6 Job Description Examples — and What Makes Them Effective
Here’s the bad news: 99% of job descriptions are painfully long and boring.
Here’s the good news: 99% of job descriptions are painfully long and boring.
Since so few companies invest time or effort in writing compelling job descriptions, you have an enormous opportunity to stand out. Job postings can be so much more than a list of requirements — they can strengthen your employer brand and inspire the right candidates to take action.
All of your candidates — whether passive or active — will read your job descriptions at some point in the hiring process. Why not use them strategically to grab and keep the attention of the candidates you’re really after?
Here are six job description examples that do just that — and what you can borrow from them.
1. Cut the long paragraph about your company
Many companies kick off their job descriptions with a standard boilerplate to introduce the company. But that’s why you have a careers site and LinkedIn Company Page. Candidates can learn about your company elsewhere, so keep your company overview brief and consider moving it to a less prominent position on your job posting.
Instead, use the prime real estate at the top of your job posting to speak to your target candidates and sell them on your opportunity.
Zappos’s job descriptions are candidate-centric, focusing on the reasons a candidate might want to work there before getting into the job requirements. This includes:
A brief statement about diversity and inclusion Information about their company culture Employee benefits and perks
The expandable About Us section is tucked off in a sidebar so candidates can learn more about the company if they wish to do so.
2. Ruthlessly delete buzzwords and unnecessary qualifications
Write simple sentences. Just like this.
Use headers to separate sections and use bullets as appropriate to improve readability.
Cull back your list of requirements to indicate what’s truly needed to do the job. And if you have legal requirements, set them apart at the end.
Red Bull keeps their job descriptions short and to the point, with a brief list of required skills and qualifications. You don’t see big blocks of text or endless jargon — all the more important as candidates are increasingly reading job descriptions on their phones. Long and boring is easy; brief and punchy takes work.
3. Replace ‘the ideal candidate’ with ‘you’
Whether your culture is serious or laid back, the people on the other end of your job description are just that — people. So write as if you’re speaking to them.
Be conversational, direct, and personal so that your top candidate thinks, “Yes! That’s me.”
Read it out loud: If you wouldn’t say the words, don’t use them.
GitLab details their job responsibilities and requirements as if they’re discussing the opportunity with their ideal candidate. For example, they say, “As a Product Design Manager at GitLab, you will be responsible for managing a team of up to 5 talented Product Designers.”
This approach can allow job seekers to envision themselves in the role so they can decide if it’s the right fit for them.
4. Use engaging subheads
Eyes glaze over standard job description headings such as “Skill requirements” and “Job Duties.”
Breathe some life into your subheads so you can engage candidates and keep them on your job listing long enough to apply. They can be as simple as, “You’re good at” or “What we expect of you.”
Amgen uses subheads like “LIVE” to explain the role, “WIN” to share the role’s basic and preferred qualifications, and “THRIVE” to list some of their employee benefits and perks. But they don’t stop there — their call to action says, “Apply now for a career that defies imagination.” This creativity is sure to stand out to candidates who have been underwhelmed from seeing the same basic headings in every other job posting.
5. Describe a day in the life
Nearly one-third (30%) of workers have left a job within the first 90 days of starting, and 41% of those people left because the day-to-day role was not as expected. Your goal in writing an effective job description is for the right talent to apply and the wrong talent to pass. Paint a vivid picture of the role — including the nitty-gritty — and you’ll help candidates self-select. Get input from the hiring manager, but also from those who’ve held and worked with the position.
Litera highlights a “day in the life” for potential candidates and includes how new hires would be expected to progress in their roles over the first six months. The job description mentions that a customer success manager will “work on a wide range of customers from complex to non complex” and need to “troubleshoot problems independently.” This illustration of the role can help each job seeker get a good sense of what it’s like to work there and determine if the opportunity will be a good long-term fit.
6. Talk problems and projects
Great candidates want to make an impact, and they don’t shy away from challenges. The more specific you can be, the better.
Save the Children shares specific projects the diversity, equity, and inclusion associate will be working on and how much of their time will be allocated to each.
The job description makes it clear that this is a support role that can make an impact on many parts of the human resource function, including onboarding, learning and development, and employee affinity groups. It’s also clear that a “commitment to fostering and maintaining an environment of diversity, inclusion, and belonging” is required, but previous experience in DEI is not. This can help them find an entry-level candidate who’s motivated to succeed.
Final thoughts: Adapt these job description examples to suit your company
The best job descriptions are going to be the ones that help you attract and convert the right talent for your roles. Let these job listings inspire your own creative job description templates, but don’t feel the need to incorporate every element if it doesn’t work for your company. None of these job description examples are exactly alike because no two companies are exactly alike. Experiment with different job listing formats, lengths, and wording to find what helps you produce the best hiring outcomes.
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