Each of those has a sub-set of behaviours such as decision making, flexibility, communication and self development. Similarly it could discriminate against women who have taken a career break to have children. These two elements make a whole when it comes to informing a recruiter of what you want when using their service. Rotherham, South Yorkshire, S60 2XQ. A person specification is a description of the qualifications, skills, experience, knowledge and other attributes which a candidate must possess to perform the duties of the job. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website. You’ll recruit the right person, first time, and gain the ideal staff member to help you grow your business. Did it bring in the right sort of candidates? Experience of teaching English as a second language would be a distinct advantage. Content. The Job Description (JD) and Person Specification is the most critical document in the entire process. The description is usually drawn up by the individual in the organisation responsible for overseeing the selection process for the role, often with the help of the company’s HR department and/or an external recruiter. This should be used in the short-listing process to distinguish between candidates. My Job Description and Person Specification has been designed for you to describe the main duties and responsibilities of your job and the qualification, skills and experience your ideal candidate will need to posses to perform the role. A well written well, your job description will create a clear understanding of what is needed and expected. This section could outline knowledge of IT software, office procedures or specific professional areas of knowledge required for the job. Avoid focusing on length of experience as this can result in indirect age discrimination, particularly against younger candidates, who may be less likely to have the same length of experience as older candidates. Over time, the position’s requirements can change and the . The person specification details the necessary skills, qualifications, experience or other attributes needed to carry out the job. relationship building, public speaking, time management etc, Job-specific capabilities – i.e. So these are the criteria you will concentrate on to narrow your long list of suitable candidates down to a short list. Provides the opportunity to check the skills that candidates have laid claim to in their application and can indicate how they use their initiative and prioritise their workload. Once you have chosen your essential and desirable criteria you need to consider how you will assess each candidate against them. For example, some roles have legal requirements which necessitate a certain skill set and level of training. The template is provided in Microsoft Word format so you can adapt the content to suit your industry as well as the role you are recruiting for. The specification should be derived from the job description and forms the foundation for the recruitment process. Conversely, your job description includes information about a role to catch the attention of candidates. GCSE A-C), Familiarity with bookkeeping and basic accounting procedures, Experience in a busy accounts department from the same industry, Excellent IT Skills, including the ability to use spreadsheets in Microsoft Excel, Working knowledge of Sage Accounting Software. use of software or different programmes/ team management, Personality traits – i.e. For example, if you stated that you wanted applicants to have five years’ experience in teaching English, then this could disadvantage younger applicants and would be illegal. -The person specification is an important part of the recruiter’s toolbox as it allows the company to distinguish the exact traits they find desirable in their ideal candidates: items such as the education the candidate has received, their previous work experience and if they have any extra skills which are essential to the role. All you have to do is chose the abilities and behaviours which you wish to assess during your selection process and decide wether they are essential or desirable criteria. The ability to minimise risk. For example, someone employed to teach English as a second language would have to have a good standard of written and spoken English supported by a teaching qualification and five years experience of teaching English at secondary education level. One such difference is Job Description is the outcome of Job Analysis while Job specification is the result of Job Description. Using the person specification, it is possible for the managers involved in the selection process to decide upon the appropriate selection techniques to use in order to assess and compare the candidates. Are there any employee benefits you can add into your advert? Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. In it, you will be presented with a sequence of statements relating to a Faculty Learning and Teaching Fellow position. Document Checks It is important that the skills, experience and knowledge included are absolutely relevant to the needs of the job. The Person Specification plays a key role in ensuring you recruit the right person. Please check your spam folder if it doesn't arrive. So they form your list of basic criteria that you use to rule out underqualified candidates. Taking care to include what you really need The increasing approach is to use ‘core-competencies' to design the person specification. Roles need to be filled and you want the best person for the job. Application forms guarantee consistency of information and allows you to ask specific questions so you get information that might not be included in a CV. It is important to know what is and isn’t important to include in a person specification for a vacancy. Person specifications are used along with a role description to recruit effective board members, particularly in competency-based recruitment systems. We use cookies to analyse user behaviour and improve our website for you. person specification. Provides the opportunity to check the qualifications the candidate has claimed to have completed in their application. Main Duties are those tasks or functions of the position that are fundamental to the position, as opposed to marginal, this means they form the basis of the job and are of central importance. Job description usually lists out the job title, location, job summary, working environment, duties to be performed on the job, etc. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. If a candidate has embellished their skills and experience and see their will be a test at the interview stage they will hopefully amend the embellishments or reconsider their application! Remember an advert is a two-way process. What is a job spec for? Qualifications, experience, positions held etc, Soft skills – i.e. I.e. References a nice office environment/equipment, flexible working, free car parking, access to a medical scheme, corporate memberships to gyms, cycle to work scheme etc. A person specification is a profile … Provides the opportunity to check the employment history that the candidate has supplied in their application. