Writing Job Descriptions for Students: 5 Tips

We know there is plenty of content out there on attracting millennials and a quick Google search yields overwhelming results. But for the past two years, we at TechGen have been thinking about this a lot. And we’ve seen even more.

So, without further ado, here 5 very general tips to help you get started or to check what you have. (We’ve also added commentary from your potential intern’s perspective):

1. Keep it short and sweet: This doesn’t need to be an epic novel and if it’s an internship for 3ish months, it really shouldn’t be that long. So cut to the chase and tell me your company’s mission, what I’ll be doing and with whom, how my role/research/project fits with the mission, and what skills I need to be successful.
2. Ducks and Bunnies: Be incredibly clear and straightforward. What do you need me to do? What kinds of projects can I expect to work on? But don’t tell me I’m going to work on “world-changing technology,” because even if that’s true, this line is tired.
3. What’s required vs. what’s desired: There is a huge difference and I will take this literally. I already feel completely lost so don’t make this a guessing game for me. If you spell out the skills that are required, I can tell if I’m the right fit and make a decision from there.
4. Write as though another human will read it: I don’t want to work for a robot. If it helps, think of me like your favorite niece or nephew (or if you like your younger sibling, that works too). Just like you want to see my personality in my cover letter and resume, show me yours.
5. Tell me who I’ll work with: Every company is different, so help me understand what my team will look like and how collaborative we’ll be. Will I be really autonomous or closely managed and supported?

You might already know all of these, and if that’s the case, awesome! If not, we hope you find these helpful. If you are still confused, hit us up and we’ll help you figure it out. Want to get some user feedback (i.e. have students take a look and tell you what’s confusing?) We can help with that too.

Happy hiring!