Why You Should Use The ‘Create Your Own Job’ Tool

By November 22, 2016For Companies

Today’s fast paced job market demands forward thinking and disruptive innovation when it comes to attracting and hiring – anything less will leave you lost in the fray. We’ve launched a ‘Create Your Own Job’ option on Jobbio. We’re getting some pretty exciting results from it, and you can too. Our Expert in Residence, Dee Murphy, talks us through what exactly the ‘Create Your Own Job’ tool looks like, why we’re doing it and why you should too! 


What does it look like?

It’s quite simple really… If candidates don’t see their dream job up for grabs but really love your brand and what you do – you want to hear from them! The ‘Create Your Own Job’ option asks them to get in touch telling you what they do, how they’re qualified and where they can add value to your company. To ensure you’re getting strong, relevant applicants, ask them to submit a 90 day plan outlining how they’ll spend their first weeks making your business better. If you like what you see, you take it from there!

Why do we do it?

The hiring marketplace is changing – job seekers consider themselves to be contributors with multifaceted skill sets.

They’re proactive ‘creators’ looking to build careers based on what they know they’re good at, not just what a job description tells them.

On the other side of the table, companies are growing rapidly and their products and offerings are advancing at a rate of knots. Hiring needs are shifting and more often than not, CEOs, COOs and hiring managers don’t even realise where they need support to make their company better.  This approach is disruptive in all the best ways. It’s a totally risk free and inventive way to connect to top talent for current and future roles. 

Why does it work?

1. “That’s not my job.”

Studies show that 4 out of 5 employees feel they’re not doing work that plays to their strengths or that they’re underemployed (overqualified and under utilised). Oftentimes, employees join an organisation under one remit and find themselves wearing numerous hats to get jobs done. Although this may seem effective in the short term, long term it can lead to high levels of stress, burnout, boredom and ineffective hours spent doing things that shouldn’t be focused on, resulting in lower quality output.

By allowing people to create their own job you’re reducing the risk of misaligned skills and increasing your potential to build a team of power players.

2. They’re your biggest fan.

People who want to work for you because they love your brand and believe in what you’re doing are people you should always want to talk to! If those people actively look for opportunities to join your company but don’t see a fit in the roles you have on offer, they’re unlikely to proactively reach out. This option opens the channel of communication and enables you to have conversations with your biggest fans – understanding and loving your company is one of the first boxes any potential employee should tick!

3. They’re problem solvers, leaders and will get sh*t done.

Someone who creates their own job is actively identifying problems and bringing you solutions – which is every hiring manager’s dream. This process removes the need to ask countless soft questions in an effort to extract how the candidate will actually add value and gets right to the pain points – this is the sweet spot for most interview processes and this approach removes the hard work.

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4. Ownership.

If someone is coming to you with a proposal of how they’ll add value the onus is on them to deliver. By writing their own job spec and setting their own targets they increase their level of autonomous responsibility and this creates strong psychological buy-in… They’re more driven to prove they can deliver.

5. Onboarding.

Somebody who uses the ‘Create Your Own Job’ option has greater clarity around what they’ll be doing day to day. This approach cuts the ‘ramp up’ ‘training’ and ‘mentoring’ time in half – people who design their own job are more likely to hit the ground running. 


Why not give it a shot? Your next hire could be someone you never knew you needed! Check out our ‘Create Your Own Job’ option here


Author Aoife Geary

Aoife Geary is the Content Editor at Jobbio specialising in the areas of Workplace Culture, Diversity, Startups and Digital Trends. She's partial to a burrito, a bad pun and living way beyond her means.

More posts by Aoife Geary

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