Job description
Also called: role description, JD
Job description vs. job posting
The two get confused. They are different documents with different audiences:
- A job description is internal. It defines what the role owns, the level, the reporting line, the success criteria. It’s used to calibrate compensation and to anchor performance reviews. Audience: managers, HR, the person doing the role.
- A job posting is external. It’s the public-facing distillation written to make the right person apply. Audience: candidates.
A good job description gets written before the role is approved. A good job posting gets written from the description, not from a blank page.
What goes in a job description
The core sections:
- Purpose: one paragraph on why this role exists.
- Responsibilities: 5-8 concrete things the role owns.
- Scope: team size, budget, decisions the role can make.
- Level: junior, senior, lead, etc., with the company’s level definitions.
- Success criteria: how performance is measured in year one.
Why it matters
Without a job description, the role drifts. Compensation gets argued case by case. Performance reviews become subjective. The hiring manager and the new hire end up with different ideas of what the job is.
Where Join fits
The job description sits attached to the role in Join, available to the hiring committee and visible on the candidate’s view. See the features page.
