6 Ways to Write an Effective IT Support Tech Job Description

 

49 seconds.

That’s all you have.

From the time your prospect picks up your job description, you have 49 seconds to hook her. If you haven’t convinced her your job is meant for her by then, she drops you. She moves on.

Less than a minute.

That’s nothing. Pull out your IT support tech job description right now. Time yourself and read it.

Go on.

If it’s so little time, then how do you grab her attention? How do you entice her to stick around? How will she read all your vital details and juicy incentives?
That’s what we’re about to show you.

By the time you read this, you’ll understand. Job descriptions are about more than just information. To seize attention, you’re information’s presentation is as important.

Where does it fall on the page? Is specific word choice critical?Read on to find out.

Before You Begin

Pull out your laptop (or pen and paper). It’s time to write an exact list of tasks for your soon-to-be employee’s IT support tech job. Exact.

You need all the information. Then you can choose which is important enough to throw on the page. Not all of it. Just some. Remember, your primary goal is to lure the reader.

1) Begin with a Simple Title

Why? The more complicated your title, the more likely you’ll scare off prospects.
Remember the goal.

You want prospects to read your job description. You’ll end it with critical details that’ll fend off the unqualified. First, you need to reel them in.

David Ogilvy, the most famous copywriter of our time, wrote “Confessions of an Advertising Man.” In it, he said 8 out of every ten people would stop after reading the headlines. Only two will go on to read the rest.

Titles are headlines. And job descriptions are exclusive by nature. Don’t cut out more prospects because of poor word choice.

Consider the words from your prospect’s point of view. Are they easy to understand? Do they describe what your prospect will be doing?

2) Promote Your Company

Take a moment and jump into your prospect’s shoes. Now whip out the exact list of tasks you wrote earlier. What does that list tell the prospect about your company?

What else can you tell them about the company itself? Job seekers want to know who they’ll be working for. What features make your company unique?

Is your company top in its field? Will applicants be working with the best technicians on the planet? Does your company focus on sustainable energy? Do you give 5% of your proceeds to Shriners Hospital?

Fill in the details of whatever makes you special in paragraph form. Then change the key features to a bold font. It’ll make scanning the description quick. Remember, just 49 seconds.

3) Include Salary Range

If you don’t include it, you lose most of your prospects. Period. Remember, these people fly through the job descriptions to see whether they’re applicable. If they aren’t sure, they move to the next job description. The end.

If your budget isn’t high enough to compensate the caliber of IT support tech you need on staff. Then the problem is on your end. Not theirs.

Be honest. See what types of replies you receive. You don’t know these prospects personally. Their situations may surprise you.

If you try but aren’t finding likely candidates, see if you can finagle money from somewhere else in your budget. Remember, a great support staff increases the efficiency of your entire business.

In this same section, include your other incentives. Remember, candidates are human. They have other desires and needs.

They might pass up a high paying job with a weapons contractor. They might fight for a low paying job with the promise of helping people.

Throw in all your incentives, especially those with the “human factor.” If you have many, list them with bullet points.

4) Choose Your Words Carefully

The company, Buffer, recently performed a case study. What the found left everyone boggled. They found that changing a single word in your job description can lead to greater candidate diversity. One word.

That’s all it took to bring in candidates with greater ethnic diversity and gender variety.

Another study done by Kellogg University revealed that diverse teams are better problem solvers. They perform better on hard problems.

Test out your words first, especially in your job title and company description. Read recruitment strategies to reduce bias.

Now write down five different versions of each. Test them out on other coworkers (or family and friends). Which is more inclusive?Use that one.

5) Short and To the Point

Your application process is meant to be easy. Simple to scan and convenient to apply. You want everyone to read it.

You’ll weed out unqualified applicants in the next section.Until then…
Fill in the IT support tech job description now. Check over the tasks list you made. Once again, jump in your prospect’s shoes.

Now, highlight any tantalizing tasks. (Remember to use your prospect’s perspective. What would they find appealing?) Then cross out any non-fundamental tasks. You’ll use this list in the next step.

6) Line up the Details

Split up your list into the following sections: “key duties,” and “necessary skills and competencies.”

The “duties” outline the tasks of your IT support tech job. Remember, focus on tantalizing and necessary details.

If you haven’t already created a list of required skills, don’t worry. Go through each task you just listed. What skills will your prospects require to perform them?

Do you have any other prerequisites that your job candidates absolutely must have?

Write down each of these in a bullet form. Break your list into sections:

• Necessary Experience
• Program/Task Familiarity
• Education/Certifications/Equivalent
• General

IT Support Tech Follow Through

Now ask a coworker for help. Have them scan through your job description. Time them.

How long did it take? Did they pick up the highlights? Did they think any sections should be broken up to make them easier to read? Did any of your tantalizing nuggets stand out?

Adjust your description accordingly. Then…

Post that job!

P.S. Don’t forget to prepare for all those sensational applicants. Know which traits you desire and which traits to avoid. Then prepare for your interviews. Good luck!