Job descriptions: Created by employers and evaluated by job candidates

By Ken Pelczarski, Contributing Editor | TLT Career Coach September 2026

Follow these tips and recommendations on what to include in the description.

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During my 50-year career in the recruiting field, many prospective job candidates have requested a job description before agreeing to pursue a job opportunity. These individuals likely realize that you can learn a lot about a company and a job opportunity from reading a job description.

Some job descriptions are trimmed down for advertising purposes, although most ads these days on websites such as LinkedIn and Indeed include full job descriptions. This article focuses on full, detailed job descriptions that are created for internal company use, for advertisements and generally for job candidates to review at some point before or during the interview process.

If you are a job candidate who is evaluating a well-written job description, you will get a feel for whether the opportunity:

- Is a good fit for your skill set
- Appears challenging enough
- Will be satisfying day to day
- Requires your level of expertise
- Is a good cultural fit
- Is a good step for your career path
- Is with a professional and competitive organization

If the job description under review is short and/or not well-written, you will likely have serious questions and may not even pursue the opportunity further.

If you are an employer writing a job description, I hope you will find some of the tips below to be of value. Job descriptions will typically be read carefully by job candidates and should be written to pique the interest of qualified individuals and answer their immediate questions.

The summary below lists items to be considered for inclusion in a job description:

1. Company information. As a job candidate, working for the right company is just as important as working in the right position. If an employer includes the following information in the job description, qualified candidates will be motivated to pursue the position quickly if the company profile fits their type of target employer.

a. Size (e.g., revenue, number of employees, small/medium/large)
b. Length of time in business (number of years or family generations)
c. Main line of business (i.e., products, markets)
d. Type of business (e.g., manufacturer, distributor, service provider)
e. Geographic scope (i.e., regional, national, international)
f. Ownership (e.g., family-owned, division of major corporation)
g. Recent growth history (e.g., years of consecutive sales growth, facility expansions, new locations)
h. Industry leadership status (e.g., leader in certain products, markets, and/or geographic areas)

2. Reason for the opening. From job candidates' perspective, it should add to the excitement about a position if they learn that it is open due to expansion, internal promotion or retirement of a long-term employee.

If the opportunity is available for one of these reasons, an employer is wise to include this information in the job description to stimulate the interest of qualified individuals.

3. Reporting structure. The title of the individual to whom the position reports is helpful information to a job candidate. Employers should include this information, especially if the position reports to a high-level manager, director or executive.

4. Job location. This is straight-forward information that should be included in a job description. Job candidates are typically interested in knowing up front that the position location is flexible or if the role can be hybrid or remote. It is important for employers to note in the job description if the location is flexible.

5. Highlights of responsibilities. This is information to be included in some detail in the job description. Employers need to describe the primary tasks in the role where the employee will spend the most time. Include in the job description the main responsibilities such as a.) with whom there will be internal interaction and collaboration, b.) hands-on versus administrative duties, c.) customer-facing, d.) types of work projects and e.) main goals in the role.

As a job candidate, be sure to look at what responsibilities are emphasized by the employer in the job description and decide whether you can envision yourself in the role and if it fits with your career goals.

6. Level of leadership. As a job candidate, if it is important to be in a manager, director or executive position, you may only pursue the opportunity if you read a job description that stresses leadership responsibilities at the appropriate level.

As an employer searching for a proven leader, being specific in the job description about leadership responsibilities will result in more qualified individuals being motivated to pursue the opportunity. Include items such as a.) number of direct reports, b.) types of projects, c.) functional areas to be managed and d.) number of operations/locations.

7. Amount of travel. As an employer, be sure to state the amount of travel in the job description and perhaps even overestimate. Aim to avoid spending a lot of time talking with candidates who are not willing to do the required travel.

If you are conducting an individual job search, you probably have a maximum amount of travel in mind. Read the job description to learn the amount of anticipated travel. I recommend pursuing the job opportunity if the stated percentage of travel is anywhere close to what is ideal. Upon discussion with the employer, you will learn how they define travel including whether there are just many short trips or also a few week-long trips.

