How to Attract Candidates

Summary

This 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

00:00

📜 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.

Keywords

💡Job Description

A job description is a document that outlines the responsibilities, duties, and requirements of a job role. In the video, it is noted that job descriptions are often conflated with job advertisements, which are designed to sell the role. The script emphasizes the importance of a well-written job description, as it impacts the first impression a potential candidate has of the role.

💡Job Advert

A job advert is a promotional document designed to attract candidates to a job role. It is mentioned in the script that job adverts are often mixed with job descriptions, which can lead to a lack of clarity. The advert's role is to sell the job, much like how a product is marketed.

💡Masculine Coded Words

Masculine coded words are terms that are perceived as more male-oriented and can influence the appeal of a job advert to different genders. The script points out that using such words can make a job advert 1.3 times more likely to attract male applicants, illustrating the subtle biases that can be present in job advertisements.

💡Product

In the context of the video, a job is likened to a product, which is something that is designed to fulfill a need or desire. The script uses the analogy of a bag to explain how a job, like a product, can vary in form but still serve the same purpose, with the added benefit of creating a perception about the person who holds that job.

💡Perception

Perception refers to the way something is regarded, understood, or interpreted. The video script discusses how a job, like a product, can shape one's perception of a person's status, background, and identity, influencing how they are seen by others and how they see themselves.

💡Demographic

A demographic is a segment of the population that is often targeted by marketers. The script talks about how products, including jobs, are targeted at specific demographics. It gives the example of how tech companies like Facebook and Google targeted young male engineers with perks like free breakfasts and ping pong tables.

💡Recruitment

Recruitment is the process of attracting, screening, and hiring new employees. The video script discusses the recruitment process in the context of job products, emphasizing the need to change the mindset from finding more people who like the job to changing the job to appeal to a broader demographic.

💡Identity

Identity in the script refers to the sense of self that is influenced by various factors, including one's job. It is part of the 'product' of a job, as it can affect how an individual sees themselves and how they are perceived by others in relation to their work.

💡Well-being

Well-being is discussed in the video as a component of the job 'product'. It encompasses comfort, inclusion, and the overall sense of happiness and satisfaction an individual derives from their job, which can be influenced by factors such as work environment and company culture.

💡Inclusion

Inclusion is the sense of being welcomed and valued in a work environment. The script suggests that the job, as a product, should be designed to be attractive to a wide range of people, including considerations for diversity and inclusion.

💡Marketer

A marketer is a professional who promotes and sells products or services. In the video, marketers are mentioned in the context of understanding how job roles are marketed and how the approach to marketing a job can be adjusted to appeal to different demographics.

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