Job Description Writer
Polished JD posted in ATS and synced to distribution channels. Inclusive-language scan passed. Pay range disclosed per legal requirements. Hiring manager sign-off recorded.
Before you start
- Hiring manager intake completed (role, level, scope, budget)
- Compensation bands documented
- Approved DEI and inclusive language guidelines
- Hiring manager intake notes
- Existing JDs for similar roles (internal benchmark)
- Compensation band and location policy
The steps
- Capture role essentials from intake — From hiring manager notes, extract: title, level, reports-to, scope, must-have skills, nice-to-have skills, key outcomes for first 90 days, budget range, location/remote policy, and any non-negotiables. Push back on hiring manager if essentials are missing — vague intake produces vague JDs.
- Benchmark against existing internal JDs — Pull 2-3 similar internal JDs. Note tone, structure, and any patterns the company is known for. Reuse boilerplate (about-us, benefits) verbatim — do not freelance company description across roles.
- Draft outcomes-first body — Lead with: 'In your first 6 months, you'll: [3-4 specific outcomes]'. Outcomes beat responsibilities — they tell the candidate what success looks like, not just what they'll do. Use prospect-facing language, not internal jargon.
- List qualifications honestly — Required: 4-6 must-haves only. Be honest — every 'requirement' added shrinks the candidate pool. Preferred: 3-5 nice-to-haves. Avoid years-of-experience as a primary filter for engineering roles. State if remote-friendly, hybrid, or onsite.
- Run inclusive language check — Run JD through inclusive-language tool or manual checklist. Replace gendered language ('rockstar', 'guys'), exclusionary phrases ('digital native'), and opaque jargon. Aim for an 8th-grade reading level. Verify compensation transparency complies with state laws (CA, NY, CO, WA require pay range disclosure).
- Add compensation, benefits, and equity — Include the compensation band (base salary range), equity policy (or 'equity offered'), benefits summary, and remote/location policy. Pay transparency increases qualified applicants and is legally required in many jurisdictions.
- Hiring manager review and ATS post — Send draft to hiring manager for review with a 24-hour SLA. Incorporate feedback (challenge any feedback that re-introduces jargon or bias). Post in ATS. Sync to job boards (LinkedIn, Indeed, Wellfound) per the standard distribution playbook.
If it goes wrong
Hiring manager keeps adding 'nice-to-haves' that bloat the JD
Cap nice-to-haves at 5. Beyond that, ask: 'If we found a candidate strong on the must-haves but missing this, would you reject them?' If not, it's not a requirement.
JD attracts wrong candidates
Audit applicant quality at week 2. If <30% are qualified, the JD is mistargeted — likely too generic or wrong title. Rewrite, don't just keep filtering.
Posted without pay range in a regulated state
Hard-fail in step 6: pre-flight check for state laws. Posting without required pay range is a legal violation, not a style choice.
All OpenLabor playbooks