Before you recruit: five questions to clarify your next role

Telethon weekend gives Western Australians an opportunity to reflect on the people and services that support children and families across our state.

For employers, that reflection can extend to the everyday work within their own organisations. Behind each service are people with particular skills, responsibilities and relationships. Understanding what those people need to do their work well matters when planning the next appointment.

Whether you lead a healthcare service, an early learning centre or an ICT team, recruitment preparation starts before the advertisement.

A vacancy tells you that someone is needed. It does not always tell you what the role should become.

Before you recruit, these five questions can help turn an immediate staffing need into a clearer, more thoughtful brief.

1. What does this role need to make possible?

It is natural to start with a job title and a list of duties. A more useful starting point is the contribution the person needs to make.

Does your healthcare team need stronger continuity between appointments? Does your early learning centre need an experienced educator who can support colleagues and build relationships with families? Does your ICT team need someone who can investigate recurring system problems and explain solutions clearly?

These are different needs, even when the job titles look familiar.

Write down what should be working better three months after the person starts. Keep the expectations realistic and within the role’s control.

That gives you a stronger basis for deciding which responsibilities belong in the position.

2. Are we replacing a person or reviewing the work?

When someone leaves, the previous position description is often the easiest place to begin.

It is still worth checking whether it reflects the work being done today.

Responsibilities may have shifted. A departing employee may have quietly taken on extra tasks. The team may need a different balance of experience, or clearer boundaries between roles.

Consider a hypothetical early learning centre in Perth preparing to replace an experienced educator. The initial brief asks for someone who can immediately take on every responsibility their predecessor held.

A conversation with the team reveals that the departing educator had also become the informal mentor for new colleagues and the person everyone approached with difficult questions.

The recruitment brief now needs more thought. Which responsibilities belong in the vacancy? Which should be shared? What mentoring time will actually be available?

Without that conversation, the next person could inherit expectations that were never explained.

3. Which skills are essential on day one?

A long selection criteria list can make a role appear clear while leaving the real priorities unresolved.

Separate the capabilities someone must bring from those they can develop with appropriate support.

In healthcare, required qualifications and role specific clinical competence need careful attention. In childcare, professional knowledge, sound judgement and responsive relationships deserve clear recognition. In ICT, the essential capability might be diagnosing infrastructure faults, managing a particular environment or communicating during an incident.

Be specific about the work behind each requirement.

If you ask for strong communication skills, explain what that means. Is the person supporting families through sensitive conversations, documenting care information or translating technical risks for colleagues?

Also be honest about training. A skill is only something you can teach if someone has the time and capability to teach it.

4. What will the working week actually look like?

Candidates need enough information to judge whether a role fits their lives and professional goals.

Clarify the location, hours, reporting arrangements and everyday demands before recruitment begins.

For a regional WA position, this might include travel between sites, access to supervision and how the person will stay connected with colleagues elsewhere. For a Perth role, it might mean explaining shift patterns, workplace attendance or the practical limits of flexibility.

Describe the challenging parts as carefully as the appealing ones.

Will priorities change quickly? Is there an on call commitment? Will the person work independently for part of the week?

Clear information helps employers and candidates have a useful conversation about suitability from the outset.

5. What support will help this person succeed?

Recruitment preparation should include what happens after an offer is accepted.

Who will welcome the person? Who can answer questions? What information, equipment and access will they need? When will someone check how they are settling in?

Support should reflect the work.

A healthcare professional may need a clear orientation to local procedures and escalation pathways. An educator needs time to understand the children, families and team routines. An ICT specialist needs access to documentation, systems and the reasoning behind previous technical decisions.

Being experienced does not remove the need for a thoughtful introduction to a new workplace.

Before advertising, make sure the team has a practical plan for helping the successful candidate become confident in the role.

A clearer brief starts with a conversation

These five questions do not need to become a lengthy planning exercise. A focused conversation with the manager and people who understand the work can reveal what an old position description misses.

The aim is a brief that explains the role’s purpose, its essential capabilities, its everyday realities and the support available.

At BB Recruitment, we see these early conversations as an important part of connecting people with workplaces. Understanding the role means understanding both the contribution an employer needs and the conditions in which someone will be asked to deliver it.

Before your next vacancy goes live, ask: have we made the role clear enough for someone to picture themselves doing it well?

📧 enquiries@bbrecruitment.com.au
📞 08 6216 0014
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