This post is general guidance for informational purposes only. For business or tax advice contact a professional.
Call me an optimist, but doesn’t it feel like spring and summer are just around the corner? 🌻☀️ Why not make the most of quieter days to start planning for hiring seasonal staff and write a job description. In this post we’ve shared a template that might save you time when you’re looking to hire additional employees be it a cashier, server or, office manager!
There are a lot things to consider so start thinking about these questions:
- How many new employees do you need?
- How much can you pay them? Who will manage their schedules and payroll?
- Who will train and manage new staff?
Job descriptions can be short and sweet or long and detailed. Keep in mind many people ‘scan’ read, especially online! Use bold formatting or underline to highlight important details such as the job title, requirements/qualifications, and the start/end dates.
How to write a job description: Use a template
Most job descriptions follow a template like this but you can leave out any sections that aren’t relevant:
Job title
The name of your business/your website
Job description
Requirements/qualifications and Preferred or ‘Nice to have’ skills
How to apply
Job title
Sounds obvious but it’s important to use the right term to attract candidates with the right experience.
The name of your business/your website
Describe your business. It might be obvious from the name but if you have a specific ambition, mission, or goal share it here. Add links to your website or social media accounts.
Job description
List the tasks this person will do at your business, the hours they’ll work, their days off, where they’ll be working at, who they’ll be working with, and when you need them to start (if that’s important/soon) and end date for seasonal staff. The list of tasks doesn’t have to be exhaustive but it should give the candidate a good idea of what is expected of them if they were to get the job. Many job descriptions don’t include pay/salary details but you might find it helpful to include a salary range or hourly rate here.
Requirements/qualifications
If the candidate must have a specific qualification or previous experience state that here.
Preferred or ‘nice to have’ skills
If there are any additional skills you’d like candidates to have but aren’t essential to actually doing the job/you’d be able to train someone who didn’t have this skill - add that here. Or perhaps there’s going to be opportunity for on-the-job training? If so, consider including that here.
How to apply
This will vary depending on how you advertise the job. If you’re planning to post the description somewhere else let candidates know how to apply: do you want them to provide a CV and cover letter or just a CV? Should they be emailed/mailed? Is there a deadline for applications? When will you be conducting interviews? Include your contact information or a link for applications. If you’re posting the job on a recruiting website the next steps will be pretty obvious (e.g. ‘Click here to apply’).
Additional resources!
✅ 📈
And now over to you! Have you written a job description in the past? What worked? What didn’t work? Or perhaps simply putting a sign in your store window was effective? Maybe you advertised locally or online? How? We’d love to hear your experience!
️ Helen
Seller Community Manager
