We post a lot of IT jobs and we find that the job description makes a big difference in the level of candidates we attract. It’s particularly important if you are recruiting for a difficult-to-fill role. For example, if you are looking for mobile developers with on-the-job experience developing iPhone and Android apps for a startup, you will have to pull out all the stops with your job description.

If your job description is just a wish list of skills and experience, you won’t have much luck. Especially if you’re looking for the kind of talent that gets headhunted by companies like us.

You will attract better applicants if you think of it as an advertisement to get the best job candidates excited about working for your company.

IT Job Description Template for Difficult-to-Fill Jobs

Job Title

Try something quirky and complimentary that will make your job standout from all the others. How about something like, “.Net Expert for a Hot Startup”

Job Title Cheat Sheet

Three word titles can be impressive. How about a trying one of these combos:

• Word 1: Lead, Senior, Dynamic, National, Global, Central, Legacy, Chief, Principal, International
• Word 2: The key skillset, career name, and/or Software, Interactive, Solutions, Program, Brand, Security, Research, Implementation, Integration, Functionality, Identity, Applications, Optimization, Infrastructure, Communications, Intranet, Web, Quality, Mobility, Data, Creative, Configuration, Interactions, Usability
• Word 3: Evangelist, Instigator, Strategist, Orchestrator, Architect. If you really want to go over the top use Genius, Rockstar, Guru, Officer, Engineer, .

Location

Is the location flexible? Convenient? Spectacular?

Salary

Only post the salary if it is competitive

Job Type

Permanent Fulltime Employee or Contract

Job Overview

This is your chance to sell your company and why it’s a fun and inspiring place to work. Here are some things that will differentiate your company and make your job description more attractive to high achievers:

• Is training available
• What is the work culture like
• Flexible work location and hours
• Cool work environment
• Company culture and values
• Great leadership
• Your company mission
• Opportunity to make an important contribution to the community
• Full benefits package (especially for a smaller company)

Deliverables

People want to know what they will be specifically responsible for producing to be successful at the job.

Unique Challenges

Make this exciting. Talented people love to have the opportunity to grow professionally and learn by succeeding in challenging situations.

Requirements

List only the essential requirements. Do not state obvious requirements that are expected such as “excellent communications skills”. Are you willing to train the right person? Are there any required skills that could be learned on the job if you find the right person?

Nice-To-Have

Only state two or three “nice-to-have” job requirements

Special Considerations

Travel, Shiftwork, On-call after hours