HUMAN RESOURCES and RECRUITERS: Suggested job listing template

[Wes Bucey]

Remember, you must register to post a job opening.

Often, folks have good job openings, but have received mixed signals about what a job listing should contain. I'm enclosing an outline template for your use. We are experienced enough here in the Cove to know there may be legitimate reasons for not disclosing all information in a public listing, primary reason being the incumbent may not be aware he is about to be replaced.

Other than that, we recognize not every recruiter has an exclusive "retained" engagement and wants to wait until he can register a candidate before disclosing the employer. For this reason, we ask that independent agents disclose the fact they are agents and not the direct employer to avoid misunderstandings.

Our position is that since we offer practically unlimited space to display your listing in a Forum with a very narrow demographic of Quality Professionals as an audience, you refrain from the usual nonsense of "knockout" buzzwords and acronyms you think help narrow the responses to qualified applicants. As a Quality professional of long standing and wide acquaintance among other Quality professionals, I tell you factually such ploys will only serve to irritate and alienate otherwise excellent candidates.

If you use an acronym such as ECO (Engineering Change Order) or NCR (Nonconformance Report), please put the definition in parentheses immediately after the acronym or make a list of ALL the acronyms you use and create a glossary of the definitions YOU intend to put at the end of your listing. For example, many companies use variations on ECO, such as ECR (request, report, referral, etc.), ECA (approval, application, etc.) without realizing their acronym version is not universally understood.

If you don't know what the acronym represents, don't use it (to avoid multiple queries that will only waste everyone's time and not serve the purpose of getting you a viable candidate.)

The outline template:
Position Title: (it may not necessarily have "quality" in the title)
Company: (If you can't disclose it publicly, you must disclose it to the candidate as soon as you register a candidate's name - if not, don't bother posting.)
Location: This should be at least as narrow as the state (province) and ideally, the city, regardless if it is USA or any other country.
Base Pay: ("open" doesn't cut it here unless the employer is willing to pay six figure salaries with no top end.) Post a minimum/maximum range. We are sophisticated enough to know a candidate has to otherwise qualify to earn the range. If you don't have a range, why not? You should write to me before posting if you don't have a range.
Employee Type: (full-time. part-time, temporary, contract, etc.)
Industry: General range such as automotive, aerospace, chemical, medical device, etc. is OK if you are not disclosing company name
Manages Others: If yes, how many?
Job Type: Line, staff, administrative, executive, sales, industrial, etc.
Req'd Education: Be realistic
Req'd Experience: This should be "years at this level of responsibility/authority"
Req'd Travel: percentage of overnight travel
Relocation Covered: This is important - if there are dollar limits, say so!
Security/ability to work: - citizen? security clearance? Equal opportunity - gender, age, physical restrictions, etc.
Contact: We prefer name and title, not "recruiter"
Phone: optional
Email:

• you may request candidates contact you through Cove email system, but they will NOT be able to attach resumes or cover letters.
• You can list your personal email in your Profile to limit spam.
• You may "deconstruct" an email listing by using the word "and" in parentheses instead of the "@" symbol.
• If you do not want to clutter your work email with candidate mail, please create a temporary Yahoo or Hotmail account and then monitor it regularly - most of those types of accounts have an "autosponder" feature which automatically acknowledges receipt of the candidate's email if you empower it. Some will even forward mail to your regular account. You can then change the autosponder message and disconnect the forwarding feature when the listing is closed.
  
• ADDED IN EDIT (non-company email addresses): our new Forum software "automagically" blanks common free email domains to limit spam poster links. If you use such an email address as a temporary mailbox for an ad, respondents can still copy it and send you email if you list it as "domain dot com" and replace the (@) sign with "at" all separated by spaces
  

Fax: Optional
Ref ID: if you handle multiple listings, emphasize candidates use this in subject block of email, so your email software can automatically sort it to the proper folder.
JOB DESCRIPTION
Title:
Is this replacement or new position
Company description: (If the company is not disclosed, give some idea of size and other details which can help a candidate determine if he might be a "fit.")
Overview: (of the position and how it fits in the overall scheme of the company)
Responsibilities will include:
REQUIREMENTS
Absolute tasks which incumbent will be expected to perform
Personal Qualities:
Stuff to assure the candidate will fit with company culture
Job skills: - necessary
The things you expect the candidate to be competent in using or doing (use a computer, set up SPC (Statistical Process Control) charts, use a CMM (Coordinate Measuring Machine), etc.
Job skills: - nice to have
(the kind of things that move a candidate up from "qualified" to "top of the list")
Experience: - Be realistic in what is really necessary or helpful
Certifications: - "Black belts" are conferred by everyone from ASQ (American Society for Quality) to "Johnny Jackleg" con artists - be careful what you ask for!
MORE INFORMATION: - Stuff to help a candidate make a decision to apply
Benefits: Often, this is the stuff that makes or breaks a deal
Web sites: Recruiter's or employer's, as available
Tell us if: EOE, M/F/D/V (Equal opportunity Employer-male / female / disabled / veteran)

[harry]

Thanks for your effort, Wes.

How nice if had this earlier. We could have avoided the 'big misunderstanding' some ten days back.

Regards.

[Jennifer Kirley]

Indeed it is very thorough, the kind of thing we would all wish for.

I suppose it is a way to "separate the men from the boys"--I guess many recruiters won't bother with this format, but given I was supposed to devote so much time to my job search I wish they would spend more care too.

[Wes Bucey]

I inadvertently put this thread in a "moderator queue" which meant I had to validate any responses before allowing them to be seen by others. This thread is now open for anyone to comment without prior "vetting" by me or any other moderator.

Let's see what happens! Any other comments?