​​The past two years have brought about a lot of change in business. But many companies haven’t reevaluated their job descriptions. Every time they have a position to fill, they search a hard drive (or folder) and post it. This won’t keep you competitive in the employment arena.
 
While there are basic elements you need in a job description like explaining what the job entails and the expectations, it’s the extras that will inspire people in this job hunter’s market to apply.
 
In addition to the basics, a great job description for 2022 includes:

1. Consistent corporate/business tone and brand
2. Logical keywords
3. Location
4. Hours
5. New (soft) skills

 
Components of an Enticing Job Description
When creating a job description, it’s not a race. It should be a combination of good HR practices, marketing/corporate branding, and sales. After all, this is an advertisement for your business as much as it is an ad for employment. In 2022, you should ensure it:
 
Matches Your Corporate/business Tone and Brand
It’s all the rage to create fun and engaging titles with witty words, but if that is not a reflection of your true business culture, new employees will be disillusioned. Make sure your job description sounds like you. After all, you wouldn’t send a formal foil-embossed invitation to a pool party. Don’t use a job description that sounds like something you aren’t.
 
Includes Logical Keywords
Very few of your applicants are scrolling through an open jobs section like they might’ve twenty years ago. Instead, they are typing or using voice search on keywords to locate jobs that fit their qualifications. They’re also signing up for notifications on these keywords. While fun job titles are, well, fun, they leave something to be desired when people are searching for openings in their field. Save the fun titles for business cards or your website and use titles with meaningful keywords to help potential employees find you.
 
Specifies Location
Location, location, location. And that means being specific about remote work as well. There are some industries where candidates will assume the ability to work from home unless you say otherwise, or they may expect it is negotiable. Be specific about where they’ll work and whether that is consistent or flexible.
 
Includes Hours
Be specific about the hours your employee will work. Are weekends required? Can you guarantee a certain number of hours? Again, like location, some industries offer flex hours with floating starting times (for instance, between 7-9 AM). If the position allows someone to work when children are in school, that should be mentioned too as it is a nice selling point/perk.
 
Incorporates New Skills
If your job description is over three years old, you want to reevaluate it. There are skills required of today’s employees that weren’t expected even a short time ago and you want to make sure they are included. For instance, if the team works virtually, you may add something about working well in a virtual office environment. If your retail business now also requires e-commerce skills or social media, you’ll want to add those. If you have a diverse business culture you may want to add something about emotional intelligence and a diverse workplace. Look at how things have changed in your business and make sure the job duties and skills reflect those changes.
 
Finally, give some thought to also including information about salary. Sure, it’s likely based on experience, but you don’t want to waste anyone’s time wading through resumes or applications for people who would never consider your position for what it pays or are not at the right level of their career to apply. Including sensitive information like salary/pay may feel uncomfortable at first but it saves everyone time and effort. In today’s market, that’s greatly appreciated.  
 
In conclusion, before uploading your job description to a job search website, consider how it reflects on the culture of your business and review the description with a 2022 vision. A lot has changed over the past two years and if you’re using the same old job description from five years ago, you may not get the type of applicants you want, or need, to be successful. 
 
Christina R. Metcalf (formerly Green) is a marketer who enjoys using the power of story and refuses to believe meaningful copy can be written by bots. She helps chamber and small business professionals find the right words when they don’t have the time or interest to do so. 
Christina hates exclamation points and loves road trips. Say hi on Twitter or reach out on Facebook.

Micah Cole owns Woodsman Axe with his wife, Ashley. Woodsman Axe is a recreational axe throwing facility located at 124 7th Ave. W in downtown Alexandria. It has eight lanes available for throwing - four are single target lanes and four are double targets. It also has a portable axe throwing trailer that allows for 6 lanes of throwing and can be enclosed and heated in the winter months. Woodsman Axe also has a family room for kids to play in while the adults throw!

The 2022 theme for the Alexandria Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce is “Catch the Passion!” “Passion” is a word that frequently comes up in discussions about the people of Alexandria. So many who live here, work here, own a business here, run a nonprofit here, retire here, go to school here, and everything in between are passionate about what they do. The Chamber is excited to recognize, encourage, and celebrate that, because it is that passion shown by so many that makes our community strong and resilient.

I was in a room full of passionate people a few weeks ago, when the Chamber convened a group for a roundtable discussion regarding the performing and visual arts in the Alexandria area. A key pillar of operation for the Alexandria Chamber is Collaboration: Working with others to best serve our community. While we are blessed with numerous quality arts opportunities in our area, we know there are always ways to grow, improve, evolve – and collaborate!

Representatives from local theater groups, music organizations, visual arts opportunities, and others attended. They were open to discussion and idea sharing, and best of all – they exhibited passion for the arts in the truest sense of the word. Entities like chambers, tourism bureaus and economic development commissions recognize the value a strong arts presence brings to a community. Communities with abundant, quality arts opportunities attract visitors and are a calling card for new residents and workforce, which in turn make those communities attractive to businesses looking to start up or relocate.

It’s important that the rest of the community understands the value of things like this as well. We all tend to get tunnel vision at times, but we need to regularly look at the big picture. I challenge you to build 10 minutes into your week to think “big picture thoughts” about the community and how it impacts you as a resident, employee, retiree, student, business owner… whatever your role.

This week, think about the arts and how they benefit this community and your quality of life. If you are a lover of the arts, you likely understand how they contribute to your personal quality of life, but do you think beyond that to how they impact the overall community? If you aren’t personally interested in plays, concerts, or exhibits, consider how you still benefit from those events happening in your community.

According to Creative MN (www.creativemn.org), just within West Central Minnesota Region 4’s counties of Becker, Clay, Douglas, Grant, Otter Tail, Pope, Stevens, Traverse and Wilkin, the total annual impact from nonprofit arts and culture organizations, their audiences, artists and creative workers, is a whopping $26 million plus.
For residents, this equates to more money circulating in the community and improving services and amenities, many of which you use regularly and may take for granted.
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For business owners, this equates to stronger employee attraction and retention. When trying to attract new employees, do you only talk about the job and company, or do you paint a bigger picture about community and lifestyle?
In today’s employee market, you don’t need to just convince employees why they want to work for your company, you need to convince them why they want to live in Alexandria. You need to talk about the opportunities that contribute to a great quality of life.
While the arts may not be for you, they absolutely may be the calling card that causes a prospective employee to say yes to your offer.