8. Primary background requirements. Employers should be very specific in the job description regarding “must have” experience. State the type of functional experience that is required in specific types of products, markets and work environments. In addition, state areas in which experience is preferred but not required.

I encourage individuals to reach out to an employer even if they do not possess one or more listed “must haves.” In this case, be prepared to discuss examples of how you have always been a quick learner, as well as what background you possess that could substitute for the required experience.

9. Level of experience desired. The amount of experience an employer desires for a job may be flexible. In that case, I would suggest that they use words such as light, medium, heavy, solid or proven to describe the amount of experience desired. If an employer desires heavy experience, I recommend using either number of years such as 10-15 years or a word such as extensive.

In my opinion, job candidates should always pursue a desirable job opportunity even if they fall short of the number of years stated in the job description. For example, an individual may have five years of experience instead of the requested 10 years. In that case, pursue the opportunity, especially if you have a highly successful track record or you have already performed well in the same type of role.

10. Education requirements. I recommend that employers state the preferred level and type of education as well as the minimum education requirements. With this approach, you will likely attract primarily the most qualified candidates with an acceptable educational background.

Job candidates will generally recognize what education the employer truly desires. In that case, I would recommend that individuals pursue an opportunity if they fall short of preferred education. This is especially true if you have either a.) the minimum education requirements, b.) a similar degree and/or c.) a highly accomplished background in the same type of position.

11. Attractive features of working for the company. Employers are likely to attract additional qualified candidates if they state in the job description some features that are highly appealing or set them apart from much of their competition. Consider including items such as:

- Policy of promotion from within
- Flexible work arrangements
- Professional development opportunities
- Wellness programs
- Consistent growth in sales volume
- Highly profitable
- Recent expansion
- Aggressive growth strategies
- Low turnover
- Innovative technology

As a job candidate, search out employers who promote these attractive features and pursue their career opportunities aggressively.

12. Compensation and benefit highlights. There are two schools of thought on including salary information in job descriptions, especially those in job ads. Individuals will respect the transparency of revealing salary ranges. However, some qualified individuals may not pursue the opportunity if the listed salary seems a little low.

I would suggest leaving the salary range out of an advertised job description and putting that subject off until mutual discussion between the employer and job candidate.

I would encourage job candidates to pursue an opportunity even if the stated salary is below your expectations. The employer may be flexible on salary, and you may be flexible as well, especially if you learn that the company has an outstanding benefit package and/or attractive bonus incentives. It is even possible that the employer can upgrade the position to a higher level.

If the employer has exceptional benefits in their package (e.g., 100% company paid health insurance or a lucrative profit-sharing plan), include a few brief words on one or two of these items in a job description.

General recommendations pertaining to job descriptions:

- State “immediate position available” if the position is urgent.
- Make the job description easy to read with sufficient white spacing and no long paragraphs.
- Make sure the most important points stand out.
- If the job description is part of an advertisement, make it easy to respond/apply.
- Employers can be quite general or very specific in what they describe in a job description, and need to decide if they are trying to appeal to many types of candidates or a smaller targeted audience.
- If an individual is on the fence about pursuing an opportunity after reading the job description, I always recommend exploring it further through direct discussions.

I like to look at a job description as an invitation from an employer to consider a career opportunity and a potential long-term relationship with their organization. A job description is often what opens the door for an individual to explore such a relationship. Therefore, an employer should take great care in presenting a position in the best possible light in a job description. In addition, a job candidate should realize that a job description may provide great information, but direct discussions with an employer are what is most important in evaluating a career opportunity.

Ken Pelczarski is owner and founder of Pelichem Associates, a Chicago-area search firm established in 1985 and specializing in the lubricants industry. You can reach Ken at (630) 960-1940 or at pelichem@aol.com.