Your guide to hiring

How to write a job description and promote it

Hiring is much like matchmaking. While you’re searching for the ideal employee, job seekers are also looking for the right employer, job, and workplace. To find the perfect fit, it’s essential to craft a job description that stands out from the crowd.

Post a New Job

Anatomy of a Job Description

Consider a medical practice, HealthFirst Clinic, which provides specialised healthcare services. The practice is expanding, and they have decided to hire a new General Practitioner to support their growing patient base. 

Here’s how they might write a job description: 

Include these sections when you write a job description, and you will have everything covered.

Make your job description inclusive

When writing a job description, it’s essential to ensure inclusivity. Use considerate language to avoid the risk of discrimination or breaching diversity and equality laws. Consider accessibility for individuals with disabilities or health conditions. Think about accommodating those who care for a child, a sick or elderly family member, or individuals in similar situations.

For further information, visit the business.gov.au page on equal opportunity and diversity and the Australian Human Rights Commission page on preventing discrimination in recruitment. 

10 ideas to promote your job description

After writing a job description, promoting it is key. Here are ten effective methods to spread the word:

1. Your website

Post the full job description on your website, ensuring it is in an easily accessible and logical location. Make use of your own assets.

2. Referrals

Ask your employees, business partners, or clients for candidate referrals, especially if they have firsthand experience working with them.

3. Job Boards

Though job boards charge fees, they can be worthwhile if other methods fail. Be prepared to sift through many applications.

4. Company social media account

Write a brief job description for your company’s social media accounts and include a link to the full version.

5. Personal social media account

Someone within your personal network may be a perfect fit for the position. Post an ad similar to what’s on your company’s social media.

6. Trade and industry associations

Post jobs in industry journals, trade magazines, or association websites if the job requires specific trades or skills.

7. Local community groups

Posting jobs on local community group boards or business organisation websites can attract top local talent.

8. Local government agencies

Work with local government agencies that help the unemployed. Inform them of your vacancies to find suitable candidates.

9. Universities

If you require specific degrees, specialisations or qualifications, post on university and alumni association job boards.

10. Recruitment agencies

Recruitment agencies are costlier than job boards but can be more efficient and expand your reach if you have the budget.

Consider setting up a separate email account for job applications to prevent them from getting mixed up with important business emails. This also makes it easier to sort through applications later. Additionally, acknowledge receipt of applications with a short reply email to keep applicants informed. 

The recruitment process

After crafting a detailed job description and promoting it effectively, you will hopefully attract a number of qualified applicants. So, how do you sift through them and select the best fit for your medical practice?

Optimising talent acquisition for Australian Doctors

Effective talent acquisition for Australian doctors involves understanding their unique needs and priorities. The Annual Australian Doctor & AusDoc.JOBS Job Seeker Study highlights that experienced professionals value stability, growth opportunities, location, flexibility, and support structures. Employers should develop clear selection criteria, create a diverse shortlist, conduct structured interviews, and thoroughly check references to ensure the best fit. Offering competitive compensation and clearly outlining job expectations are crucial to attracting and retaining top talent. By addressing these factors, employers can enhance their recruitment process and successfully attract skilled medical professionals.

1. Establish a Selection Criteria

Use the job description to create a list of essential attributes required for the role. Additionally, compile a second list of desirable traits, which can serve as a tiebreaker when choosing between candidates with similar qualifications or experience.

2. Create a Shortlist

Identify the top two to three candidates who best meet your criteria. Keep your shortlist concise to streamline the recruitment process. Send a courteous message to those who did not make the cut, thanking them for their interest.

3. Interview

Decide how long interviews will take, and pick out your questions. Besides asking about skills and experience, you might also ask them: why they want the role, how they like to work, about their strengths and weaknesses, how they deal with challenging situations.

4. Make Your Selection

Stick to the established criteria when evaluating candidates. Avoid placing too much emphasis on personal rapport developed during the interview, as it is difficult to fully assess character in a brief interaction. Involve other medical professionals or partners in the recruitment process if they will be working closely with the new hire.

5. Check References

This crucial step is often overlooked, but it is important to verify the information provided by your preferred candidate. Contact their previous employers to confirm their credentials and performance. One of the most revealing questions you can ask is whether they would hire the person again.

6. Make an Offer

Draft an employment agreement and extend an offer that includes: employer's name, employee's name, job description, hours and place of work, salary, nature of employment (casual, fixed-term, full-time, part-time, or permanent), start date (and end date for fixed-term employment), entitlements such as leave and holidays, holiday pay, and other benefits. Inform the candidate when you need their decision, but allow sufficient time for them to consider your offer and seek independent advice if needed.

This is not necessarily the end of the recruitment process. Candidates don’t always accept the first offer. Be open to a negotiation.

Explore more hiring advice

Attracting candidates

Learn about job ad writing, employer branding, talent acquisition, salary and benefits.

Hiring process

Explore insights on screening candidates, experiences, interviews and legal updates.

Engaging your workforce

Understand the latest in workplace culture and flexibility, wellness at work and HR leadership.

Talent acquisition

Screening Candidates

Candidate Experience

Interviews

Report

Harassment or bullying behavior
Contains mature or sensitive content
Contains misleading or false information
Contains abusive or derogatory content
Content that breaches the privacy of other individuals
Contains spam, fake content or potential malware

Block Member?

Please confirm you want to block this member.

You will no longer be able to:

  • See blocked member's posts
  • Mention this member in posts
  • Message this member
  • Add this member as a connection

Please note: This action will also remove this member from your connections and send a report to the site admin. Please allow a few minutes for this process to complete.

Report

You have already reported this .