Creating Skills-Based Job Postings: An Overview Guide

Contents Skills-Based Hiring: An Introduction Skills-Based Hiring: Implementation Overview Example Skills-Based Job Postings

Skills-based hiring builds on two key practices: focusing on skills and minimizing requirements What this means Focusing on skills The posting focuses on the key competencies actually required to successfully perform the role, using commonly-used terms The posting clearly distinguishes “required” versus “preferred” competencies (e.g., “Java programming ability preferred but not required”) The posting includes the key common activities but avoids long laundry lists that may dissuade people from applying The posting uses language that invites people with diverse experiences and backgrounds to apply (e.g., “Military experience welcomed”; “Industry experience valued but not required”) Minimizing requirements The posting minimizes requirements (e.g., “College degree required”; “5 years experience required”) that are not directly related to the performance of the job Instead of emphasizing requirements, postings focus on the key competencies needed in plain-spoken English

Skills-based hiring offers three major benefits Why skills-based hiring helps Expanded applicant pool Many companies require a college degree to apply for a job but only 30% of working-age Americans have a college degree Focusing on the actual skills needed for a role allows an additional 70% of the US working population to apply (e.g., veterans, workers with non- traditional training) An expanded talent pool reduces the time to fill a job, decreases wage pressure, and reduces hiring costs by increasing the number of people eligible to apply for a given role Attract better fit candidates Skills-based hiring clearly articulates a company’s “requirements” and “preferences” By focusing on what’s critical and most important, this attracts candidates best suited to the given job Sharpen both hiring and training Emphasizing certain skills help job-seekers understand what they need to succeed in the position This increased insight helps to hire the right people – and train current workers to gain valuable skills

A few key principles to consider as you move from traditional to skills-based job descriptions DO’S DON’TS Clearly distinguish what is "required" from what is "preferred" throughout the posting Minimize the number of “Required” competencies to include only those actually required, not ones that are "preferred" or "ideal" Limit experiential requirements (educational or professional) as those exclude large segments of the job-seeking population that may have the needed skills Be as succinct and concrete as possible; in general, less is more Have consistent formatting across job postings Include location, title and contact email on the posting to be included in job search websites such as Indeed and LinkedIn Do not explicitly or implicitly present capabilities or credentials (e.g., "5 years in an IT company") that are “nice to have” as requirements; instead, call such capabilities as "ideal but not necessary” Do not duplicate content in each section and throughout the overall posting Do not use language that might turn off or exclude certain populations, (e.g., "Our company is a traditional workplace", "Hard and tough people will thrive in this role") particularly in areas related to politics, gender and ethnicity 

Contents Skills-Based Hiring: An Introduction Skills-Based Hiring: Implementation Overview Example Skills-Based Job Postings

Creating Skills-based Job Postings: A four-step process Gather job posting Get Skillful template Customize with O*NET Data Refine to company’s needs Phase: Key Activities: Gather your company’s job postings and job descriptions Decide which postings to convert to skills-based Search on O*NET to determine which O*NET occupation(s) are most similar to your company’s Visit Skillful.com Navigate to the employer section and download the relevant job posting template Add a short overview of your company Map all O*NET fields to Skillful fields Determine and distinguish the required and additional skills for the role List skills as “Required” and “Preferred” competencies respectively Meet with a hiring manager to refine and tailor the necessary skills for the job Meet with current employee in the role to ensure all listed skills are required for the role, tailor if necessary Deliverable: Job postings/ descriptions that are to be adapted Sample Skillful template as a word document Customized draft of a skills-based job posting using O*NET fields Customized skills-based job description for your company Deep dive guide to mapping O*NET fields follow

Job Summary and Responsibilities Required Certifications O*NET’s occupation description fields map to Skillful’s template fields Skillful Job Posting Template Fields O*NET Fields Job Summary and Responsibilities “Job Summary” Required Competencies “Knowledge” / “Abilities” Occupational Competencies “Skills” Foundational Competencies Preferred Competencies “Knowledge” / “Abilities” Occupational Competencies “Skills” Foundational Competencies “Tasks” Example Activities “Find Certifications” Required Certifications

For 10 roles in IT and Advanced Manufacturing, Skillful has already created job posting templates IT: Top 10 Roles Advanced Manufacturing: Top 10 Roles 1 Software Developers 1 Quality Control Inspectors 2 Computer Systems Analysts 2 Machinists 3 Computer User Support Specialists 3 Computer-Controlled Tool Operators 4 Business Intelligence Analysts 4 Logistics Analyst 5 Network Systems Administrators 5 Electric and Electronics Repairers 6 Database Administrators 6 Industrial Engineering Technician 7 Computer Systems Engineers 7 CAD Drafter 8 Information Security Analysts 8 Manufacturing Production Technicians 9 Computer Network Architects 9 CNC Programmer 10 Software Quality Assurance Engineers and Testers First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers 10 Visit Skillful.com to download a job posting template for these roles complementary

With a Skillful job posting template, follow the three-step process below Prepare Customize Refine Phase: Key Activities: Gather job postings the company wants to make skills-based Visit Skillful.com to download job posting template and occupation deep dive For each role, find the most similar occupation and download that content Using the job posting template that is most similar to the role in question, fill in “Company Overview” and “Job Details” sections Review Skillful’s proposed “Required” and “Preferred” competencies and edit the content as desired Review Skillful’s proposed “Key Activities” list and edit to fit your company’s situation Review all other sections and customize as needed Meet with the hiring manager to review refine draft based on their input and insight Meet with current employee in the role to ensure all listed skills are required for the role, tailor if necessary Deliverables: Job postings to be converted Skillful job posting template Deep Dive Guide Customized skills-based job posting Validated, customized skills-based job description

Contents Skills-Based Hiring: An Introduction Skills-Based Hiring: Implementation Overview Example Skills-Based Job Postings

Skills-Based Job Posting Examples (1/3) Loan Officer

Skills-Based Job Posting Examples (2/3) Quality Manager

Skills-Based Job Posting Examples (3/3) Business Analyst