Category: Winning Job Descriptions

Learn how to write a job description that will pull in the best candidates.

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Three Proven Job Description Formats Every Hiring Manager Should Use

Effective Job Descriptions

Table of contents

  1. Components of an Effective Job Description

    2. Professional Jobs

  2. Job Description Format for Accounting Jobs
    1. Job Title
    2. Job Summary
    3. Responsibility and Duties
    4. Requirements

    Managerial Jobs

  3. Job Description Format for General Management Jobs
    1. Job Title
    2. Job Summary
    3. Responsibility and Duties
    4. Requirements

    Sales Jobs

  4. Job Description Format for Sales Jobs
    1. Title
    2. Job Summary
    3. Job Description
    4. Requirements

    Find the Best Candidate

  5. Let Mapertunity Help You Attract the Best Job Candidates

The key to making effective hires is to write a compelling description of the open position. The best job description format attracts candidates with the right skills and experiences and makes the job appealing to the best candidates.

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Components of an Effective Job Description

All job descriptions need to help candidates determine if they’re good fits for the job. The description should not only define the job but also detail the necessary requirements and help weed out unqualified candidates.

The essential components of an effective job description include

  • Job Title: Be specific and make sure the title actually describes the job. Avoid generic titles, as well as specific internal company and industry lingo. Be concise; less than a half-dozen words is best.
  • Job Summary: Provide all the essential details about what the job is. Discuss the expectations for the job. Include the salary range, benefits, and what position the job reports to. Remember to include an exact location for the job.
  • Responsibility and Duties: Detail the expectations and responsibilities of the job. Be concise but inclusive. Emphasize any duties unique to this position or company. Discuss the position’s typical day-to-day activities. Paint a picture of what a person in this job actually does.
  • Requirements: Detail those skills necessary to effectively complete the job. Specify required and desired education level and area of focus. If specific previous job experience is required, note that.

Here are three job description formats you can use for accounting, general management, and sales positions. You can save your favorite and preferred modern job description templates for repeated use; that means being able to save a job description template for Google Docs, a job description format for PDF, a job description template for Smartsheets, and so on.

Job Description Format for Accounting Jobs

Use the following job description format when hiring for basic accounting positions.

Job Title

Include the specific job title. For example, if the position is for a staff accountant, call it Staff Accountant.

Job Summary

Start by stating what you want the person in this position to do – include the general tasks inherent in the job. Note which position in the company this new position reports to.

Next, list some of the more specific tasks this position will perform. For example, if the position is for a Staff Accountant, you could say that the position handles the company’s accounting processes and manages finances monthly.

Finally, include the salary range and benefits offered for this position.

Responsibility and Duties

This section is where you get very specific. State that the position is responsible for the following ongoing duties, and then list them – in as much detail as necessary. It’s best to present individual duties in a bulleted list. You want candidates to get a good feel for what a normal workday or workweek would entail.

For example, for most accounting positions you might include duties such as posting transactions to the general ledger, reconciling bank statements, conducting month- and year-end closing processes, preparing tax returns and tax payments, ensuring compliance with applicable rules and regulations, and the like.

Requirements

Next, include a bulleted list of the desired requirements for the job. For an accounting position, this probably should include prior experience in this or a similar position, advanced spreadsheet skills, strong math skills, attention to detail, and so on. You probably want candidates to have a degree in Accounting, as well.

Job Description Format for General Management Jobs

Use the following job description format when hiring for general management positions.

Job Title

Write the formal title for this position, such as General Manager or Office Manager.

Job Summary

State that your company is looking for this position to perform general duties, such as overseeing staff, budgets, and operations. Note which other position in this company this position reports to.

Next, include a paragraph that describes the responsibilities of this position in more detail. You should probably state that to be successful in this position, the candidate should be a strong leader of people, a confident decision-maker, and responsible for results.

Finally, list the salary range and benefits for this position.

Responsibilities and Duties

This section should include a bulleted list of the specific day-to-day duties expected of this position. For most general management jobs, these should include things such as setting monthly and yearly goals, managing budgets, controlling expenses, managing and motivating employees, and overseeing daily operations.

Requirements

Use a bulleted list to detail the requirements you seek in a qualified candidate. These will likely include things like prior experience as in this or a similar management position and strong communications and organizational skills. Most employers also want their managers to have a BS/BA in Business or another relevant field.

Job Description Format for Sales Jobs

Use the following job description format for sales positions.

Title

Note the formal title of the open position, such as Sales Associate or Sales Representative. Use the terminology common in your company and industry.

Job Summary

Provide a brief summary of who you’re looking for, such as “We are looking for results-driven Sales Associates to drive sales for our company.” Include a description of the general duties of the position, and finish with the compensation type and range for this job, including benefits.

Job Description

Use a bulleted list to describe what this position does on a daily basis, such as being knowledgeable on new products and features, meeting customer needs, providing service and support, cross-selling related products and services, and building long-term relationships with customers.

Requirements

Detail what the minimum requirements are for this position, such as prior sales experience, a track record of meeting or exceeding sales quotas, ability to work flexible shifts, and more. Most sales candidates need at least a high school degree to qualify.

