Key Takeaways
- Job descriptions should be marketing documents, not legal lists—focus on specific outcomes ("Launch our CRM by Q3") rather than generic responsibilities
- Distinguish between true "must-haves" and "nice-to-haves" to avoid unnecessarily narrowing your candidate pool
- Be honest about the role's challenges—candidates who self-select in despite knowing the hard parts are more likely to stay
Most job descriptions are written to check a box, not to attract great candidates. They're assembled from templates, padded with aspirational requirements, and filled with generic language that could describe any company in any industry. Then hiring managers wonder why they're not getting qualified applicants—or why new hires leave within six months. The true cost of a mis-hire extends far beyond recruiting expenses.
The problem isn't that great candidates don't exist. It's that your job description is doing a terrible job of finding them.
A job posting is a marketing document. It's often the first impression a candidate has of your organization. And most organizations are making a first impression that says: "We don't know what we actually need, but here's a list of 47 requirements."
Here's how to write job descriptions that attract people who will actually succeed in the role. Getting this right sets the foundation for everything that follows—including the critical first 48 hours of onboarding.
Start with What the Person Will Actually Do
Most job descriptions lead with a company overview nobody reads, followed by a list of responsibilities so vague they could apply to any job. "Collaborate with cross-functional teams." "Drive results." "Manage multiple priorities." These phrases say nothing.
Instead, describe the specific work. What will this person spend their first 90 days doing? What does a typical week look like? What are the actual problems they'll be solving?
Generic
"Manage marketing campaigns and drive brand awareness across multiple channels."
Specific
"You'll own our product launch campaigns from strategy through execution. In your first quarter, you'll lead the launch of our new CRM platform, coordinating with product, sales, and design to hit our Q3 target. You'll manage a $200K quarterly budget and a team of two."
The specific version tells a candidate exactly what they're signing up for. They can immediately assess whether this is work they want to do and are equipped to handle. The generic version tells them nothing, which means you'll get applications from people who have no idea what the job actually involves.
Specificity also signals competence. When a job description is vague, candidates assume the organization doesn't really know what it needs—which is often true, and that's a red flag for strong candidates who want to work in well-run organizations.
Separate Must-Haves from Nice-to-Haves
The typical job description lists 12 to 15 requirements, all presented as equally important. In reality, maybe four of them actually matter for day-one success. The rest are aspirational—things that would be great but aren't essential.
This matters because research consistently shows that many candidates—especially women and underrepresented groups—won't apply unless they meet most listed qualifications. When you list 15 requirements but only truly need five, you're filtering out candidates who might be exceptional at the things that actually matter.
Try splitting your requirements into two clear sections: "What You Need" (the genuine dealbreakers) and "What Would Be Great" (skills that are valuable but learnable). You'll broaden your pool without lowering your standards.
Be honest with yourself about what's truly required. Does someone really need a bachelor's degree for this role, or do they need demonstrated ability? Do they need seven years of experience, or do they need to have managed a product through a full development cycle? Focus on capabilities and outcomes, not credentials and years.
Write Like a Human, Not a Legal Document
Job descriptions are often written by committee—HR provides the template, the hiring manager adds requirements, legal reviews the language. The result reads like a contract, not a conversation.
The best job descriptions sound like a smart, honest person describing the role to a friend. They use clear language, short sentences, and a natural tone. They avoid jargon, buzzwords, and corporate speak.
"Your job description's tone is a preview of your culture. If it reads like a legal filing, candidates will assume the workplace feels like one too."
Compare: "The ideal candidate will possess exceptional communication skills and demonstrate a proven track record of leveraging data-driven insights to optimize cross-functional collaboration" with "You should be a clear communicator who uses data to make decisions and works well across teams."
Same meaning. One sounds like a human wrote it. The other sounds like it was generated by combining phrases from a corporate buzzword database.
This isn't just about aesthetics. The language you use signals your culture. If your job descriptions are stiff and formal, candidates assume your workplace is stiff and formal. If they're clear and direct, candidates assume you value clarity and directness. Make sure the signal matches the reality.
Be Honest About the Hard Parts
Every job has downsides. Long hours during certain periods. A codebase that needs serious refactoring. A team going through a transition. A market that's uncertain.
Most job descriptions hide these realities, presenting only the positives. This is a mistake for two reasons. First, candidates will discover the truth eventually—usually in the first month—and they'll feel misled. Second, honesty is actually attractive to strong candidates.
When you say "Our current system is outdated and you'll spend your first six months leading a migration that will be challenging but transformative," you're filtering for people who are excited by that challenge. When you hide it and describe the role as "maintaining and optimizing our technology platform," you'll hire someone who wanted stability and gets chaos instead.
Studies suggest that about one-third of new hires begin looking for a new job within their first six months. Misaligned expectations from vague or misleading job descriptions contribute significantly to early turnover.
Organizations that combine honest job descriptions with effective onboarding can reduce new hire ramp time significantly—but only if expectations are set correctly from the start.
Honesty about challenges also demonstrates self-awareness as an organization. It tells candidates that leadership understands the current situation and has a plan for addressing it. That's far more compelling than a job description that pretends everything is perfect—because no candidate believes that anyway.
Show What Makes You Different
The "About Us" section of most job descriptions is interchangeable. "We're a fast-paced, innovative company that values collaboration and is passionate about making a difference." That describes every company, which means it describes no company.
Instead, share something specific and true. What's actually different about working at your organization? Maybe it's your approach to remote work. Maybe it's an unusual benefit. Maybe it's the way teams are structured. Maybe it's a commitment to a specific technology or methodology.
If you can't articulate what makes your organization different, that's a problem that goes beyond job descriptions—but it's worth solving, because the best candidates have options and they're choosing between employers as much as you're choosing between candidates.
Be specific: "We do quarterly hackathons where any employee can pitch and build a product idea—three of our current features started this way" is infinitely more compelling than "We foster innovation."
Make the Logistics Clear
Candidates want to know practical details, and burying or omitting them wastes everyone's time. Be clear about salary range (many jurisdictions now require it anyway), location and remote work options, travel requirements, reporting structure, and the interview process.
Transparency about logistics does two things. It respects candidates' time by letting them self-select based on practical fit. And it signals that your organization values transparency—which is something the best candidates care about.
The organizations that are winning the talent competition aren't doing so with ping pong tables and free snacks. They're winning by being clear, honest, and specific about what the job involves and what they offer in return. They also ensure new hires can find answers to their questions from day one.
Testing and Iterating
Finally, treat your job descriptions like any other important communication—test and improve them. If you're not getting qualified applicants, the job description might be the problem. If new hires consistently say the role is different from what they expected, the job description is definitely the problem.
Ask recent hires: "How accurately did the job description reflect the actual role?" Ask candidates who declined offers: "What made you hesitate?" Use the answers to make your descriptions more accurate and more compelling. This feedback can also reveal knowledge gaps in how your organization communicates about itself.
A great job description won't fix a bad role or a toxic culture. But a bad job description will absolutely prevent great candidates from ever considering a good one.
JoySuite helps new hires succeed once they're in the door. But it starts with hiring the right people. When your job descriptions attract the right candidates and your onboarding delivers on what you promised, you build teams that last.
