How to write a job description that attracts rockstar designers

If your company has been struggling to attract great designers, the first place you should look is your job description.
If you’re not outlining exactly what you’re looking for, you’ll end up with a bunch of candidates who aren’t the right fit.
Here are some tips to craft the perfect job description so you’ll have a huge list of perfect candidates.
Get everybody on the same page
Before you start writing the job description, get your entire hiring team on the same page. This includes the recruiter, hiring manager, founder, other designers, and anyone else who will be part of this hiring process.
Make sure everybody knows and agrees upon what skills and qualifications you’re actually looking for. Everyone needs to know exactly what the company is looking for, so if a designer doesn’t have a skill you need, you can disqualify them early on.
If you get to the final interview and the person who has final say in the hiring realizes that the candidate isn’t the right fit, you’ve not only wasted the candidate’s time, but you’ve wasted your time, your team’s time, and lost valuable company time.
If this certain skill or background wasn’t listed in the job description, and the candidate obviously didn’t have this skill based on their resume or portfolio, why weren’t they eliminated early on? Because not everybody knew what they were supposed to be looking for.
Don’t use buzzwords or boring descriptions
Most job descriptions for design positions look exactly the same. They use boring buzzwords and bland descriptions of responsibilities. You want something that stands out and makes designers jump at the chance to apply.
Here’s your standard job description for a designer:

Now, take a look at this job description:

See the difference? The second description speaks the language of a designer. You don’t have to know everything about design, but if you at least make an effort to connect, the results will be huge.
Don’t put too much emphasis on tool mastery
If you don’t have design experience, you probably looked at other job descriptions for designers and just copied the tools they listed: Adobe Photoshop, Dreamweaver, Flash. First of all, nobody uses those tools anymore, so when I see job descriptions that reference those tools, I run far away.
Secondly, there are many design tools out there now, and designers should be trusted to use any software that they feel comfortable using. You should be more interested in attracting designers that can solve problems, and not focus on what tools they use.
Tailor your “culture benefits” to designers
At the end of every job posting, there’s a list of perks and benefits for working at that company. The only problem is that it’s the same list no matter what type of job it’s for.
Find out what designers value in a culture, and list a few reasons why a designer would love working for your company. For example, if you’re a startup looking to hire your first designer, highlight the fact the designer will have a huge influence on the look and feel of your company. They will have the chance to teach other people in the company about design.
Those types of benefits are more valuable than say, having an unlimited amount of cereal or craft beer in your kitchen.
