Before you register your vacancy, it's wise to invest some time evaluating just what it is you're after.

Preparing a detailed specification will help you to focus on exactly what skills you seek, whilst aiding your HR department or recruitment consultant in identifying candidates for you to interview. It's also a great exercise in re-evaluating your departmental needs, giving you the opportunity to juggle around responsibilities amongst your team if necessary.

The job specification is a tailored description of the vacancy, including the responsibilities and goals of the post-holder.

The person specification is a profile of the person you consider best fits the bill.

Job and person specifications also help candidates. It will help to attract those who might not otherwise apply and narrow the field by hopefully excluding those who don't fit the bill or who don't even like the sound of the job.

Dont fall into the trap of advertising a "vague-sounding job", with the intention of seeing 'who turns up'. This invariably leads to time being lost sifting through irrelevant applications or interviewing candidates who, when confronted with the reality of the position, discover the role is not for them after all.

The specifications you prepare will help you evaluate CVs speedily and ruthlessly, as well as providing a list of pertinent questions for interview.

The job specification

• Overview
  
• Department and job title
  
• Salary range
  
• Core job description
  
• Aims of position
  
• Specific responsibilities
  
• Range of responsibilities
  
• Day-to-day duties
  
• Who the job-holder reports to
  
• The 'job process' from start to finish
  
• A 'typical day' (if appropriate)
  
  The person specification
  
  
• Skills & abilities
  
• Abilities you expect your ideal candidate to demonstrate
  (think in terms of technical, organisational, communicative or creative skills
  apply each skill required with the specific job tasks)
• Qualifications & experience
  
• What specific education or course background do you require?
  
• What level of experience (if any) is needed?