If I Were in Charge: How I'd Fix Job Descriptions
Newsletter from Dr. Jake Tuber
We've revolutionized nearly every aspect of how organizations recruit and hire – yet we're still writing job descriptions like it's 1995.
Most job descriptions seem perfectly reasonable on the surface. They follow the standard best practices and EEOC requirements.
And they're failing spectacularly at their primary purpose.
There's a fascinating paradox at play here: Organizations invest millions in sophisticated talent strategies and employer branding, yet continue to describe their most critical roles with all the enthusiasm of a tax audit notice. The disconnect isn't just unfortunate—it's revealing about how deeply we've internalized industrial-era thinking about talent acquisition. While we pride ourselves on modern recruitment practices and technologies, our job descriptions betray an outdated belief that candidates should feel grateful just to be considered.
Over the past two years, I've developed an approach in my executive search practice that reimagines job descriptions. Nearly to a person, candidates that I speak with comment on how these job descriptions had a significant impact on their interest in having a conversation.
But before I share my approach, I want to a) stop gratuitously complimenting myself and acting like I've discovered a new chemical element, and b) explain why traditional job descriptions are actively working against both employers and candidates.
The Invisible Architecture of Failure
I've analyzed hundreds of traditional job descriptions and identified six common mishaps:
Vague or Generic Language: Overuse of buzzwords and clichés (e.g., “dynamic environment,” “fast-paced”) that obscure the actual nature of the work and fail to provide meaningful context about the role or company.
Excessive Length & Clutter: Many job descriptions are overloaded with long lists of responsibilities and requirements, making it difficult for candidates to quickly identify what the role truly entails. If everything is a priority, then nothing is truly a priority.
Lack of Focus on Outcomes: Traditional job descriptions tend to list responsibilities rather than outlining what success in the role looks like or how the position contributes to the overall company mission.
Unrealistic Requirements: Job descriptions often include an exhaustive list of qualifications that may discourage potentially excellent candidates who don’t tick every box, thereby limiting diversity in the applicant pool. An HBR article highlights that "men apply for a job when they meet only 60% of the qualifications, but women apply only if they meet 100% of them."
Insufficient Emphasis on the Career: Many job postings do not adequately communicate the company’s culture, values, or the long-term career opportunities available, which are critical for attracting high-caliber candidates. Candidates think about what it would look like to have a career at your company, not just the current job duties.
Poor Organization and Structure: Job descriptions are written in a format that reflects the linear thinking of the recruiter, rather than written from the candidate's perspective. They don't consider what ordering of information is most interesting for the reader.
But the fundamental flaw in how we write job descriptions isn't just about formatting or word choice—it's about a profound misalignment between how organizations articulate opportunities and how talented people actually evaluate their next career move. While we obsess over listing requirements and responsibilities, we're ignoring the psychological architecture of career decision-making.
Consider this example for a Product Manager role at an anonymous Fortune 500 company:
This job description exemplifies every failure mode we discussed: It drowns in vague corporate speak ("dynamic, fast-paced environment"), overwhelms with an exhaustive list of 11 key responsibilities and 13 qualifications, focuses entirely on requirements rather than outcomes, barely touches on career growth beyond standard benefits, and follows a rigid format that prioritizes HR needs over candidate interest.
It's a perfect case study in how traditional job descriptions actively discourage exceptional candidates.
After seeing these patterns repeatedly frustrate both hiring managers and candidates, I piloted a different approach in my executive search practice. Rather than starting with requirements, I developed a framework that leads with context, impact, and career trajectory.
Below is an anonymized version of a job description that received praise from candidates for its clarity and compelling narrative. I'll then break down my thinking section by section.
Breaking Down an Effective Job Description: Section-by-Section Analysis
Now that I’ve shared an example of this reimagined structure, let's dissect the anatomy of each section to understand why it resonates so powerfully with candidates. This analysis reveals not just the mechanics of better job descriptions, but the psychology of how talented people evaluate career opportunities.
Introduction Section
The opening introduces the role and immediately conveys why it’s a compelling opportunity.
