How to Write a Job Description (Template and Examples)

A good job description tells a candidate four things in plain language: what the job is for, what they will do, what you need from them, and what you offer in return, including pay. Keep it to roughly one page, write it for the person you want to hire rather than for your own HR file, and be specific enough that someone who is wrong for the role can see that and move on.

This guide gives you a copy-and-paste template, three worked examples, a checklist to review any draft against, and a short primer on pay transparency rules in the US and EU.

What a job description is (and what it is not)

A job description describes the role itself: its purpose, responsibilities, requirements and conditions. It usually lives inside the company and changes rarely. A job posting (or job ad) is the public version written to attract applicants, and it adds the pitch: why the team is worth joining, how to apply, and what the process looks like. A job specification is the narrower list of qualifications and skills a person needs to do the work.

In practice most small teams write one document and use it for all three. That works as long as you keep the internal detail out of the public version and the sales language out of the internal one.

What to include in a job description

Section	What goes in	Common mistake
Job title	The title people actually search for, such as "Customer Support Specialist"	Internal or playful titles like "Support Ninja"
Summary	Two or three sentences on why the role exists and what success looks like	A paragraph about the company's history
Responsibilities	Five to eight outcomes, starting with a verb, most important first	A 20-item list of every task anyone has ever done in the role
Requirements	What the person must be able to do on day one	Mixing must-haves with nice-to-haves
Nice to have	Skills that help but can be learned	Leaving it out, so every wish becomes a requirement
Pay and benefits	A salary range, plus the benefits that matter most	"Competitive salary"
Location and schedule	On-site, hybrid or remote, time zone, expected hours	Saying "flexible" without saying what that means
Reporting line	Who the person reports to, and who they work with most	Leaving candidates to guess the team structure

Job description template (copy and paste)

Replace everything in square brackets. Delete any line that does not apply, and keep the finished document to one page.

[Job title] | [Team or department] | [Location or remote] | [Full-time, part-time or contract]

About the role
[Two or three sentences: why this role exists, who it supports, and what success looks like in the first year.]

What you will do

• [Verb + outcome, for example "Resolve customer questions within one business day"]
• [Verb + outcome]
• [Verb + outcome]
• [Verb + outcome]
• [Verb + outcome]

What you need

• [Must-have skill or experience, with a number where you can, such as "2+ years in a support role"]
• [Must-have]
• [Must-have]

Nice to have

• [Helpful but trainable skill]
• [Helpful but trainable skill]

What we offer
Salary range: [minimum] to [maximum] per [year or hour]. [Two or three benefits: leave, health cover, equipment, learning budget.]

How to apply
[Where to send the application, what to include, and the next steps in your process.]

Three job description examples

Example 1: Customer Support Specialist

About the role. You will be the first person customers hear from when something goes wrong. Your goal is to resolve most questions in a single reply and to flag recurring problems to the product team.

• Answer customer questions by email and chat, aiming to reply within one business day.
• Write and update help-centre articles for the questions we see most often.
• Escalate bugs to engineering with clear reproduction steps.
• Report on the top five customer issues each month.

What you need. A year or more of customer-facing work, clear written English, and comfort learning new software quickly. Nice to have: experience with a help-desk tool such as Zendesk or Intercom.

Example 2: Marketing Manager

About the role. You will own how we reach new customers, from planning the quarter to measuring what worked. You will manage one marketing coordinator and a small freelance budget.

• Set and track quarterly goals for traffic, sign-ups and cost per sign-up.
• Plan and publish content that answers questions our customers search for.
• Run email campaigns and report on open, click and conversion rates.
• Manage freelancers and agencies, including briefs, deadlines and budget.

What you need. Three or more years running marketing programmes, experience with analytics tools, and proof that you have grown a channel from a small base. Nice to have: experience in a business-to-business software company.

Example 3: Software Engineer

About the role. You will build and maintain features across our web application, working in a team of five engineers with weekly releases. You will review other people's code and have your own reviewed.

