Job listing taxonomy refers to the system of categorizing and organizing job titles and descriptions. It provides a consistent language and framework for talking about different roles across an organization. A well-structured job listing taxonomy makes it easier for recruiters, hiring managers, and candidates to search, filter, and compare openings. It also supports reporting and analytics around hiring needs and trends.
Why is job listing taxonomy important?
There are several key reasons why implementing a job taxonomy is important for businesses and recruiters:
- Improves candidate search experience – A taxonomy gives candidates an intuitive way to browse and search job listings by related categories and keywords.
- Enables targeted job advertising – Taxonomies allow recruiters to precisely target job ads to the right audiences based on job categories, skills, and responsibilities.
- Supports recruiting analytics – Organized job data makes it possible to analyze trends like hardest positions to fill, volume of applicants by role type, etc.
- Reduces recruiting costs – Structured job descriptions prevent duplicate or redundant postings for similar roles.
- Promotes internal mobility – A job architecture gives employees visibility into lateral career moves across different departments.
In summary, job taxonomy improves the quality and accuracy of job postings, makes openings more discoverable, and enables deeper recruiting insights.
What are the elements of job listing taxonomy?
An effective job taxonomy has three core elements:
- Job families – High-level categories that group similar roles. For example, Marketing, Finance, Technology, Sales.
- Job functions – More specific categories within a job family. For example, within Technology: Software Engineering, IT Support, Product Management.
- Standardized job titles – Specific roles and titles that align with job functions. For example, Marketing Manager, Accountant, Software Developer.
Additional elements that may be included in a taxonomy are:
- Job levels – Entry-level, mid-level, senior level. Helps identify career progression stages.
- Skills – Technical abilities and knowledge required for a role.
- Behaviors – Soft skills and behavioral traits for a position.
- Education – Minimum required degrees and qualifications.
How to create a job listing taxonomy
Developing a useful job taxonomy takes research and thoughtful planning. Here are steps to build out a job listing taxonomy:
- Analyze existing job listings – Get an overview of current roles, titles, requirements, and categories.
- Identify job families – Group similar roles into high-level categories or disciplines.
- Define job functions – Determine specific functions within each family based on duties.
- Standardize job titles – Map current titles to taxonomy and create title guidelines.
- Add additional taxonomy layers – Include other useful elements like seniority level, location, etc.
- Organize hierarchically – Structure the taxonomy from broad down to narrow classifications.
- Review with stakeholders – Get input from hiring managers to validate the taxonomy.
- Publish and implement – Rollout the taxonomy and integrate into your HR systems.
- Iterate and improve – Review periodically and adjust the taxonomy as needed.
Best practices for job listing taxonomy
Some key best practices when developing a job taxonomy include:
- Involve recruiters and hiring managers – Get cross-functional input and buy-in.
- Use clear, intuitive naming – Choose easy to understand taxonomy names.
- Standardize on taxonomy – Enforce consistent use of titles and categories.
- Be comprehensive – Include all current roles, not just openings.
- Design for scale – Plan to expand the taxonomy as the organization grows.
- Consider localization – Account for regional differences in job types.
- Keep it current – Update periodically to reflect changes.
Job listing taxonomy examples
Here are two sample job taxonomy structures that demonstrate how roles can be classified and organized:
Example 1
Job Family | Job Function | Standardized Job Title |
---|---|---|
Technology | Software Engineering | Software Engineer |
IT Support | Helpdesk Analyst | |
Product Management | Product Manager | |
Marketing | Brand Management | Brand Manager |
Campaign Management | Campaign Specialist |
Example 2
Job Family | Job Function | Experience Level | Standardized Job Title |
---|---|---|---|
Engineering | Software Development | Entry | Software Engineer I |
Mid | Software Engineer II | ||
Senior | Senior Software Engineer | ||
Finance | Accounting | Entry | Accountant I |
Senior | Senior Accountant |
When to review job taxonomy
It’s important to revisit your job taxonomy regularly and make updates as needed. Some common reasons to review include:
- Organization restructures – Major changes to business units and reporting lines.
- New product and service launches – When new jobs are created for initiatives.
- Mergers and acquisitions – Integrating roles from other companies.
- Expansion into new markets – Supporting localization needs.
- Issues finding talent – If certain roles are chronically hard to fill.
- Inconsistent job titles – Lots of variation from the standard taxonomy.
- Outdated taxonomy – If the current taxonomy feels disconnected from actual roles.
As a rule of thumb, aim to formally review the taxonomy every one to two years. But also be prepared to revise it to adapt to changes as they happen.
Benefits of job listing taxonomy
Implementing a job taxonomy offers many benefits, including:
- More efficient recruiting process – Easy searching and matching of candidates to openings.
- Improved talent analytics – Better insight into hiring needs and trends.
- Higher job seeker engagement – Candidates can more easily find relevant postings.
- Enhanced employer brand – Structured, consistent job listings portray a more professional image.
- Greater internal mobility – Employees have visibility into career path options.
- Compliance – Standardized titles help avoid discrimination and comply with regulations.
- Superior talent quality – Ability to precisely target niche, skilled talent pools.
- Data integration – Seamless transfer of job data between HR systems.
Challenges of job listing taxonomy
Some potential challenges with implementing a taxonomy include:
- Initial effort required – Developing and migrating to the new taxonomy takes work.
- Adoption issues – Candidates and employees may be unfamiliar with new titles at first.
- Ongoing governance – Continual effort needed to enforce taxonomy usage.
- Inflexibility – Taxonomies can become rigid and outdated if not updated.
- Regional variations – What works globally may not fit local job market norms.
- Role ambiguity – Some jobs cover multiple functions spanning different taxonomy categories.
However, with proper change management and governance, these hurdles can be overcome to realize the lasting benefits of a job taxonomy.
Tools for managing job taxonomy
Some commonly used tools and systems for implementing and managing job listing taxonomy include:
- HR information systems (HRIS) – Core HR platforms like SAP SuccessFactors, Workday, ADP often have built-in taxonomy capabilities.
- Applicant tracking systems (ATS) – ATS tools like iCIMS, Jobvite, Lever enable tagging and searching jobs based on taxonomy.
- Excel or Google Sheets – Simple spreadsheets can be used to build out basic taxonomies.
- Org chart software – Visual tools like Lucidchart help map and classify roles.
- Talent intelligence platforms – Systems like Eightfold and SeekOut have AI-powered taxonomy and ontology management.
Conclusion
Job listing taxonomy provides the foundation for more strategic and effective recruiting. With a well-designed taxonomy in place, organizations can structure job postings in a clear, consistent way that better attracts candidates and enables data-driven hiring decisions. While developing and managing a taxonomy requires upfront work, the long-term benefits for productivity, analytics, and the candidate experience make it a worthwhile investment for any growing employer.