A job description is a description of your job responsibilities and the requirements you need to meet in order to do your job successfully. If you’re asked to write a job description, your first instinct might be to write something like this:
“I’ll be in charge of creating the strategy and overseeing the operations of the company’s social media accounts.”
But that’s not what you should write. A job description needs to tell the employer everything they need to know about you, not just what you think they want to hear.
Here are some of the most important things you need to include in your job description:
Your Skills and Experience
The first thing you need to include is your skills and experience. You have two options here:
- List your skills and experience in order of importance (most to least)
- List your skills and experience in the order you’ve got them (e.g., marketing, copywriting, social media)
Whatever you do, don’t forget to include your experience in the field. If you’ve got a lot of experience and specific skills, put them in your top skills section. Otherwise, you might not make the cut when they’ve got a thousands of applications to review.
Your Education
People with a lot of educational background usually have a leg up on the competition. So if you’re applying for a job at a company where an education is required, make sure you’ve got one. Including your educational background can give the employer a better idea of your skillset and whether or not you’re a good fit. Your resume should include all your degrees and certifications. If you’ve got a specific subject you’re an expert in (like computer science or marketing), use your education to prove it. List your GPA as well as the name of the university you attended. If you’re applying for a management position, include your project experience as a student too. Most importantly, make sure you’ve got the educational requirements needed for the job.
The Pay Structure
Another thing you need to include in your job description is the pay structure. What does that mean? It means you’ll be paid a certain amount for a certain job. You don’t need to include the pay structure in your job description, but it can help the employer know what they’re getting into. You should include the range of pay, as well as whether or not you’re entitled to overtime, vacation, and sick leave. You also need to know the standard working hours (most employers expect you to work standard hours, but you might be able to ask for a few more hours if you’re a really good fit).
The Department
In some companies, there’s more than one department that handles employee benefits. The Human Resources department works with payroll to process benefits claims, the Insurance department handles employee insurance, and the Security department investigates crimes committed by employees. It’s important to know which department you’ll be reporting to when you accept a job offer so that you can decide if this is the right place for you. You can include this information in your job description if you’re asked, but it’s not required.
Strategic Thinking
A job description should not only include the information the employer needs to know about you, but it should also make them interested in hiring you. To do this, you need to show them how you think strategically. Every business has a different set of priorities, but you can always approach your job responsibilities from a strategic standpoint. For example, if you’re responsible for marketing and sales, you might consider approaching these tasks by asking questions like:
- How can I get more people to buy our products?
- What strategies have been successful in the past and can I apply them to increase sales in the future?
- What are our competitors doing and how can I anticipate their next moves?
- What does the market research say about our products?
These are all important questions that need answers if you want to be successful as a marketer. If you can provide these answers, the employer will see you as a strategic individual who can add value to their company.
The Company
The last thing you need to include in your job description is the company. You might not need to include this, but it’s good practice to put as much information as you can. The more you know about the company, the better. This includes things like their legal name, the addresses of their headquarters and branch offices, and the industry they’re in (e.g., manufacturing, retail, etc.).
Think of something positive about the company. This can be a personal recommendation from a colleague, a story about a customer who was very satisfied with their product, or anything else you can think of that would make the employer interested in hearing more. The more you can tell them about the company, the better. You don’t need to be overly familiar with the company’s operations, but make sure you know enough about them to answer any questions the applicant might have.
In the end, a good job description should be a concise and accurate summary of your work experience and education. Make sure to include all the necessary information the employer needs and leave no stone unturned. Don’t worry too much about making it fancy or using big words – this is just a tool for your convenience. As long as you know what you’re talking about, nobody will have a problem understanding you.