In today’s competitive recruitment landscape, attracting top tech talent requires more than just a generic job posting. With remote work and hybrid roles becoming standard and employees putting more emphasis on company culture and wider benefits packages, companies need to craft a compelling and well-optimised job description to attract the best candidates.

According to LinkedIn data, around 70% of the global workforce is considered passive talent, meaning they are not actively searching for new jobs but could be open to opportunities if presented with the right fit. Additionally, 87% of both passive and active job seekers are open to new opportunities.

A well-structured job specification helps your business stand out, improves candidate engagement, and increases quality applications. This guide will show you how to create an effective job description that attracts top talent.

1. Start with an Engaging Company Overview

Your job description should begin with a short, powerful introduction to your company. Candidates want to know who you are, what you do, and why they should care.
Key elements to include:
Company mission and vision: Highlight what sets you apart in the tech industry.
Tech culture and innovation: Showcase how you support innovation, continuous learning, and career growth.
Values and impact: Explain how your company makes a difference in the industry or the wider community.

According to a recent Glassdoor study, a significant majority of candidates, around 70-80%, prioritise companies with strong core values and mission statements when choosing their next employer, indicating that it is a major factor in their decision-making process

2. Clearly Define the Role and Responsibilities

A common mistake in tech hiring is listing vague or uninspiring job descriptions. To attract skilled developers, engineers, and IT professionals, your job spec should go beyond a simple bullet list of skills.
What to include:
Daily responsibilities: Outline what a typical day looks like in the role.
Key projects and challenges: Highlight any exciting problems they will be solving.
Success metrics: Specify what an employee should achieve in 3, 6, and 12 months.
Tech stack: Mention the programming languages, frameworks, and tools required.

Tech professionals love solving problems, so make sure to present your opportunity as an exciting challenge rather than just a checklist of tasks.

3. Showcase Your Company Culture

Culture is a huge deciding factor for candidates when evaluating job opportunities. A strong cultural fit leads to higher retention and better team performance. Key cultural aspects to mention:
Work environment: Is it a collaborative, fast-paced, or structured environment?
Team dynamics: Do you have stand-up meetings, agile sprints, or a flat hierarchy?
Company perks: Remote work options, wellness programs, social events, learning and development.

Did you know that, according to research by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), replacing an employee can cost as much as 50% to 60% of that individual's annual salary? When considering additional factors such as training and lost productivity, total turnover costs can escalate to between 90% and 200% of the employee's annual salary.

4. Be Clear About Technical Skills

Tech candidates prioritise clarity on required skills and technologies. However, listing an overwhelming number of requirements can discourage applicants.
Best practices:
List essential vs. nice-to-have skills to encourage more applications.
Avoid unrealistic expectations—long lists may signal an impractical work environment.
Highlight emerging technologies if your company works with cutting-edge tools.

Stat: According to Stack Overflow, 32% of developers cited the primary reason for pulling out of an interview process is that they didn’t like the tech stack.

5. Provide a Transparent Salary Range and Benefits

Compensation is a major factor for candidates when deciding whether to apply. 
What to include:
Salary range: Being upfront about compensation improves trust and application rates.
Perks and benefits: Mention flexible working, private healthcare, pension schemes, stock options, etc.
Work-life balance: Highlight remote work, flexible hours, and mental health support.

Fact: According to data from Reed.co.uk, jobs that disclose a salary receive 60% more applications than those that don't.

6. Simplify the Application Process

Passive candidates—who make up 70% of the global tech talent pool—are unlikely to complete lengthy applications. Keep it simple.
Key improvements:
Allow applications via LinkedIn profiles or a short CV upload.
Reduce unnecessary form fields and questionnaires.
Clearly outline the hiring process to set expectations.

The smoother the process, the more high-quality applications you’ll receive.

7. Explain the Interview Process

A clear hiring process helps reduce candidate anxiety and builds trust. Candidates appreciate transparency!
Outline:
Interview stages: Number of rounds, who they’ll meet, and expected timelines.
Technical assessments: Explain any coding tests, take-home projects, or live technical interviews.
Decision-making timeline: Give an estimate of when they can expect an offer.

Candidates value structured, efficient hiring processes over lengthy, unclear ones.

8. End with a Strong Call to Action (CTA)

Encourage candidates to take action immediately. Example CTAs:

“Excited to join us? Apply today with your CV or LinkedIn profile!”
“Want to learn more? Contact us at [email@company.com] for an informal chat.”

Passive candidates are more likely to apply if the process is quick, clear, and straightforward.

Need Help Creating Job Specifications That Attract the Best Tech Talent?

At Avanti Recruitment, we specialise in tech hiring solutions and have over 16 years of experience helping businesses attract top software engineers, DevOps specialists, data analysts, and more.

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