Writing Effective Job Descriptions

A job description includes a careful analysis of the major functions of an employee's position. A well-written, practical job description will help you avoid hearing a refusal to carry out a relevant assignment because "it isn't in my job description." A poorly written job description will keep you and your employees from trying anything new and learning how to perform their job more productively. A job description should include the following:

• Job title, organization and location of position.
• Job objective or overall purpose statement - the summary should describe the broad function and scope of the position and be no longer than three to four sentences.
• List of Duties or Tasks Performed - the list should contain each and every essential job duty or responsibility that is critical to the successful performance of the job. The list should begin with the most important functional and relational responsibilities and continue down in order of significance.
• Job Specifications, Standards and Requirements - the minimum amount of qualifications needed to perform the essential functions of the job, such as education, experience, knowledge, and skills. Any critical skills and expertise needed for the job should be included.
• Equipment to be used in the performance of the job.
• Description of the Relationships and Roles the occupant of the position holds within the company, including any supervisory positions, subordinating roles, and/or other working relationships.
• Date of position opening.
• Salary range.
• A description of recent activity within the organization.
• Information on how to apply, including contact email.

Keep each statement in the job description crisp and clear.

• Structure your sentences in explanatory phrases.
• Always use the present tense of verbs.
• Use unbiased terminology. For example: use the he/she approach or construct sentences in such a way that gender pronouns are not required.
• Avoid using verbage which is subject to different interpretations.  

There are several areas to avoid when writing job descriptions for advertising purposes.

• Extravagantly presented layouts, graphics and words are distracting and difficult to read
• Overuse of capital-letters or italics are not appealing
• Clever or obscure headlines
• Excessive technical detail about the job or the company
• Too many words -  keep it simple
• Uninspiring, boring descriptions of roles and ideal candidates may rule out the right applicant

Realistically speaking, many jobs are subject to change due either to personal growth, organizational development, and/or the evolution of new technologies. Flexible job descriptions will encourage your employees to grow within their positions and learn how to make larger contributions to your company. When writing a job description, keep in mind that the job description will serve as a major basis for outlining job training or conducting future job evaluations.