• Design, build and test new features from a written spec.
• Fix bugs reported by customers, prioritised with the product manager.
• Review pull requests and improve test coverage in the areas you touch.
• Take a turn on the on-call rota once you are comfortable with the system.

What you need. Professional experience building web applications in TypeScript or a similar language, working knowledge of SQL, and the habit of writing tests. Nice to have: experience with cloud hosting and continuous delivery.

Job description best practices: a checklist

Use this list to review a draft before it goes live.

• The title is one people search for. Use the standard name for the role, and put seniority in plainly (Senior, Lead) rather than in invented levels.
• It leads with the role, not the company. Candidates decide in seconds. Put what they will do ahead of how you were founded.
• Responsibilities are outcomes. "Resolve customer questions within one business day" tells a person more than "Handle customer inquiries".
• Requirements are honest. Separate what is needed from what is merely helpful. Long lists of required skills put off capable people, who often apply only when they feel they meet every point.
• Years of experience are justified. Ask for a number only when it reflects real need.
• Pay is stated. Give a range, not "competitive".
• The language is neutral. Avoid gendered words and phrases such as "rockstar", "young and energetic" or "native speaker" unless a language requirement is genuinely part of the job. For language, say the level you need instead, for example "fluent English".
• Jargon is explained. Spell out internal acronyms and tool names the first time.
• It is the right length. If it does not fit on about one page, you are probably describing two jobs.
• The next step is clear. Say how to apply and what happens after.

Pay transparency: what to include in the US and the EU

Showing the salary range used to be optional. In many places it now is not, and even where it is optional, a range tends to increase the number of suitable applications because candidates do not have to guess.

United States. A growing number of states and cities, including Colorado, California, New York and Washington, require employers to include a pay range in job postings. The details differ: which employers are covered, whether the rule applies to remote roles, and what counts as a posting. If you hire in more than one location, check the rule for each one.

European Union. The EU Pay Transparency Directive (Directive (EU) 2023/970) requires employers to give applicants information about the initial pay or pay range for a role before the interview, and requires job titles and vacancy notices to be gender-neutral. Member states had until 7 June 2026 to bring it into national law, and how each country has done that varies, so look at the rules where you recruit.

This is general information and not legal advice. If you are unsure whether a rule applies to you, ask an employment lawyer or your national labour authority.

Common job description mistakes to avoid

• Copying a competitor's posting. It brings over their requirements and their wording, and candidates notice.
• Describing the person who left. Describe the work that needs doing now, not the previous holder's habits.
• Listing every tool. Name the two or three that matter and say the rest can be learned.
• Hiding the pay. Candidates who cannot see it assume it is low.
• Never updating it. Review the description each time the role changes, and before every new hire.

Frequently asked questions

How long should a job description be?

About one page, or somewhere between 300 and 700 words for most roles. Senior and specialist roles can run a little longer, but if you cannot keep the responsibilities to eight items or fewer, consider splitting the role.

What is the difference between a job description and a job posting?

A job description defines the role for internal use. A job posting is the version published to attract applicants, and it adds the company pitch, the benefits and how to apply.

Should I include the salary in a job description?

Yes, wherever you can. It is a legal requirement in a growing number of US states and cities and, under the EU Pay Transparency Directive, in the EU, and it helps candidates decide whether to apply. Use a realistic range rather than a very wide one.

How many responsibilities should I list?

Five to eight. If the list is longer, group related tasks under one outcome or move the minor ones out.

Do I need to list years of experience?

Only when it reflects what the job needs. Describing the skill you need, such as "has run an email programme", usually filters better than a number.

How often should a job description be updated?

Whenever the role changes, and at least before each time you hire for it.

Next steps

Start from the template above, fill in the role you are actually hiring for, and run the checklist over the result. These guides go deeper on each part:

• Job description templates: four formats, including short, remote and entry-level versions.
• Job description examples for 10 common roles, from administrative assistant to warehouse associate.
• Job description vs job posting vs job specification: what each document is for.
• Pay transparency in job descriptions: what to include in the US and EU.

If you want a step-by-step process for gathering the information first, read our practical guide for HR professionals, and browse more writing on career and hiring.