Why This Section Is Important:
✔️ Frames the role as an opportunity, not just a job, attracting ambitious applicants.
✔️ Provides quick clarity on why the position exists and its impact.
✔️ Differentiates this job – and the company – from every other opportunity.
How to Write This Section Effectively:
Provide immediate context on the role’s impact, scope, and growth potential.
Highlight what makes this role unique and why it stands out from similar roles.
Avoid clichés like “fast-paced environment” and instead focus on tangible aspects of the role.
Explain where the role sits in the organization.
This section should be brief and hook the reader by helping them visualize a bit about what it would be like to hold the position.
Counter to conventional wisdom, the most effective job descriptions don't start by selling the company—they start by selling the future. This shifts the narrative from 'why we're great' to 'why your career could be great here.'
Position Overview
This section offers a big-picture summary of what the candidate is expected to accomplish. It clarifies the company’s goals for the position and outlines how the job fits into the broader organization and strategy.
Why This Section Is Important:
✔️ Gives candidates purpose, connecting the role to the company’s broader mission before they read a long list of job duties.
✔️ Aligns candidate expectations by providing a realistic barometer of whether they are equipped for the level of responsibility and complexity involved. Candidates who misunderstand the role’s scope may become disengaged once hired; this section reduces that risk.
How to Write This Section Effectively:
Describe the expectations rather than just listing responsibilities.
Create a line-of-sight between this position and company-wide success.
Mention key operational domains, geographic scope, or major functional responsibilities.
Explain why this job is available right now.
This section appears second to help anchor the prospective employee in the bigger vision of the role.
Here's what's fascinating: When we analyze successful hires retrospectively, their initial attraction to the role rarely aligns with what was emphasized in traditional job descriptions. We focus on requirements, but candidates focus on impact.
Key Responsibilities
This section breaks down the core duties of the role into well-organized categories, providing candidates with a clear understanding of their day-to-day work and long-term responsibilities.
Why This Section Is Important:
✔️ Clarifies what the job actually entails because titles alone can be vague.
✔️ Ensures alignment between company expectations and candidate skills so that candidates can assess whether they are truly a good fit.
How to Write This Section Effectively:
Group responsibilities into logical categories (e.g., Operational Leadership, Strategic Growth, People Management) rather than listing them in a long, undifferentiated list.
Balance high-level strategic responsibilities with hands-on execution. This helps candidates understand both the big picture and the day to day expectations.
Incorporate measurable outcomes whenever possible to clarify expectations (e.g., “Improve production efficiency by 20% within 12 months”). SMART criteria is your friend here.
This section should be placed after the Position Overview so that these details flow from the bigger vision.
What's particularly revealing is that the most compelling job descriptions don't just list what needs to be done—they paint a picture of how the work creates value. When we study high-performing teams, we often find that their members were initially attracted not by the tasks themselves, but by their understanding of how those tasks connected to meaningful outcomes.
Qualifications & Ideal Candidate Profile
This is perhaps the most unique section. Beyond just checking the necessary box of outlining the knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics necessary for success in the role, highlighting the characteristics of success and failure helps screen for the best candidates and set expectations.
Why This Section Is Important:
On the whole, this section serves to self-screen out applicants by providing a brief Realistic Job Description, which is frequently missing from hiring practices. More specifically, it:
✔️ Encourages a more diverse applicant pool by minimizing cumbersome qualification lists which can inadvertently exclude strong candidates with nontraditional career paths.
✔️ Helps candidates self-assess fit: Candidates who can plainly see that certain aspects the job aren’t for them will self-select out.
✔️ Reduces future performance issues by clarifying expectations for experience, style, and working approach. The “Who This Role Is Not For” sets expectations exceptionally well.
How to Write This Section Effectively:
Divide qualifications into must-haves and nice-to-haves.
Use clear, measurable criteria rather than vague phrases (e.g., “5+ years in operations leadership” instead of “significant experience in operations”).
Incorporate nuanced behavioral examples to ensure the right cultural and leadership fit (e.g., “Likes the idea of working for an underdog” or “Comfortable leading meetings discussing high-level strategy or hands-on execution”).
