How to Write a Job Description - Tips and Examples
Whether you’re writing a job description for a job posting or for your resume, we’ll give you the tips you need to write the right job description.
Whether you’re writing a job description for a job posting or for your resume, we’ll give you the tips you need to write the right job description.
To help you put your best foot forward, this page will give you:
If you’re a recruiter or hiring manager putting together a job ad, a job description is a straightforward description of a specific job’s duties, responsibilities and functions. It provides the job seeker with detailed information about the job that they can use to decide whether they have the skills, qualifications and experience to handle it. The job description also serves as a guideline for job seekers to write their resumes.
On the other hand, if you’re a job seeker writing a resume, a job description is what goes under a job title in your work history section. Through a list of three to five bullet points, you explain each job position’s accomplishments and major responsibilities to show hiring managers that you have experience and know what you’re doing.
● Your job title
● The name and location of the employer
● Your dates of employment
● Your job responsibilities
● Soft skills and hard skills you used and developed
● Measurable achievements and awards
● Specific numbers that indicate how you helped the company
Here’s a sample of how a resume job description might look for a copywriter that stumbled upon the job posting example featured on this page during their job search:
Digital Copywriter / June 2020 – Aug 2022
Starlight POV, Tampa, FL
Note the concise sentences and the use of action verbs such as “conceptualized” and “edited”, rather than more passive language like “was responsible for writing original scripts”. Hiring managers and recruiters typically spend less than a minute reviewing a resume, so get straight to the point when writing your job descriptions.
For more help creating your work history section along with the rest of your resume, use our Resume Builder.
Write the title of the position you’re looking to fill clearly and at the beginning of the job description. For example:
Social Media Copywriter and Content Creator
Bloom Agency | Bradenton, FL
Provide a short paragraph summarizing the job position and the company. Be enthusiastic and charismatic in your tone, after all, you want to make the job opening as interesting as possible to attract more candidates. For example:
Are you good with words? Do you know social media platforms like the back of your hand? Then you might be the copywriter we’re looking for! Bloom Agency is a digital hub for young creatives and out-of-the-box thinkers who know how to create fun content while having fun. As a member of the creative team, you’ll work closely with your colleagues to develop innovative content, catchy wording and scripts, and work on various projects for our clients.
Create a specific section for the duties and responsibilities, and list them out using bullet points. Be as informative as possible because this section will help the job seeker know whether they can perform the job. For example:
Does the candidate need to have a bachelor’s degree in a specific field? Do they need to have prior experience? Use bullet points to list the requirements they need to meet to get hired, such as:
This section focuses on the nice-to-haves. The job seeker doesn’t need to have these qualifications to get considered but possessing them would definitely boost the job application. For example:
While adding this information to the job description can be considered optional, we encourage you to include the salary and benefits if they’re competitive. For some job seekers, the salary and benefits are a deciding factor on whether they’re interested in a job or not. You could write them like:
Salary: $28.00 – $31.00 per hour
Benefits:
In simpler terms, a resume job description showcases what you did for a company, while a corporate job description showcases what a company wants. A resume job description will be located in the work history section of your resume. Each job title will have three to five bullet points, detailing your accomplishments and major job responsibilities.
Some examples of a job description for a resume will look like this:
Note in these examples how the job seeker uses active verbs (“managed”, “led”) along with specific numbers (“produced 500 new product listings each week”) to show how effective she is in the role.
You should typically list up to the last 10 years of experience in your resume. Experience that dates back longer than that is less likely to matter to employers unless they’re seeking someone with extensive experience. Usually, you should submit a one-page resume but it’s OK to have a resume that’s two pages long if you have a wide range of important work experiences to highlight.
Remember to list your relevant experience in reverse chronological order so that a potential employer sees the most recent, most relevant job experience first.
Even if you were in a completely different field, you may have a transferable skill set that applies to the new job.
Connect your past work experience, and the duties and responsibilities written in the potential employer’s job description. If they’re looking for a project manager with strong communication skills, include bullet points in your work experience that show the recruiter or hiring manager how great you are at managing others and what you’ve done in the past that showcases good communication.
The key is to tailor your resume to the job posting. Use the listed responsibilities and key requirements as a map to create a resume that speaks to your ability to work well.
The best way to describe your duties on a resume is to:
What you include in your job description will depend on the situation. If you’re a hiring manager creating a job posting to fill out an open role, your job description should have a plainly written description of the job responsibilities and duties, a list of the key requirements and information on any benefits the candidate will have should they get hired.
If you’re a job seeker writing a resume, your job description should include major work achievements and responsibilities, quantifiable metrics that show how good you are at your job and keywords from the job description.
The best way to describe your work achievements is by using numbers. Did you exceed sales goals at your customer service job? Are you a graphic designer that worked on successful marketing campaigns? Whatever the case may be, use quantifiable metrics and percentages to express these achievements.
For example, a customer service representative might write, “Exceed monthly sales by 18%, increasing department revenue and budget” or “Increased customer satisfaction by 20% using company policy and following protocols.”
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