Businesses are struggling to find and hire the right talent, especially in competitive fields such as Marketing and Digital. We’ll be exploring some of the challenges, how this impacts businesses, how to write a clear job description and give some clear examples.
Marketing and eCommerce roles are some of the most versatile and wide-ranging positions any organisation can have. They can cover everything from SEO and paid media to content strategy, social media, customer experience and more. Without a well-defined job description, businesses risk attracting completely irrelevant applicants, which results in wasted time, money, and often not finding the right talent for the role.
A job description has the specific aim to attract a response from an applicant who will have experience in conducting the required responsibilities and setting clear performance standards and expectations.
According to a recent survey, nearly 52% of job seekers abandon applications due to unclear job descriptions. That indicates a huge pool of potential candidates walking away simply because the role wasn’t well articulated. In the UK marketing and eCommerce space, where competition for top talent is fierce, clarity is important due to the wide-ranging roles that can often overlap or because the company requires distinct skills and experience that others with similar titles may not possess.
The right person for the role, will want to understand the expectations, how that aligns to their experience, if there are additional areas they’ll learn new skills or get exposure to things outside of their current scope that will be beneficial for their progression in the future.
A clearly written job description is also crucial for promoting diversity and inclusion. Research shows that job descriptions with gender-neutral language attract 42% more applicants. Additionally, clear and unbiased job specs help address underrepresentation in industries like marketing and eCommerce, where diversity gaps still exist.
The True Cost of Poorly Written Job Descriptions
Poorly written and vague job descriptions will lead to unexpected costs for businesses, such as;
Wasted Time and Resources
High Turnover
Weaker Employer Brand
Reduced Diversity
Time Savings for HR Teams and Hiring Managers
Screening and interviewing unsuitable candidates stretches hiring managers and recruitment teams thin, consuming valuable time and resources from teams (resulting in decreased productivity of participants), delaying hiring, increased workloads for under-resourced teams increased recruitment costs.
Making the wrong hire will result in high staff turnover, and could also lead to top performers becoming dissatisfied and exploring opportunities elsewhere. Misaligning expectations often lead to quick departures when new hires realise the role isn’t what they expected, and here at Solis this is quickly becoming the number 1 reason why job seekers in roles are exploring the market!
The cost of a bad hire can be estimated as 30% of the employee's first-year earnings potential; meaning that for every £20,000 salary, a bad hire could cost the company around £6,000 in lost productivity, additional training, and the cost of re-hiring a replacement.
Confusing or misleading job descriptions can harm your company’s reputation, deterring top-tier talent from applying. They may believe your business doesn’t understand the job market, or what are realistic expectations from a role.
Unclear language or unrealistic requirements can discourage underrepresented groups from applying, even when they have the right skills, experience and attributes required for the role.
Clear job descriptions streamline the hiring process, helping businesses meet the right people faster and avoid prolonged recruitment cycles
A clear job description sets the foundation for hiring success by establishing precise criteria for qualifications, skills, and experience. It also helps candidates self-assess their fit for the role, making the application process more efficient and targeted.
More than three-quarters (78%) of job seekers would consider abandoning lengthy or complex recruitment processes, underscoring the importance of clarity and efficiency in job postings. This highlights why well-structured job descriptions are a vital part of an effective hiring strategy, and outlining the process in a job description can assist in managing applicants expectations.
Best Practices for Crafting Effective Job Descriptions
To create job descriptions that attract the right candidates and streamline your hiring process, follow these best practices:
Use Inclusive Language
Be Specific
Highlight Company Culture
Include Key Details
Prioritise Essential Skills:
Avoiding jargon and ensuring the language is accessible to all potential applicants will increase the number of relevant applicants. Gender-neutral language has been shown to increase applications by 42%.
By clearly outlining responsibilities, required skills, and expectations to attract suitable candidates will also help to benchmark candidates in line with the role. It’s also valuable to outline desirable skills, experience and attributes as it can potentially help filter for stronger applicants and avoid setting unrealistic expectations for the person who is hired.
Providing insights into your organisation's values and work environment to attract like-minded individuals. By clearly outlining what your company offers it’s employees, unique benefits or what the working culture is like and the values your business and employees embody will result in attracting likeminded individuals who should essentially fit in to business better.
Key details such as salary range, location, and working conditions provide essential context and transparency, and should reduce the number of applicants who do not match that criteria. Also be clear about whether or not you can provide sponsorship as this could impact the number of international applicants.
The job description should set out what is expected of the person, and Solis help businesses to create realistic Ideal Candidate Persona’s based on the specification. We also advise if businesses should look for people potentially taking a step up or operating at the desired level, and what impact this can have for the business commercially.
Step by step actions:
Define the job title, summary of responsibilities, qualifications, benefits.
Begin to develop Ideal Candidate Profile and what they’re expecting or looking for in their next role. Ensure roles aligns to what the market expects.
Outlines essential technical skills, attributes, soft skills and experience levels.
Outlines desired technical skills, attributes, soft skills and experience levels.
Incorporate information about the companies cultures and values to attract aligned applicants.
Real-World Examples: The Impact of Clear Job Descriptions
Let’s take a look at how well-defined job descriptions can shape recruitment for key roles.