Include “Who Will Succeed” and “Who This Role Is NOT For” sections that describe the ideal candidate. This will filter out candidates who may struggle in the environment without discouraging strong applicants.
The most compelling insight I’ve discovered: The most successful job descriptions reframe the entire concept of qualification from 'what you've done' to 'what you could do here.' This subtle shift transforms the document from a filtering tool into an engagement platform.
Compensation & Benefits
Clearly reviews salary, bonus potential, equity, and benefits, giving candidates a transparent view of the total compensation package and financial incentives associated with the role.
Why This Section Is Important:
✔️ It’s gotta be done.
✔️ The most successful companies don't treat listing compensation as an afterthought or a necessary evil—they position it as a reflection of their talent philosophy. When organizations are transparent about compensation, they signal not just their values around fairness, but their broader approach to talent development and career progression.
How to Write This Section Effectively:
Provide specific numbers or structured formulas that reduce ambiguity. Brevity is helpful.
Avoid vague claims of “competitive compensation” or otherwise. Nobody gets to report their W-2 salary to the IRS as “very competitive”.
Emphasize career growth opportunities—mention salary increases, promotions, or additional incentives.
Why This Role is Exciting
This final summary reaffirms what top applicants should feel most excited about and directly leads to a call to action.
Why This Section Is Important:
✔️ Puts the finishing touches on an already differentiated candidate experience.
How to Write This Section Effectively:
Be brief.
Be exciting.
Be human.
This reimagined approach to job descriptions transforms what is typically a dry list of requirements into a compelling narrative about opportunity and impact. By structuring the information thoughtfully – from the initial hook through to detailed qualifications – we create a document that serves both as a filtering mechanism and an engagement tool. Each section builds on the previous one, creating a coherent story that helps candidates envision their potential future with the organization.
Implementation Notes
The shift from traditional to reimagined job descriptions isn't just about following a new template—it's about fundamentally rethinking how we articulate organizational opportunities. Here's how to begin this transformation in your organization:
Start Small, But Strategic: Choose one critical upcoming role to pilot this approach. Your best bet is a position where the impact story is clear and compelling. You'll learn more from reimagining a significant role than from practicing with lower-stakes positions.
Build Organizational Muscle: Rather than trying to revamp every section at once, focus on mastering one element at a time. I've found that starting with the Position Overview section often creates the most immediate impact. Once you've developed fluency with one section, expand to others.
Measure Nontraditional Metrics: Instead of just tracking metrics like time-to-fill or number of applications, consider measuring:
Ratio of highly qualified candidates : total applicants
Candidate questions: Do questions during the screening stage demonstrate strategic understanding or are they just clarifying basics?
Time elapsed between sending the job offer and candidate acceptance
Early performance indicators (30/60/90 day milestone achievement rates)
Role satisfaction at 6-month mark
Team integration speed (time to first meaningful deliverable/impact)
Common Pitfalls to Avoid:
Don't simply reorganize traditional content—reimagine it
Resist the urge to include exhaustive lists "just in case"
Avoid diluting clear requirements with unnecessary "nice-to-haves"
Remember that transparency about challenges is as important as highlighting opportunities
What's fascinating is how this approach often reveals deeper insights about the role itself. You will find that the process of writing a better job description leads to greater clarity about what they're truly looking for in a candidate.
Remember: Progress is perfection. Each iteration of a job description is an opportunity to better understand both what your organization needs and how talented people evaluate opportunities.
The way we describe roles matters more than we think. A well-crafted job description does more than fill a position; it lays the foundation for long-term success between organizations and talent. By moving beyond the industrial-era templates we've inherited and embracing a more thoughtful, human-centered approach to role articulation, we can dramatically improve how organizations and candidates find each other. The future of work demands nothing less.
That's it for this edition - please reach out if I can be at all helpful.
Be compassionate and intentional.
I worked for decades in higher education, and many times the job descriptions were so specific that only someone who had already done the job could even apply. The concept of transferable skills was often overlooked by many.