasing the likelihood of hiring a male by 1.3 times.
What is meant by the analogy of a job being a 'product'?
-A job as a 'product' encompasses not just the role and company, but also the salary, benefits, identity, work-life balance, company culture, and other factors that contribute to the overall perception and experience of the job.
How does the perception of a job as a product impact the way it is marketed and targeted to potential candidates?
-When a job is viewed as a product, it is targeted towards specific demographics, similar to how consumer goods are marketed. This approach helps in understanding how to change the job and its marketing to appeal to different groups.
Why is it important to think of a job as a product when trying to make it appealing to a wide range of people?
-Thinking of a job as a product allows for a better understanding of how to tailor the job and its presentation to attract a diverse audience, considering factors beyond just the job description.
What is an example of how companies like Facebook and Google targeted a specific demographic in their job offerings?
-Facebook and Google targeted young male engineers with perks like free breakfasts, bean bags, and ping pong tables, which inadvertently appealed more to one demographic than others.
How can companies change their approach to job offerings to appeal to a more diverse workforce?
-Companies can change their approach by modifying the job role, company culture, and how they communicate these aspects to make them more appealing to a wider range of potential candidates.
What is the significance of understanding that a job is a combination of many factors beyond just the role and company?
-Understanding that a job is a combination of factors like salary, benefits, identity, and culture helps in creating a more comprehensive and attractive job 'product' that can appeal to a broader audience.
How does the mindset shift from finding more of a certain demographic to changing the product to appeal to different demographics?
-The mindset shift involves moving from a focus on attracting a specific demographic to a broader approach of adjusting the job and its presentation to be more inclusive and appealing to a variety of potential candidates.
What are some strategies that can be employed to make a job more appealing to female engineers, as discussed in the script?
-Strategies include changing the job role to be more inclusive, adjusting company culture, and modifying how the job and company are presented to potential female engineers.
Outlines
📜 The Dual Nature of Job Descriptions
The paragraph discusses the reality of job descriptions, which are often a blend of a job advertisement meant to sell the role and a detailed description of responsibilities. This dual nature can lead to ineffective communication as neither aspect is fully addressed. The importance of job descriptions is highlighted by the short attention span recruiters and candidates have for these documents. The impact of word choice is noted, with masculine-coded words potentially biasing the hiring process towards male candidates. The analogy of a job as a product is introduced, emphasizing how it reflects one's identity, status, and lifestyle, and how these factors contribute to the overall perception of the job.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Job Description
💡Job Advert
💡Masculine Coded Words
💡Product
💡Perception
💡Demographic
💡Recruitment
💡Identity
💡Well-being
💡Inclusion
💡Marketer
Highlights
A job description is often a mix of a job advert and a detailed description of responsibilities.
Poorly written job descriptions can be costly and ineffective.
Recruiters and candidates quickly judge job descriptions and resumes.
The use of masculine-coded words in job adverts can bias the hiring process towards men.
A job is like a product that carries a perception and sends signals about a person.
The job as a product includes money, benefits, identity, time with family, and more.
Jobs are targeted to certain demographics, similar to other products.
Changing the mindset from finding the right demographic to altering the product to fit them.
Examples of companies like Facebook and Google targeting young male engineers.
The need to change the job and company narrative to appeal to a broader demographic.
The importance of considering how the job as a product can be made attractive to a wide range of people.
The module aims to teach how to make jobs appealing to different groups.
The role of job descriptions in the broader context of the job as a product.
The impact of job descriptions on how a job is perceived and the changes needed to make them more inclusive.
The significance of understanding the job as a product to improve recruitment strategies.
How the perception of a job can affect an individual's identity and well-being.
The module's goal to provide actionable insights on making job descriptions more effective.
Transcripts
what is a job description in reality
it's usually a mashup of two different
types of document a job advert whose job
it is to sell the role and a job
description which is supposed to be a
detailed description of the
responsibilities and duties
ideally there'd be two different
documents but often they are not which
means it doesn't do a particularly good
job at either and the cost of a poorly
written job description is measurable
you may have heard that recruiters only
look at a resume for an average of nine
seconds while candidates only look at a
job description for seven to eight
seconds they're even more judgmental
than we are
even individual words matter you are 1.3
times more likely to have a male higher
when using masculine coded words in your
job adverts
what exactly we mean by masculine code
of job advert is something we'll come to
in this module but our job descriptions
clearly matter
what do we mean by the role being a
product well think of it like a bag what
is a bag well it's just something to
help you carry things around in and that
can usually be achieved equally well by
a 10 rucksack or a 1500 handbag in fact
often the 10 rucksack would do a better
job
but a bag is not just a bag it creates a
perception of you as a person it sends
signals about who you are your status
background what other things you like a
bag is not just a bag it's a product
and that can impact the ease with which
you move through the world how you see
yourself and how others see you
when we think of a job it's the
combination of a role in a company but
within that it's much more it's the
money and benefits you get your sense of
identity
how much time you can spend with your
family
how we all dress on a day-to-day basis
how you expected to talk how your
friends and families will view you how
you will view yourself who you get to
spend time with are they people you have
something in common with or not your
sense of well-being comfort and
inclusion on a day-to-day basis
where you will live and how long your
community will be and all these things
are the future
in other words the job is a product a
combination of all these factors and
many more possibly one of the most
important products that you ever buy
when you start thinking of the job as a
product a lot of other things start to
fall into place
one is that no marketeer worth their
salt expects every sort of product to
appeal to every sort of person
in fact everything from clothes to
smartphones to cars to bags they're all
targeted at different demographics
sometimes this isn't even intentional
for example smartphones for a long time
targeted at people with big hands
because all the designers were men
other times it is laser focused like
clothing brands who target very
particular subcultures
jobs as products are similarly targeted
and we're going to dig into how they
have been built as products for a
certain type of person in the coming
module but thinking in this way helps us
understand right away the changes in
mindset required
we need to move from the mindset of how
do we find more of demographics that
like our product and the way we talk
about it to how can we change our
product and how we talk about it to
appeal to demographics
or in recruitment terms from how do we
find more tech engineers who really want
this role and want to work for us to how
can we change the role and this company
and how we talk about both to be more
appealing to engineers
in the 2000 and 2010s this was done
masterfully by the likes of facebook and
google think free breakfasts bean bags
and ping pong tables
without knowing it they were often
targeting young male engineers and are
now slightly perplexed that their
product is not appealing to women
we're going to take it one step further
from where can we find more female
engineers who want to work to us for
example to how do we change our tech
team and how we talk about it to make it
more appealing to female engineers
this kind of thinking obviously starts
to dig into far more than the job
description as a document and more into
what the job actually is and how we can
make it attractive to a wide range of
people
but by the end of this module you'll be
able to answer the question how do i
make my job appealing to different
groups
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