Many companies only hire freelance editors to review their customer-facing content, like blog posts, case studies and newsletters. They often overlook some of the most important text of all in terms of the company’s long-term competitiveness and success: job descriptions.

A job description outlines the responsibilities and duties involved with a role. It also sets out what is needed to complete the hiring process successfully, such as qualifications, skills and past positions held.

Whether it appears on a job board, LinkedIn or on the business’s own website, a job description is the first time a potential hire will encounter your company. This is where they form their first impression.

If a job description doesn’t leave a candidate feeling positive and welcome, they might not even bother applying for the job. That’s not ideal, as that person could have made a real difference in your company. Worse, they could take their talent straight to a competitor.

But it’s not just tone of voice that matters in job descriptions. Clarity, language and overall professionalism are also key.

Let’s dive into why you should be proofreading job descriptions.

Job descriptions convey organisation and professionalism

Job descriptions represent your business and what it values. Spelling, grammar or formatting errors can create a negative impression, making your organisation appear unprofessional or careless. A well-proofed job description reflects attention to detail and a commitment to quality.

Applying for a job and navigating the recruitment process is time-consuming and sometimes logistically difficult, especially when caring for children or family members, dealing with financial constraints or having an existing job taking up your attention. Dedicating time to submitting job applications and attending virtual or in-person interviews is rarely straightforward.

Would you spend time filling out a job application for a company that doesn’t portray professionalism? Would you pay for a train ticket to get to the interview? For all you know, their lazy, untidy, mistake-riddled job description could reflect their general attitude. They might communicate with you haphazardly or maybe even cancel your interview at the last minute.

A lack of clarity can be confusing and off-putting

Accurate, clear communication is essential in job descriptions. It enables you to attract the right applicants and ensure they fully understand expectations.

An unchecked document may contain unclear or ambiguous language that can lead to misunderstandings about the role, responsibilities and qualifications required. A missed typo could change the meaning of a sentence entirely, creating confusion and doubt.

You might be using an AI writing tool to help create your job descriptions. That’s all well and good, but AI is notorious for blurting out words for the sake of it. AI texts often lack clarity and focus, and vagueness won’t appeal to serious candidates.

Errors in job descriptions can also lead to miscommunication between recruiters and candidates. Proofreading helps in catching and correcting mistakes, reducing the likelihood of misunderstandings during the recruitment process.

Preventing legal issues and attracting a diverse pool of candidates

Job descriptions contain details about the skills, characteristics and qualifications required for a position, and mistakes or unclear language could inadvertently introduce bias or violate employment laws.

Ensuring these texts are accurate and non-discriminatory is essential. Not doing so could land you in legal hot water and prevent you from hiring from a diverse, talented pool of candidates. 

Proofreading job descriptions is particularly important if your company uses AI tools to create them. You need a human copyeditor to check the text to remove any potential bias that has crept in. Although you might assume that AI tools are impartial and somewhat mechanical, they are prone to human bias. After all, they are trained on human content. You can’t just copy and paste the output of an AI tool. Proofreading is vital. For example, you can’t be sure that a tool won’t use he/him pronouns when speaking about a management position.

You need to attract the right candidates

A well-written, error-free job description is more likely to attract qualified applicants who value attention to detail and professionalism. Ambiguities, typos or grammatical errors can also lead to misunderstandings about the position’s requirements. You might end up with an inbox full of applications from ill-suited job-seekers because your job ad deterred those who were best qualified for your role. Ultimately, you want the right people to take you seriously.

Job descriptions are also a great place to showcase your business’s culture and values. By incorporating language that reflects your organisation’s ethos, you can attract candidates who resonate with your company’s mission and vision. While any new hire should be themselves authentically, you want to ensure they fit into your team and don’t cause clashes and tension from day one.

Job descriptions should uphold your brand image

You wouldn’t want your website’s home page to create a negative impression, right? So why wouldn’t you check a job description to ensure it’s high-quality and error-free? Job descriptions are part of your company’s brand image. As such, they should be handled with the same care and attention as other customer-facing texts. 

A polished, well-constructed job description not only attracts great candidates but also enhances your company’s image. A text riddled with errors can cast doubt on your organisation’s professionalism and attention to detail.

As an editor, I firmly believe that textual style is critical to establishing professionalism, cohesiveness and clarity across an organisation. As such, your organisation should have a style guide detailing standards for tone, spelling, grammar and punctuation.

I find it bizarre when companies hire editors like me to ensure customer-facing texts align with the company’s style guide but allow job descriptions to follow whichever type of English (or absolute gobbledygook) the HR assistant fancies.

Consistency is consistency. Every single employee should have access to the company’s style guide and implement it when creating public-facing texts. Job descriptions are no exception.
An editor will review your texts in relation to standard English language rules and your company’s style guide. If Martin from HR has spelled your company name differently from everyone else in the business (this sounds extreme, but I’ve seen it before in a very important public business document), your editor will flag this and fix it.

Proofreading job descriptions can save time and resources

Unnecessary back-and-forth communication due to unclear or incorrect job descriptions can waste valuable time for HR professionals, hiring managers, recruitment agencies and candidates.

Recruitment can be a resource-intensive endeavour. Wasting time due to errors in a job ad that could have been fixed with proper proofreading won’t be conducive to your business’s overall success.

A well-crafted job description sets clear expectations, streamlining the hiring process. Candidates who understand the role and its requirements are more likely to submit accurate and detailed applications, meaning recruiters can focus on assessing candidates who closely match the outlined criteria.

Hire a copyeditor to review your job descriptions

Editing and proofreading job descriptions is a critical step in the recruitment process. It ensures clear communication, enhances your company’s image, helps with legal compliance and, ultimately, contributes to attracting and hiring the right talent for the job.

You can help mitigate risk and remove obvious mistakes by simply reading a job description a couple of times yourself. However, seeking a second pair of eyes always helps identify errors that you may have missed.

In the age of AI, I should also add that an editor can humanise an AI-written job description. As I mentioned above, AI texts can be waffling and vague. I for one would never apply to an obviously AI-written job ad, so consider hiring a copyeditor to ensure it’s at least a little bit enticing and not too robotic.

Hiring a professional editor is the best way to ensure high-quality public-facing text across your organisation.

Send me a message to see how I can help your business today!