• HR managers often underestimate the importance of crafting detailed, accurate, validated job descriptions. 
• Using AI or generic templates to create job descriptions can create problems down the line.
• Job descriptions play a significant role in virtually every talent management process, including recruitment, assessment, and development.

In some ways, creating job descriptions has never been easier for HR managers. Today, a free job description template is only a Google search away, and more and more HR managers are using ChatGPT to generate a job description in as little time as it takes to grab a cup of coffee from the break room. 

While these options can simplify the time-intensive process of writing a job description from scratch, they can also create a lot of headaches further down the line. In this article, we'll look at the surprising reasons why, including:

• The crucial role job descriptions play in recruitment, onboarding, assessment, development, and DEI
• Why HR managers shouldn't rely on AI or a job description template alone
• 3 essential qualities every effective job description needs to include

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The limitations of AI and online job templates

In some ways, creating job descriptions has never been easier or faster for HR managers. Google "job description template" to generate thousands of hits instantly. Or type a request into ChatGPT and watch it spin up a job description in seconds. 

This is a perfectly good way to kickstart the process and avoid the time and effort of creating a job description from scratch. But these generic prototypes are not ready to drive your HR processes until you have reviewed, revised, and validated them.

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Using job descriptions generated with templates and AI can be problematic because: 

They lack specificity. While these tools can deliver a generic, all-purpose result, they can't reflect the realities of your unique industry or organizational culture or the nuances of a specific role.  

They lack accuracy. Templates can include inaccurate, poor quality, and discriminatory content, and generative AI is prone to "hallucination"—deeply incorrect but confidently delivered information. 

They are a "black box." Templates and AI don't provide details about how the job description was created or where the source content originated. As a result, HR can't vouch for the quality, accuracy, or completeness of the end product. 

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A less-than-perfect job description may seem like a small problem in the grand scheme of things, but it can create much bigger problems once it is integrated into the talent lifecycle. A job description is a tool and a point of reference used in virtually every talent management activity. When it is not well-constructed, that “small problem” amplifies and creates significantly more work (and worse outcomes) all the way down the line. 

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Job descriptions and the talent lifecycle 

While the creation of a job description is often triggered by recruitment needs, its purpose doesn't end there. Job descriptions also need to guide and inform HR activities such as employee assessment, development, and more. 

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Job descriptions and hiring and selection

A quality job description can enhance the quality of the hire by accurately identifying the competencies, skills, experience, and education needed for success in the role. By clearly stating the requirements and responsibilities of the job, recruiters can screen and select candidates more effectively, using the job description as a benchmark.

The job description should form the basis for the structured interview questions you pose to promising candidates. That way, you can deliver a more consistent experience to the candidate and extract more valuable, relevant information from them during the interview process. 

If your job descriptions are built with competencies, they can also help you generate behavioral interview questions that use the "STAR" method (asking the candidate to describe the Situation, Task, Action, and Results) to provide useful context about their experience and capabilities. 

Use our free job posting scoresheet to measure how effective your current job posts are. Optimized job posts attract higher quality talent, so you can build a strong workforce.

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Job descriptions and onboarding

A well-designed, validated job description helps to smooth the onboarding process by setting clear expectations from the start and providing a point of reference that the new hire and their manager can share to align on the specific knowledge, skills, and expectations for the job. Conversely, if the job description is generic or fails to accurately describe the day-to-day realities of the role, this can create a bad impression early in the process, which can increase the risk of attrition.

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Job descriptions and employee assessments  

As the employee progresses in their role, their abilities or job performance will need to be assessed. That assessment may take the form of a parallel assessment, self-assessment, or a 360 assessment, and it may be performed for any number of reasons, such as performance management, employee development, succession planning, employee engagement, or regulatory compliance. 

In each case, the assessment needs to tie back to the employee’s original job description, including the responsibilities performed and the skills and competencies demonstrated. If these have been clearly articulated in the first place, managers can use the job description to guide the conversation and provide specific, constructive, relevant feedback. 

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Job descriptions and career development

By helping to identify the skills and competencies required for a role, job descriptions can inform the design of training and development programs that support effective performance in that role. Accurate, detailed job descriptions can also support internal career growth and career pathing by enabling employees to see their potential career progression by exploring what different jobs in the organization entail and how their skills, interests, and potential could qualify them to hold that position in the future. 

If your job descriptions include competencies, this can give your organization a means of creating structured career pathing by showing the overlap between an employee's current competency profile and the competencies required for other jobs in the organization. 

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Job descriptions and DEI

Meeting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) guidelines and requirements begins with the job description. The language you use to describe job requirements can welcome all qualified candidates or actively discriminate against some of them. If the job description is not thoroughly vetted for inclusiveness, it can undermine your talent pipeline and your entire organization. Not only can a poorly-designed job description prevent you from attracting the widest pool of qualified talent, but it can tarnish your employer brand and open your organization to legal and regulatory jeopardy. 

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Can a job description be "fast" and "good"?

Cutting and pasting a job description from a template or an AI generator is fast, but the output will never be good. But the alternative isn't to spend countless hours starting every job description from scratch. 

Quinto combines human-reviewed, AI-generated content with robust collaboration tools that streamline the validation process and help you publish consistent, customized, compliant job descriptions faster. Learn more here. 

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Keep learning

Find out how to create high-functioning job descriptions that can support and enhance the entire talent lifecycle, from recruitment to succession planning. Read Why job descriptions are still so hard to write—and how to fix that. 

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