Job Description
This article covers meaning, importance, steps, components & example of Job Description from HRM perspective.
What is Job Description?
Job description is an informative documentation of the scope, duties, tasks, responsibilities and working conditions related to the job listing in the organization through the process of job analysis. Job description also details the skills and qualifications that an individual applying for the job needs to possess. It basically gives all the details which might be good for both the company and the applicant so that both parties are on the same page regarding the job posting. Basically, job analysis is bifurcated into two components namely job description and job specification.
The job description is used in the recruitment process to inform the applicants of the job profile and requirements, and used at the performance management process to evaluate the employee’s performance against the description.
Importance of Job Description
Job description is the most important thing which a candidate gets about a job listing. It gives all the relevant and necessary details about a job. The details which can help one decide whether the job is relevant or not. Qualifications, roles, responsibilities etc are included in the job description document which paints a clear picture of what is expected from the particular role.
It gives an opportunity for a candidate to prepare well for a job interview. It also helps companies identify all skills required by a right candidate.
Job Description Components
A Job description will include the following components:
- Roles and responsibilities of the job.
- Goals of the organization as well the goals to be achieved as a part of the profile are mentioned in the job description.
- Qualifications in terms of education and work experience required have to be clearly mentioned.
- Skill sets like leadership, team management, time management, communication management etc required to fulfill the job
- Salary range of the job are mentioned in the job description
Job Description Sample/Example
A typical job description would have job title followed by summary. After these, there could be a detailed description of the role.
Education qualifications required are also mostly included along with location.
Below is an example or sample
| Job Title | Regional Sales Manager |
| Location | NY,CA |
| Job Description | The RSM would be responsible for the sales of territory assigned. The territories would be in and around the job location. The RSM should be motivated and willing to make decisions on his/her own. The sales quota and targets would be predefined. (The job description should cover all the details of the job) |
| Education | Graduate with Business Degree/Diploma |
| Experience | 7-8 years of experience in FMCG Sales |
The table above shows a sample job description. Formats for job description may vary from company to company but the overall details would be similar.
Steps to Write a Job Description
Companies have to make sure that they write an accurate & comprehensive job description giving all job-related details. The main steps to write a job description are:
1. Job Title
The first step is to write the job title decided internally for official purposes.
2. Role Summary
The second step is to write the summary about the job role.
3. Duties
The next step involves writing down all the job responsibilities as well as the job duties which are required with this particular job.
4. Qualifications
The fourth step is to give the basic education qualifications, work experience or other criteria required for this job role.
5. Role Expectations
This step defines what is required by an employee to be successful.
6. Reporting
The sixth step is to highlight who the reporting manager would be and who would be the subordinates.
7. Verification
The final step is to get the job description verified by the HR team for any changes, updates or validations.
Advantages of Job Description
There are many advantages of having a comprehensive job description given by a company. Some of the advantages are mentioned below:
1. Helps companies understand the type of candidate they should search for based on title, position and location
2. Employees are well aware about their job roles & duties
3. Job description helps in understanding the workplace environment, benefits etc for a prospective employee
4. Helps in better recruitment & selection
5. Job description clearly highlights all the requirements, objectives & goals that it wants an employee to perform
Disadvantages of Job Description
Despite being a thorough documentation related to the job, there are certain limitation of job description:
1. They are time bound and can change with organization structure, industry policies, company requirements etc
2. It can only highlight the macro criteria of a job but cannot fully explain the obstacles, emotional requirements etc related to the job
3. Incomplete job description lacking quality information can misguide both the HR manager as well as the employee
Hence, this concludes the definition of Job Description along with its overview.
Browse the definition and meaning of more similar terms. The Management Dictionary covers over 1800 business concepts from 5 categories.
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