Writing an effective “Job Order”

A job order is YOUR advertisement for a person or persons to perform specific duties that contribute to the profitable delivery of YOUR goods or services. Because it’s your listing, you want it to not only describe the job but also reflect positively on your company, much in the same way that a newspaper ad or your web pages would do. In order to get the best possible candidates, it’s best to clearly describe the job opening AND to portray your company as a quality workplace.

Job Title: Avoid using internal job classifications or overly general generic job titles. “Receiving Dock Worker” is preferred over “Laborer- Class III”, and “Accounting Clerk/Assistant” would be preferred over “Office Clerk”.

Job Duties and Responsibilities: Describe the duties of the job in a clear, concise manner. DO NOT use a four-page internal position description designed to satisfy OSHA or your union. It’s not necessary to inform the job seeker that he/she must: (1) check fuel on forklift, (2) adjust forks to proper width, (3) turn on forklift ignition, (4) place forklift in gear and release clutch, etc., etc. and etc. It’s only necessary to say “use a propane forklift to unload trucks and stack material in fifteen-foot high racks. Maintain delivery records.” Hint: It’s possible to copy and paste information directly from a MS Word document or the corporate web-site. The advantage here is that the job description has already been proof-read, spell checked and approved. Why “re-invent the wheel” (or job duties) when you have a perfectly good one handy?

Education, Training, Professional Licenses/Certificates, Experience, Qualifications: Tell us your dreams, but let us know if you will accept less (or are willing to train). This is a judgement call on your part, but may help to find the right person for your position. For example “Wisconsin Certified Nursing Assistant or able to be trained and certified within 60 days.” Sometimes education, training and licenses are part of experience or qualifications (and vice-verse). For example “Bachelors degree in Electrical Engineering (BSEE) or Associate Degree and four years design experience on commercial construction.”

Abbreviations: Avoid ‘em if you can (or at least explain them)-
CNA = Certified Nursing Assistant or Certified Novell Administrator
ATM = automatic teller machine or asynchronous transfer mode
CERT = Certified/Certification or Computer Emergency Response Team, and many others
Note: Also avoid internal company terms like “Specialist 4” (customer service lead worker), “First Impression Specialist” (front desk receptionist), “Center-of-the-Plate” (chef), etc- especially in Job Titles.

How to Apply: Offer several methods to apply and make it easy! Not everyone can take off work to “apply in person”, has a computer to “apply on-line or send an e-mail”, or access to a fax machine. Consider whether you (or your assistant) want to accept phone calls or inquiries. Although time consuming, you can discourage many inappropriate, time-wasting written applications while strongly encouraging that one-in-ten thousand job seeker to “stop in immediately.”

Finally, proof-read and review your job order. This includes not only spelling but lay-out as well. You wouldn’t send an advertisement to a newspaper or put it on your web pages without checking the spelling AND reviewing the appearance. Do the same with YOUR job order/advertisement. If you are entering directly on-line, use the “Preview” and “Save Incomplete” features frequently. If you are faxing or mailing your job order to us, review it after it goes on-line. (The same way you would review your paid newspaper ad.) You can do this by going to www.wisconsinjobcenter.org and selecting the JobNet logo on the left.

If you have a question or need assistance, don’t hesitate to contact the WFDC Job Order Services Unit.
(262) 695-7760 or e-mail wijsejswc@dwd.state.wi.us .