Job description
What is a job description, what should it contain, and associated legal issues.
What is a job description?
The job description outlines the role, in terms of both the day to day tasks and responsibilities. It helps potential applicants to decide whether they want to apply for the job, and can be a useful aid for employers when devising job advertisements and employment contracts.
What should be included in the job description?
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the job title
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the main purpose of the job
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the position of the job within the organisation as a whole, ie the team or department within which the job is located and the lines of responsibility, particularly the line manager to whom the post-holder will report directly
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the geographical location and setting of the job
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the day-to-day tasks and duties which make up the bulk of the job
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any occasional duties, for example travel or covering for others
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any special working conditions, for example shift work, unusual hours, travel
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clear guidance on how to apply including the deadline for applications and contact information for any enquiries
You may also wish to include information about opportunities and benefits attached to the job, such as:
- pay levels, potential increases and the requirements for their attainment
- potential promotional prospects
- personal development opportunities such as job shadowing, mentoring, networks, career action plans, career development/training programmes
- other benefits, for example holiday entitlement, pension schemes, childcare facilities, flexible working, career breaks, accommodation of religious breaks, adaptable working uniform, prayer space and time.
Tips
make sure you can justify the main purpose of the job and all other aspects of the job including each task or duty, the working hours and times, and the pay levels
write in plain English without unnecessary jargon
be honest about what the job involves: if you give an unrealistic impression of the job you are unlikely to find the most suitable candidate, and you may experience problems with retention if new staff find the job is markedly different from that which was described
don't overstate the responsibilities or duties
if you are recruiting for an existing position, as opposed to a newly created position, the previous job description may be a useful starting point. However, you need to consider whether the needs of the organisation have changed, and whether tasks that were initially part of the role have since been reallocated to other staff. To avoid being tied to the way the job has always been done it may be best to write a fresh job description, guided by the job analysis you carried out and then looking back at the existing job description to see if you have overlooked anything
Job description template and example
See a job description template (DOC, 20 Kb)
See an example job description (DOC, 22 Kb)
Barriers to action
There may be widely held preconceptions amongst the public about particular jobs or professions and the kind of people they are suitable for. This could be tackled through school/university outreach programmes.
Legal issues
Terminology
The terminology you use in a job description can reveal conscious or unconscious biases that are not relevant to the job and can subtly send messages to candidates from particular demographics that they are not welcome to apply. This will not only decrease the talent pool you have to recruit from but can also put you at risk of legal action from applicants and potential applicants who believe they were not selected because they didn't fit a particular (irrelevant) demographic.
Images
Similarly, images used in company brochures can suggest that certain kinds of people are or are not suited to the job.
