Why do you want to work for us?

Much is said about company culture and a great company culture is one of the chief reasons behind good staff retention these days. There’s only so much time people will want to remain in a toxic environment, even with a generous level of remuneration.  

When writing job descriptions for your company, the culture is something that can get overlooked as it’s not always easy to describe as it can’t be quantified numerically! We recommend that when job descriptions are written, a positive company culture is one of the things that should never be left out.  

A Google search for “How to write a good job description” will give you all the basic requirements. AI can then help you to hone your well-written job description with all the necessary components such as a clear and accurate job title, realistic description of duties, information about your company and clients and the tasks, responsibilities and benefits you are offering. There is something, however, that AI can’t do and that is to communicate what it is that makes actual humans want to work at your company and other humans want to know about this.  

We wanted to share with you the elements of an epic job description that will help to pique the interest of candidates and enable them to answer the question, “Why do you want to work for us?” 

E– Environment – Give a description of your company with all relevant facts including your location, products/services, the team and why you are hiring. Present the specific department or team of the position you’re advertising for in your job description so that candidates gain a better understanding of their potential role. Who will they report to and how they will function within the organisation? How will their role impact the business? Describe work-life balance. Are there flexible working arrangements including remote work, flexible hours, and sufficient holiday time for employees to balance their professional and personal lives?  

The working environment at your company will help to frame your company culture.  

Ask yourself and ask your staff what it is that makes it great to work at your company.  

Why have your staff stayed? One of the primary reasons employees stay is that they feel valued and respected in a workplace. Where your working environment helps to generate a positive, collaborative, and engaging work culture it will enhance job satisfaction and make people want to come back for more!  

P– Progress – Focus on outcomes, ie. what is the focus of the role and what are team members trying to achieve? How does this tie in with the vision of the company? If everything goes to plan, where does the company hope to be in ten years and where will it take the candidate? 

What learning or development opportunities are there for candidates within the company? Will there be ample opportunities for them to grow within their roles?  

There is an opportunity here to mention company culture again. Your staff will have stayed with you if they have been given career development opportunities and feel that they are growing as professionals. Opportunities for advancement can come in the form of skill development and continuous learning as well as mentorship and training. A culture of continual learning and development is irresistible! 

I– Individual –  

A concise job title of 80 characters or less and a summary of the essential responsibilities, activities, qualifications and skills for a role. For qualifications, keep three to five must-haves and two or three nice-to-haves. Avoid bias in the wording as you don’t want to discourage great candidates from applying. Talk rather about the skillset you are looking for – both hard and soft skills. 

Describe ten core tasks that best reflect the regular, daily workload of the position.  

List what kind of technology their team will use.  

Include working hours, schedule information and a salary band along with a list of perks and benefits. 

Mention your company values here as they undergird the company culture. Your company values will reflect the kind of people you are looking for and the kinds of behaviours that you are looking to encourage. Your organisational values are very relevant to candidates and will indicate what they can expect in terms of culture. If you list team spirit, for example, as one of your values, candidates will expect peer support and opportunities for team building.   

C – Cause 

Your mission, or why you exist as a company.  Why would an individual want to join forces with you? What is the cause that they will be getting behind? 

At Core3, our mission is central to everything that we do. We have made a decision to pioneer the ‘conscious recruitment’ mindset; putting people, the planet and progress first. We consciously do all we can for our stakeholders. By all stakeholders, we don’t just mean our customers, shareholders and our finance and accountancy professionals, but also our employees, our suppliers, our community, and the environment. 

Our mission is what has created our staff culture and it is how we operate. In all of our communications and our dealings with stakeholders, we are always upfront about what we stand for. A candidate applying for a role with us will know upfront what our cause is and how they can join in and help us to achieve it. We recommend to companies that having a clear ESG strategy and mentioning its objectives in your job description. It helps to indicate the kind of culture you promote and gives candidates a clear sense of purpose that they will be able to attach to their daily work and be able to answer the question, “Why do you want to work for us?”      

Of course, if you would like further help with writing the best job descriptions that fit your company culture we’d love to be of assistance.