Best practices for writing a job description

So you’ve gotten the budget and approval to grow your team. First off: congratulations. You must be so excited! There’s just one issue, one crucial step that stands between you and the chance to meet the new hire of your dreams: you’ve got to write a job description.

Your job description needs to cover the basics—what, why, where, and how—while also being approachable for job-seekers.

• SEO optimized to generate the most relevant applications on popular job boards

• Optimized to ensure proper ATS candidate pre-screening

• A compelling pitch for your company and why it’s a great place to workAnd on top of all that it’s got to be clearly written and easy to read.

You’re forgiven if you’re starting to feel daunted by the blank page staring back at you. But don’t worry, because if you follow our best practices then in no time you’ll be crafting job descriptions that will satisfy hiring managers, job seekers, and candidates screening systems alike.

Formatting a job description

Job description formats can vary wildly from company to company, and sometimes even from department to department within a company. This is because job descriptions are a lot like poetry: there’s no right or wrong way to format them, but we’d venture that most people know the difference between a good one and a bad one when they see it. "The key is making sure all the relevant info is clear and easy to find."

To that end, we’re strong believers in the following outline for a job description:

• Job title

• Location, including whether the position is remote or hybrid

• High level summary of the position

• Job duties and responsibilities

• Required skills

• Nice-to-have skills

• Education and work experience requirements

• Nice-to-have experience

• Salary range

• Benefits information

• Additional application instructions

• Company information

• Compliance notes

This structure gives candidates everything they need to decide if the role is right for them, while keeping things easy for you to write." Now that you have the outline and all the information required to fill it, all you have to do is write it.Here’s some tips for each section.

Job title and location

The job title is exactly what it sounds like: the title of the job. The location should include the specific city and state where the job is located. In larger metro areas such as Houston or Los Angeles it’s also helpful to include the specific neighborhood of the office. If the job is hybrid, that should be noted here. If the job is remote or remote optional then be sure to list which states or countries that you’re accepting applicants from.

High level summary of position

Here’s the challenge: you have one short paragraph to give prospective candidates a bird’s eye view of what the job is and how it functions within the company. This is not the place to get too detailed, that’s what the next section is for, instead you should be trying to clearly and concisely convey the most essential aspects of the job. This is also an opportunity to give prospective candidates some insight into how the role fits within the larger company. If you’re stuck, try to imagine having to explain the job to a stranger during an elevator ride or at a busy party. Don’t get bogged down in keywords, buzzwords, or industry specific jargon, just make sure this section is easy to read and easier to understand.

Job duties

This should be a bullet pointed list of all the regular tasks and functions a person doing this job will be expected to achieve. This is your chance to give some more detail and context to the high level summary. Once again we caution against relying on keywords and jargon and opt instead to use the words that best describe the responsibilities. This section isn’t an invitation to list out every last minute task an employee will be expected to do. Say this listing is for a store manager job, you’re better suited to say the role is responsible for opening and closing the store, as opposed to saying they’re responsible for unlocking the doors, turning on the lights, putting out signage, etc.

Required skills & Nice-to-have skills

Once again you can embrace bullet points as you lay out which skills you need a candidate to have and which additional skills would be nice for a candidate to have. Many job listings struggle to differentiate between required skills and nice-to-have skills, often saying that a lot of nice-to-have qualities are requisite for the job. If you’re struggling to decide whether a skill is required or just nice-to-have then ask yourself the following question: if an otherwise promising candidate lacks this skill would you still interview them? If the answer is no, then it’s a required skill.

Education/work experience requirements & essential experience

These can be bullet pointed lists. Deciding between what experience is required and what experience is nice-to-have poses a similar challenge to deciding which skills are requisite and which are value adds. Generally we advise airing on the side of inclusivity, there is no one path to professional success. Beyond any degrees, certifications, and work experiences that are legally required for the job, you should ask yourself again: if a promising candidate was missing this, would I still interview them? If the answer is no, then that is truly required.

Salary range

At the time of this writing there are ten states that require some form of salary disclosure, how, where, and when this disclosure occurs varies state to state. We recommend including the salary range—it’s not just a legal must-have in some places, it’s also one of the top things candidates look for when deciding to apply. Additionally, transparency shows candidates you value their time and effort.

Benefits information

This is a chance for your company to stand out from the crowd with a bullet point list of all the benefits and perks of the job. This should include health, dental, or vision coverage offerings, details on PTO, sick leave, and parental leave, as well as any additional bonuses and perks offered to employees.

Additional application requirements

This is a space to break down everything an applicant must submit and do in order to be considered and include clear instructions on how to submit any additional requirements, like portfolios or references. What this space isn’t is a place to make sure candidates have meticulously read every word of the job description. We’ve seen job listings that demand candidates go to absurd lengths to be considered, including silly requirements like “please include the first word of the second sentence in the job description in your subject line.” Don’t do this, you’re looking for an employee, not a puzzle master (unless you are indeed looking for a puzzle master).

Company information

This should be a short, easy to understand paragraph that at bare minimum lets prospective applicants know what the company is and what it does. This is also a great space to include information about company culture, workplace values, and any other reasons why this company is a place that people would want to work for.

Compliance notes

Welcome to the fine print. Any disclosures or information required by law or your organization can go here.

A note about candidate screening tools

AI assisted applicant enrichment tools like CLARA use the job description as the starting point for screening applicants. From there CLARA allows you to define how it weighs each of the requirements, skills, and experience in the screening process. That’s why it’s especially important to clearly and cleanly delineate between requirements and nice-to-haves in the job description so that tools like CLARA can effectively evaluate candidates.

If you’re using a tool like CLARA, you should also disclose that in the job listing, job applications have a lot of potentially sensitive data and applicants have a right to know who and what is accessing that data. CLARA also gives the option of sending automated follow-up questions to applicants, if you’re using that feature you should also include something similar to the following:

"Thank you for your interest in joining our team!

You'll receive an email from clara-admin@getclara.io with optional follow-up questions about your experience and skills. While your responses would help us better understand your qualifications, they are not required for your application. We look forward to learning more about you!"

Taking these proactive steps not only helps applicants to better prepare for the application process, but also demonstrates that your company values transparency and communication. When paired with AI tools like CLARA, a well-written job description doesn’t just attract the right talent—it also powers smarter candidate screening.

For more information on how CLARA screens applicants quickly and efficiently using AI, check out this resource.