The expectations of a Marketing Director is generally quite broad and roles and responsibilities can all be impacted by industry, company size, companies priorities, customer base, internal structures, team sizes and more. For the sake of this example the role focuses on content strategy (SEO, web navigation, social media, email), online events, and managing a paid media agency, working closely with CEO and exploring building out a team in the future. So the job description needs to be sharp.
The Company
This is a great opportunity to join a small but growing SaaS business, looking to revolutionise the world of invoicing.
Job Description:
Working closely with the CEO to develop and execute content-driven marketing strategies to drive demand.
Working closely with the Sales Director to develop sales collateral.
Optimise web content to improve organic search, and ensure brand consistency across all collateral (Website, Social Media, email, sales presentations etc…).
Collaborate with external agencies on paid media campaigns.
Manage the marketing budget and track ROI.
Explore client attraction process and identify areas for improvement.
Build and lead the marketing team to execute a multi-channel growth and demand generation strategy.
A full job description would be much longer, and we usually go through the company (creating an attractive proposition), the role and responsibilities, the applicants requirements and finally the salary and benefits. For the examples we’ve created shorter examples to highlight the company briefly and some of expectations for the role.
By clearly outlining the focus on content and agency management, you attract candidates with strategic oversight and hands-on content expertise. Mentioning build and leading marketing team will attract applicants who’ve done that in the past. Highlight working closely with the CEO, will also demonstrate the level of the professional and will attract applicants who favour working directly with leadership in smaller businesses.
For the example this role involves creating RFPs, managing agency tenders, and driving both marketing and eCommerce trading while identifying growth opportunities.
The Company
This is an opportunity for a Head of eCommerce to join a growing fashion brand in Milton Keynes, playing a key part of their next phase of growth.
Job Description:
Lead eCommerce strategy and online sales performance.
Manage agency relationships and oversee tender processes.
Review digital marketing and trading strategies, identifying areas for improvement and opportunities for growth.
Identify opportunities to scale and mature the business.
Optimise customer journey and website performance.
Manage a Digital Merchandising Assistant and CRM & Marketing Executive.
This clarity attracts candidates with experience in both eCommerce operations and strategic growth, essential for a scaling business. The role mentions the location early (if it requires an in-office presence) and who’ll they’ll be managing in the team.
For the example the role requires working across technical SEO, content, and digital PR, this role requires a broad skill set and an agency-friendly background.
Company
This is an excellent opportunity for a SEO Manager to join a sportswear retailer in Central London, looking at ways to enhance website performance, improve the user experience and boost the website domain authority.
Job Description:
Develop and execute technical SEO strategies, from conducting audits, identifying issues, improving website navigation, ensure accessibility and more.
Work on content creation and on-page optimisation.
Manage outreach and digital PR initiatives.
Analyse performance data to inform SEO decisions.
Stay updated on industry trends and algorithm changes.
Work closely with the web development agency to oversee technical website changes.
Work closely with marketing team and other departments to ensure consistency in all customer communications.
Defining the balance of technical, content, and outreach expertise ensures applicants know exactly what’s expected, attracting well-rounded SEO specialists. The sector and location will also help filter applicants.
The Impact of Clear Job Descriptions on Recruitment Metrics
Precise job descriptions don’t just improve the candidate experience — they deliver real results for businesses too:
Reduced Time-to-Hire
Attracting well-suited candidates streamlines the selection process, cutting down on wasted time.
Improved Retention Rates
Clear expectations set from the outset lead to higher job satisfaction and longer tenure.
Higher-Quality Applicants
When candidates understand the role and its requirements, you’re more likely to receive applications from those who genuinely meet the criteria.
How Solis help to define clear Job Descriptions to find the perfect hire
Investing time in creating a clear, well-structured job description pays off in better applicants, a faster hiring process, and longer employee retention. By clearly defining what success looks like in a role, you attract candidates who not only meet the qualifications but are also aligned with your vision and goals.
For businesses in marketing and eCommerce, where roles can vary widely, getting this right isn’t just helpful, it’s essential.
We help businesses create job descriptions by asking questions beyond just the role and responsibilities. We look to understand other objectives expected from the person, whether it’s commercial, operational or an ambition for the business.
At Solis we want to understand what’s important to your business and team.
We help create an "ideal candidate persona," by thoroughly researching and defining the characteristics of the perfect candidate for your role, including their demographics, skills, experience, motivations, career goals, and preferred communication channels, essentially building a detailed profile that helps you target the right people during recruitment.
We ask “Who are you trying to attract? What are their career goals and aspirations?”, then through incorporating insights from high-performing employees and industry benchmarks to inform the persona, we can see how your role, company and proposition compares against their expectations. We continuously refine the persona based on evolving business needs and market trends to ensure we source the best person for the role.
Through a more thorough qualification we reduce the noise, by qualifying and selecting profiles that the business needs. This reduces your internal workload and makes hiring more efficient.
To enhance your recruitment strategy and attract the right candidates, consider partnering with experts who specialise in crafting effective job descriptions and streamlining hiring processes. Contact our team at Solis Recruitment to learn how we can assist you in optimising your talent acquisition efforts for your Marketing and eCommerce teams.
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