The Missing Essential Ingredient in the Job Description
Write better job descriptions with these simple ingredients: vision, values, and culture.
“People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.” - Simon Sinek
As leaders, we can sometimes be so enamored with what we want from a certain position in our company that we overlook the person we want to fill it, and the values and beliefs we want them to possess.
More Than Just a Job Description
New positions in a company typically fill a dire need, generated from the expansion of the mission and the demands on individuals. A leader envisions a new Internet Technology Manager relieving the pressure and headache related to IT problems in an organization. She or he creates a job description, a recipe designed to solve a problem and relieve pain.
Missing from that recipe is what an organization wants that person to believe in and subscribe to.
Why People Really Join Teams
Most people do not take jobs because the job description is spot on. Of course, they look at the specifics of the role and determine whether they can fulfill them, but what they really want is to join a team, a family that thinks and acts like them.
They don’t want a job; they want to serve a cause. This is what brings people into the military and entices them to stay. They want to:
Be part of something bigger than themselves
Join a band of brothers and sisters
Experience good leadership, strong culture, and a challenging but fun and rewarding work environment
Lead With Culture
Cover that first in the job description. Then make that the first topic you cover in the interview. Talk about the pure magic that happens in your company day after day.
Try these:
Join a team committed to building strong communities by serving the disadvantaged.
Be a part of our family bound together behind the cause of offering better diet solutions to the children of our community.
Come grow with us!
Most companies have a cause, but few talk about it. In Simon Sinek’s famous TED Talk, “How Great Leaders Inspire Action,” he states: “People don’t buy what (JD) you do, they buy why (cause) you do it.”
So true—but so forgotten.
Values-First Job Descriptions
We believe in teamwork and selfless service to our mission and each other. We are courageous innovators disrupting what deserves disruption!
You’ll belong to a family committed to each other, our community, and our vision to improve the work-from-home experience.
Your job will be to build strong relationships through special care and the forming of trust and belonging between your work teammates and our valued clients. You’ll belong to a team on the cutting edge!
See anything about job specifics in those statements? Of course, specific work tasks belong in the JD, but they ought to be found behind headers like this.
Interview for Values, Not Just Skills
Moreover, you should work hard in interviews to determine if a candidate believes in what “we” believe and acts like and speaks like “one of us.” It doesn’t stop once an offer is received. Your Job Description as a leader includes the tasks of espousing vision, values, and culture, creating fun but challenging workplaces.
My Challenge for You
Have a look at the job descriptions of your company and see if the recipe is missing any ingredients.
Make it Personal!
Rob