One of the most important parts of your recruitment campaign is developing your role’s position description (PD).
(Download the full hiring guide here including Salary Survey, Position Description Guide, Interview Guide, Onboarding Guide, and Exit Interview Guide.)
Your PD dives deep into your job’s details covering important information such as:
- Job title
- Job summary
- Company culture
- Requirements & responsibilities
It’s imperative to capture these details accurately so your PD can assist you in attracting the most qualified candidates. Your PD can also be used to:
Help you quickly sift through applicants - Cross-check each applicant’s resume with your PD to identify their degree of suitability for the role. You can then focus your time on only selecting the most relevant applicants.
Set clear expectations - Candidates are left in no doubt about what is required from your role.
Structure your interview - Your PD easily identifies the job’s top selling features so you can build your interview around them. You can also use it to plan what questions to ask applicants.
For performance reviews - Use your PD reflectively. After your new recruit has been with your firm for some time, use it to evaluate their performance. It’s a quick way to spot over (or under) performance.
As you can see, developing a compelling PD is great way to not only help guide your recruitment campaign, but also attract the right talent. Let’s now turn to what to include in each section within your PD.
1. POSITION TITLE
Your PD’s position title is the first thing an applicant sees so it’s vital it accurately reflects your job’s roles, responsibilities, experience level and specialisations (if any). Avoid using lengthy phrases or internal acronyms that are not standard within the Interior Design and Architecture industry. Instead, aim for clarity, accuracy and brevity.
Some appropriate Architect or Interior Design position titles might be:
- Interior Design Architect or Project Architect
- Project Coordinator
- Architectural Assistant
- Architect Technician
2. POSITION TEAM OR DEPARTMENT
Depending on your company structure and size, this section may not be appropriate for every Architect or Interior Design job. If you deem it relevant, it will help give applicants a well-rounded picture of the position.
Consider including:
- Who they report to
- Naming the team/department they belong to
- How many colleagues they have in their design/architectural team
3. COMPANY’S CULTURE, MISSION OR CORE VALUES
Culture fit is arguably one of the most important factors employees consider when taking on a role, particularly when it comes to whether they stay or leave. Often overlooked, including a culture-based statement in your PD will help a candidate identify alignment between your values and their own, which is important for long-term retention.
You can opt to go detailed here, or provide just a few sentences about your work culture. The following are two examples:
A prestigious Architecture and Interior Design firm who are an industry leader in hospitality, leisure and retail. Based in a luxurious central Sydney studio, this multi-disciplinary firm offers a positive, welcoming and social environment and a strong work life balance, flexible working and regular social and team activities.
This studio offers a very inclusive and supportive culture, and places emphasis on promoting staff from within, providing real and proven opportunities for long-term career development.
4. POSITION STATEMENT, SUMMARY OR BRIEF DESCRIPTION
The position statement, also known as the position summary or description, is an expanded version of the job title.
One way to formulate this crucial part of your PD is to think of it as an elevator pitch to a potential client. What are the key points you want to get across to an applicant to help them decide if your firm is a good fit?
Your summary might include the major responsibilities associated with the job, where the role sits in the greater firm, location, plus job expectations. For example, an Architect position statement may read:
Based in metropolitan Sydney, you’ll work closely with the project leader on a range of hospitality and retail projects - from concept & pitch right through to project delivery – with a strong emphasis on front end design development and space planning. Whilst this role will rely heavily on your creativity, your strong technical Revit skills will also be well utilised.
EXTRA TIP You might like to include here any progression opportunities within your firm. This will show applicants how they can grow with your company and the impact they can make, both of which are very enticing and great for retention.
5. RESPONSIBILITIES
Applicants will hone in on this section to discover what the job entails on a day-to-day basis. Write a detailed but concise bullet point list of core responsibilities, including all major activities incumbent in the job.
As an example, here’s what an appropriate responsibilities section might look like for a Senior Architect/Studio Manager:
Your responsibilities will include:
- Taking projects from early concept design through to DA & tender stages
- Developing concept & design ideas with a strong focus on green building values
- Liaising with all external parties including clients, consultants & various councils etc
- Managing & mentoring a team of three designers
- Attending regular executive meetings to report on team progress
6. SKILLS, EXPERIENCE, QUALIFICATIONS, REQUIREMENTS
When creating a compelling PD, it’s important to list the requirements of the job role so applicants understand the level of skill demanded. For example, your firm may require Architects to be conversant in a range of software programs including Revit and CAD.
List the minimum and preferred skills, experience and/or qualifications you require. This needn’t be a comprehensive list as that may overwhelm and scare potential candidates away. Instead, focus on the key ‘must haves’.
An example for an Architect position:
- ArchiCAD or Revit skills
- Large scale multi-story & mixed-use project experience
- Solid technical knowledge
- Excellent communication skills
- Leadership experience
- The desire to mentor & develop younger team members
- NSW Architect registration
- Willingness to travel within 100km radius
7. BENEFITS
All applicants are keen to discover what exciting opportunities and benefits your firm offers. It’s important you highlight what makes your company and role unique, and why they should choose to apply for your job over others.
There are ample opportunities to list benefits throughout the PD. One example might be in the responsibilities section where you could state “Develop and expand your leadership skills by mentoring a team of three Graduate Architects”.
Or you could choose to feature a standalone ‘benefits’ section. Some examples of statements you might like to use:
“Long-term career focus with opportunity to move between different types of projects within the firm”
“Training and development opportunities both in-house and externally”
“Six monthly reviews incorporating pay reviews & future goal setting”
“Mentorship opportunities”
“Chance to move laterally within the firm”
“Personalised professional development plan, reviewed annually”
8. BRINGING IT ALL TOGETHER
While it might seem like an onerous task, taking the time to write a great PD will bring you great rewards, most certainly in the form of top Architecture and Interior Design talent! You can use it through every stage of the hiring process to sell potential candidates on the benefits of your firm. From writing your job ad, to interviewing, to your new hire’s first day on the job, your PD will save you time and effort finding the right person for the position.
Should you need some extra assistance in crafting the perfect job PD and related job ad, feel free to contact us. We’d be happy to share our expertise and tips in using your PD to craft an enticing job ad and invite some exciting Architecture and Interior Design talent to apply in the process.
Download the full hiring guide here including Salary Survey, Position Description Guide, Interview Guide, Onboarding Guide, and Exit Interview Guide.