Let Mapertunity Help You Attract the Best Job Candidates

Does your company have a key position to fill? Mapertunity is the world’s first fully-transparent, interactive job map. We help people find the right job in the right location – and can help you find the best candidates for your open positions.

If your company has open positions, you can use mapertunity to post them. Just start here.

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Attracting the Perfect Candidate with a Great Job Description

Writer Better Job Descriptions

All successful businesses eventually face the same problem. No matter how competent or large the core team is, eventually all growing companies must hire additional employees.

Hiring employees may seem simple. Just place an ad on an internet site and wait. However, nothing could be further from the truth. For example, how does the person placed in charge of hiring determine whether a potential employee is competent or is compatible with workplace culture?

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1Your Name
2Choose ID
3Contact Info
4Tell Us About You
5Your Resume

 

5 Tips to Create a Great Job Description

An experienced hiring manager probably knows how best to vet candidates, but some companies don’t hire human resources personnel until they “get established.” In those instances, you may find yourself dealing with hiring a new employee along with your other duties. In that case, you probably will need all the help you can get. Fortunately, we at Mapertunity are here to help!

Without further ado, here are five tips to help you craft an amazing job posting that you can use in conjunction with our geographic information system (GIS) to achieve the best results.

1. Ensure You Understand the Position

While this tip seems like a no-brainer, jobs are now more technical and specialized than ever, and posting accurate requirements for a position is crucial. If anything seems unclear regarding job requirements, contact the appropriate department before you submit or post anything

Assumptions can be detrimental to the job filling process, especially if the job posting is asking for skills that you don’t understand. Consider the sad fate of a hypothetical hiring manager who assumed that JAVA and JavaScript could be used interchangeably in a job description. After a short and eventful employee search process, this person would most likely be working elsewhere, in a different capacity.

2. Don’t Allow Ego to Take Control

You may be a hiring manager for a great company. However, don’t let that cloud your thinking. Ridiculously low salary offers and/or overly demanding job descriptions only serve to weed out the honest, trustworthy employees, leaving you with the desperate and the dishonest.

Unless your firm truly cannot afford it, always try to offer a competitive salary for an open position. You are vying for employees with other companies in your area, and offering a lower salary immediately puts you at a disadvantage. Perks that the company may offer can help close this gap. However, realize that many top-notch candidates will bypass your company when they hear a low salary offer.

Low salary offers also tend to attract inexperienced candidates, who may assume that the offered position is entry-level because your posted salary is so low. These candidates may be passionate, but they may also be desperate. Desperate job candidates should be avoided by any hiring manager. A desperate candidate may accept a position at your company due to their desperation, only to resign later when they realize they dislike the job.

3. Don’t Make Disproportionate or Excessive Demands

Overly demanding job descriptions are common in many job postings. Examples of overly demanding job descriptions include listings of skills not needed for the position, such as demanding that an applicant have C++ knowledge for a position in web development. Unreasonable demands for skills should be vetted before the employment listing becomes public. If a department insists that certain skills are necessary, make sure they realize that employment prospects may be limited and expensive, depending on the skills required.

Another example of an overly demanding job description would be listing that an entry-level position requires years of job experience. Entry-level positions should never require more than one or two years of experience. Dishonest applicants may simply list your required number of years of experience on their resumes, thinking that you may not check. And even if you do check, they are inclined to think it’d be impossible for you to find an applicant with the required years of experience willing to work for an entry-level wage.

Finally, does your company want to hire someone who has been in an entry-level job for three or four years? Granted, there may be some very good reasons to be stuck in an entry-level job for years. However, there may be issues with the employee’s work ethic or performance that could have caused stagnation. While all applicants should be considered, creating a job description that favors applicants that have stagnated isn’t the best policy.

4. It’s All About the Content

As with any business document, a job posting should be concise. So, long paragraphs describing your workplace, or the position should be avoided. Remember, job applicants face many of the same pressures as the employed, and most applicants want to put their resumes in front of as many people as possible. So, be brief and make sure that everything you write in your posting has value.

Also, make sure to avoid heavy jargon in your job posting. Heavy jargon may put off qualified candidates and give the impression that your company is narrow-minded and pedantic. That probably isn’t the impression you were hoping for and should be avoided.

5. Don’t Discard the Job Description Once the Employee Is Hired

After you finally find the perfect employee, you probably will be tempted to discard the job description. However, it can still come in handy! Managers can use job descriptions when discussing performance with employees. The very definition of a job is provided by its description, and it may be useful for the new employee when navigating their new position. So, make sure to save that hard work.

Rising to the Challenge of Job Descriptions

As a business professional, you are up to the challenge of writing an excellent job description. Following these tips will help you ensure that the job description is treated as a business document. Then, the job description will almost certainly help you find excellent candidates for almost any position. So, what are you waiting for? Write a job description that will rise above the rest and impress any worthwhile candidate.

If you’re a hiring manager trying to find the best employee for your open position, contact us at Mapertunity! Our job search power tool will help you find the latest job market trends, as well as compete effectively with other companies for top-notch employees.