11 Things You Should Consider Before Writing A Job Description

So you’ve decided to hire someone new, and you’re ready to write a job description. That’s great! But before you start, there are a few things you should consider first. A good job description will help ensure that the candidate who applies meets both your needs and theirs. Here are 11 things I recommend thinking about as you put together your list of responsibilities:

What Does Your Company Need In This Role?

What does your company need in this role?

As you write a job description, it’s important to consider what the organization needs in this new employee. Your company may have a vision or mission statement that will help guide you as you think about what skills and experiences candidates should have to meet those needs. You may also want to consider goals for the next three years and how the candidate’s experience could help the company achieve those goals.

How does this role contribute to our company’s success?

What are some specific ways that this person will impact our organization’s growth and progress? If there are metrics by which you measure success, make sure they’re included in your job description so that candidates know exactly what is expected of them if they are hired into this position

Who Will Report To This Person?

When you’re creating a job description, think about who your new employee would be managing. If they’re not in charge of anyone, then it’s not really a position, is it? A good rule of thumb is that if this person is going to be in charge of other people on the team, then they should report up the management chain and not directly to the CEO or owner. 

This ensures that there’s someone at a higher level who can help provide guidance as needed and that there aren’t any surprises down the road when someone needs advice or direction from above.

How Important Is This Role To The Health Of Your Business?

How important is this role to the health of your business?

It’s important to understand what goals you have for your business and how this position would fit into those plans. If you’re a start-up and only have a few employees, then it’s likely that everyone has a hand in various aspects of running the company. 

The more employees you have, the more defined roles become necessary to help facilitate communication and keep everyone on track with their responsibilities.

What Does This Role Do For Us As A Company?

You should also consider how this role fits into larger organizational structures such as departments or teams — what are its responsibilities relative to people who report directly to them? Do they work independently from other employees (which could mean less collaboration) or are they part of an interconnected team structure that relies on coordination between groups?

How does our company compare with others like us? What makes them different from one another? How can we leverage those differences in our own favor?

What Kind Of Motivation Will A Candidate Need To Take This Job?

Motivation is an important part of a job description, but it’s not everything. There are two kinds of motivation: intrinsic and extrinsic.

Intrinsic motivation comes from inside you it’s your own internal desire to do something because it interests or excites you (and not because somebody tells you to). Extrinsic motivation comes from outside influences like money, other people’s expectations, or even threats.

Sometimes our motivations change over time for example when we find out that we’re really good at something or when we get bored with a task that once seemed exciting. You might also notice that some tasks seem more interesting than others depending on where you are in life and the stage of development that your career has reached.

A Realistic Salary Range

It is important to be honest about the salary range. It’s easy to get caught up in the moment, but remember that if you go too high, you will not get the best candidates. If your company can’t afford to pay that much, then maybe it’s time to reassess your finances and see what needs cutting from your budget rather than limiting your talent pool.

Similarly, do not oversell yourself or undersell yourself when it comes to describing the job’s responsibilities. If there are tasks that would normally belong on another person’s list of duties (and there probably are), then include those duties in their description as well so they don’t feel like they are being shortchanged by taking on more work than expected.

What’s The Most Crucial Skill To Have In This Position?

One of the first things you need to do when creating a job description is to decide what skill or ability is most crucial for this position. For example, if you’re hiring for a sales position and your company relies heavily on customer service, it’s important that candidates have excellent communication skills.

Or say you’re looking for an office manager with strong organizational skills you might want to emphasize these qualities in your job description.

When deciding what skills are most important for your role, think about how they’ll affect the person who fills it and how they will impact the overall success of the team (or department).

What Can You Expect From A New Hire In This Position After Six Months? A Year? Five Years?

As you’re writing your job description, it’s important to think about the future. That’s because your ideal candidate may need to be able to handle responsibilities you haven’t even thought of yet. For example: What does this position look like after six months? A year? Five years? How are those things going to change over time?

Think about how much more experience they’ll have and how much more qualified they will be at each stage of their career. Consider what tools and technology you’ll want them trained on by then as well as any skills they may want or need (depending on what else goes along with the promotion). You don’t necessarily need every detail nailed down now — but having some sense of where your organization is heading will help you decide if someone would be a good fit for the future

Make Sure Your Job Description Aligns With Your Mission, Values, And Goals

Before you start writing a job description, it’s important to make sure your job description aligns with your company’s mission, values, and goals.

A good way to do this is by using a tool called an “Alignment Chart.” This chart will ask you questions about what your company stands for, what its values are, and what its goals are. Then it will ask the same questions about your organization’s mission statement so that you can see how they align with each other when addressing the same topic.

Keep in mind that not all jobs require the same level of experience or education; some may only require an associate degree while others will require several years’ worth of experience or even a master’s degree! This means that there are many possible combinations between all three categories (skill, knowledge and aptitude) depending on which ones apply most closely match up with each other based on their respective criteria outlined above.”

Writing A Clear, Complete Job Description Will Help You Find The Right Candidate Faster

Let’s talk about what you’re looking for in a candidate. You want someone who is hard working and motivated, right? Do you want someone who wants to be there, who will do their best work even when the going gets tough?

Well, then! A good job description can help you find those people by helping you attract them. It can give you more control over the type of person that applies for your jobs.

A clear job description will also help with another important thing: hiring the right person for a job. If everyone has a clear idea of what is expected from them in this role, it’s easier for them to do their job well. 

And if they don’t know what they need to do in order to succeed in their role (or how much training will be necessary), then some people might decide it isn’t worth sticking around long enough for things to get better even if those things would have worked out great in the end!

Conclusion

Now that you know what to include in a job description, it’s time to start writing. Remember: the most important thing is that you take the time to write it well. Make sure that your job description has all of the information about what this person will do every day, how long they will take for lunch breaks and holidays, and any other details needed for someone looking for employment with your company.