In the battle for top talent, every word counts in job descriptions. Here you can find out exactly what you should pay attention to when writing.
Almost everyone who runs a company or works in human resources planning has probably had to write a job description at some point. In times when a real war for talent has broken out in some industries, every word counts. The wrong wording can quickly lead to a promising talent being hired by the competition.
Find out exactly what you should pay attention to when writing a job description and which contents should not be missing under any circumstances in our guide on the topic.
A job description is a detailed description of a vacant position. It describes the tasks, duties, necessary competencies and goals to be achieved in the respective job.
With its help, a job is delimited from or related to other jobs. This enables a clear definition of the areas of responsibility of all job holders and their classification in the corporate structure. It is also important that a job description is always formulated in a person-neutral way.
As mentioned before, a job description is not a job advertisement. A clear distinction must be made here. Where a job description is an instrument for defining a position, a job posting is an instrument for promoting a vacancy in the company.
It is true that the contents of job descriptions are used in job postings, but usually in a significantly slimmed-down version. In this way, company internals do not become public and interested job seekers are not overwhelmed with too many details.
Even if the concept of job description sounds abstract at first and is often regarded as a tedious paperwork by those responsible, it has great practical benefits for companies.
For example, a company's managers regularly refer to job descriptions to define the goals and tasks of their employees. If there are differences between two employees, for example about responsibilities in the company, the job descriptions can be used for arbitration.
Job descriptions also have a right to exist in terms of personnel development. If there is a position to be filled, they can be used to draw conclusions about the competencies, functions and powers of a job holder. In this way, an employee can be specifically promoted and trained to take over a vacant position.
Every now and then, it happens that employees are unsure about their areas of responsibility. This is a normal occurrence, especially in times of change in companies, for example after relocations, restructuring or management changes.
Clear job descriptions can make a big difference in such situations, as they set out an employee's tasks and duties in black and white and clearly formulated.
Chaos can quickly break out when planning large projects or complex processes. Clear job descriptions ensure that the powers, competencies and functions of employees in the company are clearly delineated. In this way, each job holder can be assigned suitable tasks within the framework of a project or process.
Job descriptions also, and especially, make life easier for staff planning employees.
When writing a job advertisement, the respective job description is almost always used as a template. After all, it contains all the information that the HR employee needs to create a job posting.
The job description often describes the competencies, duties and tasks of a position. This documentation helps HR staff to select suitable applicants. The job description in particular plays an important role here, as HR employees are often not experts in the field for which they have to select a suitable one for the position in the company from among many applicants.
Thanks to the job descriptions, it is also much easier to create employment contracts after candidate selection, as information regarding tasks, specifications and authority can be used for this as well.
New employees usually need to be trained before they can fully take on the tasks intended for them and make their contribution. To ensure that this happens as quickly as possible, contact persons within the company can be contacted who have been noted in the job description.
When creating substitute schedules and vacation schedules, job descriptions are a great help because they often note people with similar skills to the job holder.
With the help of a job's objectives defined in the job description, the job holder can be better evaluated during regular internal performance evaluations. Even in advance, HR staff can create evaluation forms based on this data.
Even when the employer and employee part ways again, a job description can still be useful. Thanks to the job description, the reference for the departing employee can be prepared more easily and quickly. The employer can also use this situation to put the job description through its paces and, if necessary, revise the content.
But let's finally get to the point. What does a good job description actually contain? A good job description must contain several points. How detailed these are dealt with is something that every company approaches differently. In any case, the following points should be included in every job description:
The job title should describe the position in question briefly and concisely, preferably in one word. So instead of "Manager responsible for coordinating projects", it is better to write "Project manager" as the job title.
Here, the position is placed in the higher-level structure of the company.
In large companies, employees often have numbers that are assigned according to a certain pattern and facilitate assignment.
If the position has already been filled, the name of the job holder should also be mentioned.
Here follows a brief description of the main tasks to be performed by the job holder. For example, the project manager is to lead a restructuring of the warehouse. Then the job description could look something like this: "Planning and coordinating the restructuring of our logistics center".
Most of the time, the employee is expected to perform other secondary tasks in addition to his or her primary task. Here, follow the same pattern as above. A description in short, concise wording is quite sufficient.
This is followed by a description of the job holder's goals, also in concise language. For example: "Increase goods turnover by 45% in 2022".
The responsibilities of the job holder are described here. For example: "Sole responsibility over the restructuring of our logistics center with ongoing cooperation with other units".
Here are briefly described all the duties of the job holder.
This defines what the job holder is allowed to get away with. Is he not even allowed to drive a forklift, or is he allowed to shut down the company's main server if necessary?
Which work and auxiliary materials provided by the company may the job holder use? Keys, cell phones and company cars, for example, are listed here.
If the job is a management position, this indicates who is subordinate to the job holder.
This specifies to whom the job holder is to report and from whom he/she is to receive instructions. Example: "Area Manager Logistics
In the event of a failure, the employer must be able to react quickly. Therefore, a substitute for each position should be provided for right from the start. In our example, for example, an experienced foreman could temporarily take over the tasks of the project manager.
Frequent contacts of the job holder should be listed here. This facilitates the establishment of communication channels.
In addition to these main points, you can also address other important questions regarding the position in the job description. What these are depends largely on the position. Examples:
Now that we know what belongs in a good job description, let's take a look at what information should definitely not be found there.
This includes in particular all information that rather belongs in the job advertisement for the position. Requirement profiles and expected qualifications should not be included in the job description, nor should information about the company itself. Ultimately, however, every organization handles its job descriptions differently.
For more information on the content and preparation of a job description, you can take a closer look at our article on "What to look for in a job description".
Job descriptions offer many advantages to both employees in human resources management and the managers of a company. Nevertheless, the creation and maintenance of job descriptions definitely entail a lot of effort and high costs.
For most companies, the advantages of job descriptions outweigh the disadvantages they bring.
Despite all the advantages that job descriptions offer, they also bring with them some disadvantages.
By now it should be clear that a job description can be an extremely useful tool. Accordingly, its creation should also be well thought out and planned.
First, a template should be created based on the job to be described. Then, it is determined where it will be filed and who will have access to it in the future. It should also be directly determined who will be responsible for ongoing updates.
After that, it's down to the details. If the job has existed for some time, the current job holder can be interviewed. Based on this information, a job description can then be created, which should then be cross-checked by a supervisor.
If the job is a completely new position, the job description can be developed with reference to company goals and information provided by senior management.
Once all the necessary information has been gathered, the next step is to formulate the job description. This should be independent of the person, clearly understandable and structured. Once completed, the job description is usually approved by a supervisor.
Caution: A job description must be updated again and again. This can be done on certain occasions to keep the effort as low as possible. For example, when the job holder leaves the company, when the company is restructured, when new products or projects are introduced, or when new goals are agreed with a job holder.
Job descriptions involve a lot of effort. Ultimately, each entrepreneur must decide for himself whether their existence is worthwhile. In our opinion, this depends heavily on the industry. In more traditionally structured companies with clear hierarchies, job descriptions definitely make more sense than in modern companies focused on the freedom and creativity of employees with a laissez-faire approach.
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