Job descriptions are easier than ever to create, but easier isn't always better. In fact, you'll find bad job descriptions everywhere, in every industry, and in companies of every size, from small businesses to global enterprises. 

In this article, we'll look at four of the top pitfalls for HR managers to avoid and three tips for taking job descriptions from "good" to "great", with job description examples included for added context.

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The importance of great job descriptions 

A job description is a complete record of the required skills and behaviors, responsibilities, education, and knowledge areas required by a job. Improving your organization’s job descriptions doesn't just improve the quality of job applicants and the hiring process. It enhances your ability to identify, manage, and optimize your organization's talent resources at every step in the talent lifecycle. Great job descriptions are detailed and accurate enough to support assessment, development, career pathing, and succession planning as well as guide helpful conversations between managers, reports, and HR.

Because they're the foundation of talent management, it's important to get every job description right, and it's a task that's harder than it seems. 

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Job description pitfalls to avoid

The first step in creating better job descriptions is to avoid the most significant pitfalls. By sidestepping these issues, you can ensure that your job descriptions are on the right track. 

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Don't confuse job postings with job descriptions

A job description is not the same thing as a job posting. All too often, these terms are used interchangeably, but there are key distinctions in their format and primary purpose.

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A job posting is a recruitment tool whose primary purpose is to serve as an advertisement for an open or unfilled position. In a job posting, you might get into more info about the company culture, benefits and perks of working at your organization. Commonly, it's a recruitment tool that contains “just the facts” about what the job is, and is aimed at encouraging broadly qualified candidates to apply.

A job description is a talent management tool. It's a comprehensive document that serves as the official record of the job requirements, including job responsibilities, required skills and behaviors, knowledge areas, and education. As a result, they are a point of reference for a wide range of talent management activities, including employee assessment, development, career pathing, succession planning, and more. 

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Don't use vague job titles and descriptions

Using unclear, generalized, or trendy job titles without explaining the actual role can lead to confusion. A vague description can also fail to communicate the core responsibilities and functions of the position.

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For example:

The job title "Project Management Specialist" doesn't provide much information about the nature of the specialism required, whereas "IT Project Management Specialist" provides job-seekers and job-holders alike with a clear understanding of the special capabilities, experience, and knowledge required. 

Similarly, the bulleted description below doesn’t offer enough detail to clearly define the expectations of the role.

• Manage projects and coordinate teams (What kind of projects? In what field? Which teams will they coordinate?)
• Oversee the execution of tasks. (What tasks? Who reports to the PM? Who does the PM report to?)
• Ensure timely completion of projects. (Projects of what size and duration? How should they ensure timely completion? Using what tools, methodologies, or strategies?)
• Communicate with stakeholders. (What stakeholders? Which communication channels are preferred?)
• Handle any other tasks as needed (What other tasks? Are they role-related, or would the candidate be expected to pitch in wherever needed?)

Vague job descriptions waste time during the hiring process and create ongoing frustration and miscommunication post-hire.  

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Don't use exclusionary language

Job descriptions should be inclusive and welcoming to all potential candidates. Using gendered language, industry jargon, or unnecessarily complex language can deter a diverse range of applicants.

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For example:

• Phrases such as "young and dynamic" or "digital native" discriminate against older people. "Able-bodied," "normal," or "fit" discriminate against individuals with disabilities. 
• Complex phrasing, such as "operationalize proactive feedback mechanisms" instead of "collect and use feedback" can confuse and intimidate intimidate applicants. 
• Culturally specific requirements, such as "Engineering degree from a North American university" exclude qualified candidates with credentials from other regions.

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Don't leave job descriptions unvalidated 

Many HR professionals are saving time and effort by using online job description templates or AI-generated job descriptions. These tools can be very helpful in accelerating the initial stages of the process, but the resulting drafts should never be considered fit for purpose until they are validated against the realities of your specific industry, your organizational operations and culture, and the role itself. 

To be relevant and accurate enough to ensure a successful hire and support the rest of the talent lifecycle, every job description needs to be reviewed, edited, and approved by an HR expert, the hiring manager, and someone who performs a similar role within the organization.  

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Job description best practices to follow

Addressing the biggest pitfalls can help you avoid job descriptions that unintentionally undermine your ability to hire, retain, and deploy the right talent. The following best practices will help you go the extra mile by integrating exceptional levels of detail, transparency, and consistency into the job descriptions you create. 

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Include competencies

Competencies define, in objective, observable terms, the behaviors that successful performers demonstrate on the job. These powerful talent tools are developed by industrial organizational (I-O) psychologists to go beyond the basic requirements and provide a deeper level of detail that gives workers, managers, and HR a clear reference point to guide talent conversations and activities. 

By defining employee competencies, the organization can:

• Communicate job expectations in behavioral terms that are easily understood by employees.
• Ensure employees are a good fit both for their position and that their behavior aligns with the organization’s core values.
• Describe what success looks like and set a clear baseline against which to assess performance and progress.

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For example:

Including a skill statement such as “intermediate-level digital literacy” in a job description leaves the question of how digital literacy is defined and what constitutes an intermediate level open to interpretation. 

Augmenting this skill statement with a multilevel competency provides a level of detail that’s capable of guiding hiring efforts and all subsequent talent conversations:

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Create consistency 

When companies grow beyond a few departments, job descriptions tend to be written in isolation from one team or department to the next. As a result, there can be significant variations in structure, format, and style across different descriptions. 

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For example:

• One job description is written in casual language while another is written in legalese.
• One job description lists 20 responsibilities while another includes only five.
• One job description describes responsibilities in the active voice ("Supervises and trains interns") while another uses the passive voice ("Interns to be supervised and trained").
• One job description includes a summary while another does not.

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When job descriptions are constructed and written inconsistently, it makes it difficult to compare requirements across multiple jobs. This, in turn, can make it harder to build career paths or reskill employees. 

Inconsistency across an organization's job descriptions also comes across as unprofessional and unpolished. 

And finally, when job descriptions are not governed by a set of universal standards, it results in quality control issues. 

The solution is to develop a job description template that enforces consistency and guides people to make the right choices when creating new job descriptions. 

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Update annually

No matter how carefully you craft a job description, it won't be an effective talent recruitment and management tool unless it's updated regularly. For most industries and roles, this means reviewing and updating the document on an annual basis. 

For some organizations, this is a regulatory requirement or one enforced by a union. But even in situations where updates are not mandated, it's a good idea to keep to an annual update schedule. In Quinto, for example, HR can schedule a reminder for each job description so that the appropriate people (including the person who performs the role, the person who manages them, subject-matter experts, and the HR manager) are alerted when it's time for them to conduct a review. 

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Learn more

Find out why job descriptions are more important than some HR professionals give them credit for. Read The surprising impact of job descriptions on your talent lifecycle.

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