It is surprising how many industrial age job descriptions are doing the rounds in the IT industry, an industry that is supposed to be leading all other industries in terms of technology. Although job responsibilities still have a place, competencies required should receive more attention and should form the core of the job description. This is according to Compuways IT Professional Search managing director Arnold Graaff.
He says the traditional job description typically consists of a list of job responsibilities in chronological order, as well as a qualification and certification section. "A good place to start is the performance profile of the job. At some point in time, the new candidate`s success will be measured on a performance profile - what will make the person successful or not?
"This performance profile normally contains a lot of information that can be used effectively in a job description when advertising for the position. Every company has customers who buy the products of the company and that the candidate directly or indirectly will play a role in," says Graaff.
"Furthermore, what must the person accomplish over the course of the first year that would determine whether or not the person is successful? This can be seen as a list of performance objectives as performance profiles. If the candidate can demonstrate they`ve done comparable or compatible work, they will have the requisite skills."
Graaff points to the value proposition for the candidate. "Why would the right candidate with a lot of marketable potential want your job? The answer forms the core of the candidate`s motivation for leaving his current job to join your company."
He says bringing the performance profile to the fore also has other advantages. "In the IT industry, often the emphasis is so much on one specific toolset over another, especially to minimise cross-training costs, that the real potential of a new candidate is often ignored in favour of the current hottest software toolset.
"When it comes to the candidate`s performance evaluation, accomplishments form core of the performance profile," he concludes.
For more information, visit www.compuways.com.
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Compuways (www.compuways.com)
Compuways was founded in 1990 by the owner, Arnold Graaff. The company supplies IT skills across the spectrum of skills from technical to managerial, permanent or contracting staff. Compuways is BEE Level 4 compliant, which means 100% of clients` procurement spend will count towards their BEE qualification.
Compuways has established alliances with various IT recruiters on a national and international basis and networks with other agencies, and also has partners in India, Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union to supply the most sought-after skills. This enables it to share its resources using the power of the Internet. Compuways is a member of APSO and abides by its ethics and guidelines in all its procedures. The company also promotes the use of its successful database and recruitment procedures within its client companies as an in-house recruitment system.
Compuways has re-engineered its processes to incorporate Internet and social networking technology in the changing roles of the recruiter, employer and job seeker in the recruitment process. Its success is attributed to nurturing loyal clients and candidates, using the Internet to complement the recruitment process. It is able to assess and supply the right level of skill on time.
Clients include Fujitsu, IBM, Conekt Business Group, UCS SAP Consulting, Argility Software Consulting, Avon Cosmetics, Toyota, Medikredit, SARS, Standard Bank, Standard Merchant Bank, First National Bank and Nedbank.
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