How to Write a Job Description

When you are ready to hire, you will need to write a job description. Essentially, a job description is an overview of the duties, responsibilities and requirements of the open position. The job description serves several purposes. It allows an employee to clearly understand the nature of his or her role within the organization. It also provides a basis for future performance measurement and salary evaluation. During the hiring process, it provides a job outline for applicants as well as an opportunity for the employer to attract the best candidates by “selling” the virtues of the company and the role.

A good job description should include the following basic elements:

• job title
• reporting structure
• employment term
• a complete list of duties and responsibilities
• specific skills or qualifications required to do the job

You may also want to consider providing information about the goals of the position and how it fits into the organizational structure within the company. Salary/compensation and benefits information should be considered as well.

You will also want to consider having two job descriptions: one for internal use and a second for external use. The internal job description remains private and is used for establishing personnel policy, performance measurement and organizational structure. It should be thorough and contain a complete list of responsibilities, minimum standards or goals for the position and compensation information.

Your external job description should be used for advertising purposes during the recruiting process. In order to attract good candidates, you most likely will need to advertise your job opening. In essence, you are trying to attract the best candidates by “selling” your job and company. Also, when you consider how expensive it is to advertise, you really want to make every word count. Remember, there are no guarantees when you advertise and the last thing you want to do is run a bland ad that fails to capture the attention of the best candidates. Therefore, you really should take the time to craft a well-written, interesting job description that will want to make candidates apply for your job opening.

If writing isn’t your forte, you may want to enlist the services of a good copy writer. The job description should give some details on why someone would want to work for your company (i.e. great work environment, growing rapidly, etc.) and how the position plays a critical role within the organization. It can also include other incentives or perks (i.e. ground floor opportunity, rapid advancement potential, excellent benefits package, free parking, etc.) that will interest good candidates.

When writing a job description, there are legal considerations that you should be aware of relative to discrimination or equal opportunity laws. Essentially, any reference to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin or nationality, or physical or mental disability is illegal. Any age or experience requirement is one of the most common areas for potential discrimination issues. Please consult your attorney if you have any questions about this area.

Perfect Office Placement provides its clients with free resource topics pertaining to the hiring process. Resource topics include how to interview candidates, how to screen candidates and what questions not to ask a job candidate. We also offer a unique hiring service for general office staff openings that will handle all of the hiring legwork for you while you focus on running your business. Best of all, it’s extremely affordable and guarantees a hire. If you are interested in streamlining the hiring process, call a Perfect Office Placement hiring consultant today to find out how we can help.

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