The Healthy Church Staff Podcast
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The Healthy Church Staff Podcast
Why Your Job Description Is Chasing Away the Right People
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Earlier this week on the podcast, we talked about how you might be having candidates that ghost during your church staff search. Today we're going to talk about how you might be scaring off your best candidates before they even apply, and it's not because of your church, it's probably because of your job description. So today we're going to break down some subtle ways that your job posting might be sending the wrong message and how to write something that really draws the right leaders in. Hi there, my name is Todd Rhodes. I'm one of the co-founders over at chemistrystaffingcom and I am your host right here on the Healthy Church Staff podcast every Monday through Friday. You're not getting the candidates you want, and the ones you get, they're not really a great match. So before you start blaming the talent pool or anything else, the first place I would like you to check is your job description, because your job post that little bit of information that you're putting out to try to attract candidates at job post, might just be doing more harm than good. And today we're talking about that, about job descriptions, and that quietly repel strong candidates that you're hoping to find, and we're going to talk about how to fix them, not the candidates, the job descriptions, okay. So let's talk about job descriptions for a little bit.
Speaker 1:Job descriptions that focus on tasks, not impact. Okay, that's the first problem. Listing 37 responsibilities might make you feel thorough and it might make for a really long job posting, but great candidates don't want to read a task list. They want to know things like what impact will I have, what impact is the church having? What story am I stepping into? What kind of team am I joining? So your job description, first and foremost, should inspire and inform. Tasks are okay, they're fine, but lead with the vision and the values and the positive things about your church and your community. Okay. So that's goal number one is, if you're looking at your job description, make sure it's just not all tasks, because if it's all tasks, it's going to fall flat. Okay, just not all tasks, because if it's all tasks, it's going to fall flat, okay.
Speaker 1:Main issue number two is misaligned messaging, because that can really kill momentum. Okay. So candidates get confused when your job description says one thing, but when they go to your church website or your sermon archive or they do a little deep digging on your social media, the culture that you're communicating outside your job description says something totally different. So discrepancies raise red flags and they wonder who are these people really? What kind of church is this really? So you need to make sure that you're consistent across the board.
Speaker 1:Does your job post match the tone and the culture of your church? Does it reflect your mission and your culture and your theological identity? Does it just feel like you? It's really important. And then the third thing I would say is that clarity and personality attract the right people. So timelines do matter. Are you clear about when you're hiring? Personality matters. Does your job post sound like it was written by a real human? Don't outsource your job description or your job posting to AI. Sure, it's a great tool to get you started, get you some ideas, but make sure that your personality shines through and gives clarity and personality so that you can attract the right people. Make sure you add some flavor, not fluff. So avoid any kind of corporate jargon, any churchy insider language. Tell them who you're looking for and what they're walking into, because that's what helps the right people say all right, this really has my attention. This church, from what they're describing, this is my kind of place. I think I'll apply to it. Okay, so here's my thought for today as you look at job descriptions. I'm going to offer you something here in a second, so stay tuned.
Speaker 1:When you're looking at your job description, think of it not just as a post. Okay, it's not just a group of words. It's a first impression. This is how people are going to find out about the role that you're hiring for and more about your church, and right now you might be sending the wrong message. If you would like an audit of your church's job description, I'd love to help you. You can reach out to me. Just send me your job description podcast at chemistrystaffingcom.
Speaker 1:Send along your job post or your job description. Say Todd, look at this, give me some ideas on how I can make this better. I'd be happy to do that, and if there's even a better way that I can come alongside of you and your church during your search, I would love to do that. You can reach out to me. Podcast at chemistrystaffingcom. All right, job descriptions are really important. They're your first impression when you start to let people know that you're hiring. So you got to get it right. I'm here to help you do it, if I can. All right, thanks so much for joining me. This is the Healthy Church Staff Podcast. We'll be right back here again tomorrow. Thanks you.
