Is Your Job Description Repelling Top Talent? Here's How to Fix It.
Your job description speaks to candidates before anyone at your company does. A few common mistakes could be costing you the best applicants.
Your job description is the first real conversation you have with potential candidates, and it happens before anyone from your company says a word. In competitive APAC markets, the difference between a great applicant and no applicants can come down to a single phrase.
We regularly help clients rewrite their job descriptions because the original version was quietly filtering out the people they most wanted to attract. Here are the three most common mistakes and how to fix them.
1. Opening with Clichés Instead of Clarity
"Exciting opportunity to join a fast-paced, dynamic team" tells a candidate nothing. Senior professionals and passive candidates (who you most want to reach) see through filler language immediately and move on.
Open instead with the most important thing: what the role actually does, why it exists now, and what a successful first year looks like. Specificity signals that you know what you're looking for, which attracts candidates who know what they're offering.
2. Listing What You Need Without Saying What They Get
Most job descriptions are written entirely from the employer's perspective: must have this, must have that, responsible for these tasks. Top candidates evaluate roles based on what they get in return: growth, autonomy, team quality, mission, flexibility.
Balance your requirements with genuine answers to the question candidates are always asking: "What's in this for me?" That's not about inflating perks. It's about being honest about what makes the role worth choosing.
3. Using Titles That Describe Tasks Instead of Impact
"Responsible for managing X, Y, Z" describes an activity. "Lead our regional expansion into three new markets" describes a contribution. Candidates respond to descriptions of impact.
Reframe your key responsibilities around outcomes, not activities. This also has a secondary benefit: it naturally filters for candidates who are motivated by results rather than process.
The Bigger Picture
A strong job description does more than attract applications. It sets expectations, filters for the right motivation, and gives your recruiter a clear brief to work from. Weak descriptions create misaligned shortlists and wasted interview time on both sides.
If you're not sure whether your job descriptions are working, the clearest test is this: would you apply for this role based on how it's written? If the answer is uncertain, it's worth a rewrite.
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