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. As much as you are looking for that perfect candidate, they are looking for an employer of choice. Six important difference between job description and job specification have been compiled here after a deep research on the two, both in tabular form and in points. The contents are : The job description and person specification provide candidates with a good idea of exactly what you are looking for. For instance a driving licence would be essential for a delivery driver. The Person Specification will help you ensure you don’t end up trying to squeeze a square peg into a round hole! By codifying requirements in a specification it is harder, down the line, … A person specification is a description of the qualifications, skills, experience, knowledge and other attributes which a candidate must possess to perform the duties of the job. These could be academic, professional, or practical (such as clean driving licence). The importance of job specification in recruitment and selection: Is a list that a person might use for general tasks, or functions, and responsibilities of a position. A good job description provides more information than just list the main duties that will be performed by the postholder. The person specification is a description of the qualifications, skills, experience, knowledge and other attributes (selection criteria) which a candidate must possess to perform the job duties. Don’t forget to add Kea to your social networks and when you read an article that you like share it with your network! It is important to write effective job descriptions and person specifications. The person specification should contain information about things like any qualifications required. required by an individual to perform the job. Don’t forget, it’s essential not to discriminate on grounds of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation, so once written review your job description for any inappropriate requirements: such as “must have x years’ experience” or words such as “dynamic” or “mature”. A desirable characteristic may be that they have experience of teaching English as a second language. The Role Of The Job Description and Person Specification The recruitment process can be daunting for many businesses. What key selling points does your company have? Again the only defence would be that it is a genuine occupational requirement (GOR). Candidates assessing their suitability against the criteria provided can save time for employers in the recruitment process and help streamline the operation, by only applying if they feel they have the skills appropriate for the role. Essential criteria are those that are critical for the satisfactory performance of the job. To attract good quality candidates, don’t be afraid to put a salary range in the advert or advertising with an “up to” salary. However they do take time to complete and you might lose good candidates simply because they don’t have the time to dedicate to completing form fully, or rush it and therefore don’t complete it as well as they could. Do you need to consider other options. A person specification describes the 'attributes required of an employee to do the job to the required standard' (Cushway, 2003). The importance of accurate job descriptions and person specifications will be explained here. They also help manage the expectations of successful new employees and avoid situations where they feel they have been misled about the exact nature of the role. person specification should reflect the changes. Let’s look at the main reasons why the specification is so important to the construction process: It provides clear instructions on the intent, performance and construction of the project. The person specification is an important part of the recruiter’s toolbox. Person specifications should cover the basics which include: For further information on recruitment please contact debbie@accentuatehr.co.uk or call +44 (0) 7702 864 227. They will also help you prepare a series of questions to ask each applicant at the interview stage. I include example abilities and behaviours which you can use on your person specification. Do some external benchmarking and see what your competitors are offering. Exercises And with job vacancies reaching an 8-month high last month, coupled with agencies reporting a fall in the supply of candidates, it’s more important than ever to attract, hire and retain the right staff. They serve the purpose of identifying the best person for a job and describe the … Most candidates who are actively looking for a job will have their CV ready to send to you, so the process will be much quicker. Have a clear job title: Think about a job title that will translate outside of your organisation and be eye catching to the applicant. A person specification could be the answer to your recruitment woes. And while the latter describes what the job will entail, the former describes what kind of person is required to do the job. For instance, if a sports club that requires two individuals to manage the bar and other facilities requested applications from husband and wife teams they would be discriminating against same sex partners. The person specification should be divided into essential and desirable criteria. (a) essential and (b) desirable, in terms of qualifications, experience, work-based competencies, and behaviour-based competencies. Outline a brief description of the role, who it reports to, does the role have a team reporting into it? A job specification is a detailed description of the role, including all responsibilities, objectives and requirements. Address: 135 West Bawtry Road. Each job description should be supported by a description of the skills and qualifications that are essential or desirable for the job to be performed effectively. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. If you specifically state that the job is only open to people from a particular group i.e. Similarly, if you specify that you require a certain quality which is likely to disproportionately affect a particular group of people; this may be a case of indirect discrimination. It should describe the responsibilities, objectives and requirements of the role. ones aged 25 or over, then this would be a case of direct discrimination, unless you can justify that because the insurance company insist drivers of company vehicles are aged 25 or over. Writing the job description and person specification will also help you think about how your department works and consider whether responsibilities can be moved around to maximise efficiency. These cookies do not store any personal information. Job specification is a statement of the qualifications, personality traits, skills, etc. JOB SPECIFICATION is a statement which tells us minimum acceptable human qualities which helps to perform a job. Make a whole when it comes to informing a recruiter of what needed... A sub-set of behaviours such as clean driving licence ) about things like any qualifications.! Recruitment process roles have legal requirements, they will save you time in the long.... 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