Marketing & Business Development Job Descriptions: what they should and shouldn’t say

Have you ever written a marketing or business development job description (JD)? If you are a hiring manager for business development and marketing roles, then the answer to this question should indeed be ‘yes’.

Now ask yourself: Is your JD an effective marketing tool? One that communicates with impact and is on-brand? If not, it’s a missed opportunity. I outline some do’s and don’ts to help you answer ‘yes’ again.

Don’ts:

• Putting everything into the JD. Seems intuitive, but in fact it sends a message to the reader of the JD that you don’t know or understand what the priorities of the role are. Additionally, it can send the message that the team is not well staffed or structured so everyone in the marketing and BD team does everything.
• Churning out the previous JD. Chances are the role description will be similar to its previous version (assuming it’s not a new role), but it won’t be exactly the same. Responsibilities and team members change constantly. Ensure to revise and update the JD each time you’re recruiting for the role. This refresh will help both you and the candidate you’re trying to attract.
• Being too specific on the qualifications for the role. If you list a certain amount of years or a specific degree that this person has to have, then unless that is set in stone, list these criteria as being flexible. For example, I’ve seen very good and capable candidates be turned off a role because they don’t have the “JD preferred” or they have 9 years’ experience rather than the “must have 10+ years experience”. Many candidates do take these requirements literally.
• Sending an unbranded or word JD. The JD is another marketing opportunity for your role. Take a moment to brand it with your logo, font, colors and style. And always PDF this document. It should only take 15 minutes. And it sharpens the document and elevates it to a new level.

Do’s:

• List the priorities of the role. List the top 3-5 priorities of the role over the first 12 months, and no more. This piece tells the reader you know exactly what the role will be doing. And the candidate’s expectations are managed. If you don’t yet know this information, challenge yourself: are you truly ready to recruit for the role?
• Include information about the greater team. Most organizational charts are confidential documents, and I’m not advocating you reveal them in a publicly available JD. But do provide some context around the role. This can include where it sits in the team, who it reports to, and who it will have reporting into it. Geographical locations of team members are also helpful to people, particularly if you’re recruiting in a satellite office.
• Virtual collaboration and travel. Most marketing and BD teams are geographically dispersed across numerous offices. Include some brief information on how the team collaborates and discusses projects given these geographical challenges. I get asked this question by just about every candidate I work with currently. It is a reality and candidates simply want to know how this works in your team – especially for sole managers in a satellite office. It might be as simple as saying how frequently the team catches up virtually or in person (or both).

Some bold ideas:

• State the salary range. Some will disagree with me on this point. But I’m a firm believer in being transparent on the salary range. You know the range, so state it. In this tight market and with the change in salary history laws continuing to come into play across the US, this piece will affect hiring managers more and more. It saves you a lot of time wasting at the end if everyone is not on the same page. Additionally, it makes you think and ‘rank’ your candidates according to where they fall within that range, which you should be doing as a matter of course in any event.
• Write with personality. Yes, JDs are formal documents. But that doesn’t mean they have to be boring, or ignore your team’s culture. This is a chance to recruit a new colleague, so capture who will enjoy working with your team for the long term, and market it accordingly.

I personally love writing and collaborating with clients on JDs. They are an opportunity to frame and shape a role that will have a lasting impact in your team. They make you think critically about your needs, the team structure, and how best to deploy your team. Take the time to get them right, and they will pay dividends down the road.