Write a job description that answers the real questions

A job description has two jobs: help a person decide whether the role makes sense for them, and help your team agree what it is hiring for. If those two descriptions don't match, an attractive opening paragraph won't resolve the problem.

Before opening the editor, ask the hiring manager to finish three sentences: “We need this role because…”, “The person will be responsible for…” and “After the first few months, we want to see…”. Discuss the answers until they describe observable work. “Own our social channels” needs more detail: which channels, which audience and what level of responsibility?

Use a recognizable job title. Keep the internal grade or playful team nickname out of the main title if it would make the work harder to understand. The description can carry your company's personality without making the candidate decode what the job is.

A practical outline can be short without leaving out the essentials:

1. Why the role exists. Explain the problem or opportunity, and where the person fits in the team.
2. The work. Describe the recurring responsibilities and the decisions the person will own.
3. What helps someone do it. Separate required capabilities from experience that can be learned.
4. The practical details. State the working arrangement, location expectations, employment type and the compensation information your company is ready to share.
5. The hiring process. Describe the expected conversations, any exercise and how the team will communicate.
6. How to apply. Say what to submit and why you are asking for it.

Make each section specific to this role. A long company history is less useful than a clear explanation of the team the person would join. A page of benefits shouldn't push the responsibilities or working arrangement out of view.

Here is an original example for a fictional product team:

We’re looking for a product designer to help improve the way customers set up their first project. You’ll work with a product manager and two engineers, take part in research conversations and turn what you learn into flows we can test and ship.

In your first few months, you’ll help us understand where new customers get stuck, explore a small set of design directions and work with the team to deliver an improvement. You won’t be expected to arrive with the answer already in hand.

The opening tells a candidate what the work is, who they would work with and what an early contribution might look like. It leaves room to learn. Add details that are true for your team rather than copying the example as a promise you cannot keep.

Follow the opening with concrete responsibilities. Explain whether the person will conduct research, contribute to a design system, support implementation or do some combination of these. If priorities will change, describe how the team decides what matters next.

For each requirement, ask what work it helps someone do and how the team will understand that capability. A tool name may be relevant, but familiarity with a particular application is not always the same thing as the ability to solve the problem.

Separate what is needed on day one from what the team can support someone in learning. If a portfolio or example project can demonstrate a capability, explain what you want to understand from it. Don't ask candidates to guess which part of their history is important to you.

Use the same distinction in the application form. If the résumé already answers a question, consider whether another required field adds useful information. Keep additional questions focused: one thoughtful explanation of a relevant project can be more useful than several generic essays.

Ask a teammate who wasn't involved in writing the description to read it. Can they explain the work back to you? Can they find the working arrangement and the next step? Which sentence would make them ask for clarification?

Check the application on a phone. Confirm that the required files and questions match the description, the role is active, and someone is ready to review the applications that arrive. Publishing a page and preparing the team to respond belong to the same launch.

Rolefern connects branded careers pages, job descriptions and configurable application forms to the job's pipeline. Use that connection to keep the promise on the public page consistent with what the hiring team actually does. Revisit the description if the role changes during the search.