Alina Cooper is regarded as one of the most entrepreneurial young minds in the UK fitness sector, and for good reason. Alongside her Director roles at Matuta Consulting, BaseFit and Six3Nine, Alina is also the Co-Founder and Managing Director of FitLinks, an innovative, technology based recruitment company specialising in the fitness industry
With the fitness market becoming increasingly saturated companies are having to work harder to ensure they attract the best talent. We spoke with Alina to learn how businesses can structure their job descriptions to distinguish themselves from the sea of competition.
1. Realise that this is a sales pitch
First of all, you need to realise that you are competing against a huge number of other companies. If you want the best employees, then you have to convince them that you are the best employer. So, for example, if the role is for a PT, what are the things that you offer that they won’t find in the thousands of other gyms around the country?
2. Set your goals based on quality, not quantity
Your goal should be less concerned with conducting a vast number of interviews and more concerned with generating a small number of quality interviews with exceptional candidates.
3. Understand what you’re looking for
I don’t mean in terms of qualifications. That’s the easy part. I mean in terms of soft skills and personality traits. Do you want them to be friendly and welcoming or serious and determined? Your organisation has a certain personality and it’s essential that each new hire reinforces and strengthens that personality, so you need to spell it out within the job description.
4. What messages will interest the person?
Once you have established the kind of person you are trying to reach, you need to write each sentence with that person in mind. What kind of messages will resonate with them? Your language must be on brand and highlight the organisation’s culture and ethos.
5. Nail your headline
Your headline is essential for a couple of reasons. For a start, the keywords you include will determine how frequently it appears for search results within job boards. Secondly, your headline is your first and best opportunity to stand out among a sea of competition. That said, don’t try to be too flashy for the role in question. If you mislead people into thinking the job is something more senior than it is, then you will only end up wasting both their time and yours.
6. Include all the right details
Operations Manager could mean anything, so you need to give clear detail about the day to day responsibilities. Again, this clarity ensures that you only meet with candidates who are truly suited for the role.
7. Keep it punchy
Most job descriptions are too wordy and include far too many desired skills. Focus on the 3-5 criteria that you really do need them to fulfil and strip out the rest. Keep sentences succinct and avoid cliches; every company wants people who are “willing to go the extra mile”!!
8. Be transparent about employment type and salary
Is it full time, freelance or part time? What are the exact pay details? A lot of companies are reluctant to state this information but I cannot understand why. They’re just going to infuriate candidates and waste their own time interviewing people who have expectations they can’t match.
9. List your benefits
In a recent survey, 60% of candidates stated that an attractive benefits package – holiday, healthcare, gym membership, etc – was likely to sway their decision. Often these things don’t cost much but offer a fantastic point of difference and make a clear statement about the culture of your company.
10. Include contact and address information
This one is so obvious that it shouldn’t really need saying, and yet so often I see job descriptions that don’t include this information. Ensure all address and contact details are included along with links to your website and social media profiles.
11. Bring it to life
95% of job descriptions are just text, but why? You have to assume that the candidate is looking at tens if not hundreds of job descriptions, so how is yours going to stand out? The simplest and fastest way to do so is to use imagery and video so that you can introduce the company in a far more colourful and impactful way than the competition.
If you can follow these simple steps then you will ensure your company is completely set apart from the rest of the market and generates outstanding applicants with clear expectations for every role.
