{"id":1265,"date":"2019-09-05T18:56:39","date_gmt":"2019-09-05T18:56:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-humanresourcesmgmt\/?post_type=chapter&#038;p=1265"},"modified":"2026-02-26T21:50:29","modified_gmt":"2026-02-26T21:50:29","slug":"job-descriptions","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-humanresourcesmgmt\/chapter\/job-descriptions\/","title":{"raw":"Job Descriptions","rendered":"Job Descriptions"},"content":{"raw":"<div class=\"textbox learning-objectives\">\r\n<h3>Learning Outcomes<\/h3>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Identify the elements of a job description<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Differentiate among job analysis, job descriptions and job specifications<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/div>\r\nA job description is a written statement of what a position entails: what is done, how it\u2019s done and under what conditions. Wright State University\u2019s (WSU) Human Resources department notes that \u201cwhen well-written, [a job description] produces a realistic picture of a job and answers the question, \u201cWhat does the person in this role actually do?\u201d[footnote]\"<a href=\"https:\/\/www.wright.edu\/human-resources\/policies-and-resources\/writing-an-effective-job-description\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Writing an Effective Job Description<\/a>.\" Wright State University. Accessed September 12, 2019.[\/footnote] In addition to describing the responsibilities of the position, a job description is the primary reference document for recruiting and evaluation. To that point, WSU notes it \u201csets the stage for optimum work performance by clarifying responsibilities, expected results, and evaluation of performance.\u201d As is true of a job analysis, a job description should be \u201cincumbent neutral;\u201d that is, a classification of the position, without reference to a specific person in that position.\r\n<h2>Elements of a Job Description<\/h2>\r\nAlthough layouts vary, job descriptions generally include the following elements:\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li><strong>Job Title.<\/strong> Job title and other reference information such as a job code.<\/li>\r\n \t<li><strong>Reporting Relationships.<\/strong> Identification of the department the job is a part of, the position the role reports to and any supervisory responsibilities (i.e., number of staff supervised).<\/li>\r\n \t<li><strong>Job Summary.<\/strong> A brief (1\u20132 sentence) overview of the role, including its purpose, level and scope of responsibility.<\/li>\r\n \t<li><strong>Essential Functions.<\/strong> A representative description of the essential tasks, duties and responsibilities of the position. Although in templates this section is often titled \u201cJob Duties and Responsibilities,\u201d using the terminology \u201cessential functions\u201d reinforces the point that these are considered \u201cmust have\u201d capabilities. That is, they are required for the successful performance of the job and cannot be modified. For fairness and legal defensibility, these should include all but only those specific skills or abilities that are necessary. Employers who do not have job descriptions with current, defensible essential functions may find themselves unable to defend against a claim of discrimination.<\/li>\r\n \t<li><strong>Job Specifications.<\/strong> This section identifies the minimum acceptable qualifications for the job including education, experience, and specialized knowledge or skills, if applicable. If applicable, a job description may also list a few preferred qualifications, which may reflect a preference for additional education, experience, knowledge, skills or ability. For example, the job may specify a minimum of a bachelor\u2019s degree but list a preference for a master\u2019s degree or a Human Resource certification.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\nCareerBuilder states that \u201cthe key to writing effective job descriptions is to find the perfect balance between providing enough detail so candidates understand the role and your company while keeping your description concise,\u201d noting that job descriptions that range between 700 and 2,000 characters receive up to 30% more responses.[footnote]\"<a href=\"https:\/\/www.indeed.com\/hire\/job-description\/how-to-write-a-job-description\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">How to Write a Job Description<\/a>.\" Indeed. Accessed September 12, 2019.[\/footnote]\r\n<div class=\"textbox tryit\">\r\n<h3>Pratice Question<\/h3>\r\nhttps:\/\/assess.lumenlearning.com\/practice\/3ba0d5eb-30b6-41ac-a108-e11eaae3bac0\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<h2>Job Analysis, Job Descriptions, and Job Specifications<\/h2>\r\nA job analysis is an internal document that serves as the basis for both job descriptions and job specifications. A job description summarizes key details of the job, including its purpose, essential functions and job specifications. Job specifications are a subset of the job description that detail the minimum acceptable qualifications for the job. For an illustration of this, refer to Table 1.\r\n<table style=\"border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%; height: 96px;\" border=\"1\"><caption>Table 1. Job Analysis produces a Job Description and Job Specifications<\/caption>\r\n<thead>\r\n<tr style=\"height: 12px;\">\r\n<th style=\"width: 50%; height: 12px;\" scope=\"col\">Job Description<\/th>\r\n<th style=\"width: 50%; height: 12px;\" scope=\"col\">Job Specifications<\/th>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/thead>\r\n<tbody>\r\n<tr style=\"height: 12px;\">\r\n<td style=\"width: 50%; height: 12px;\">Job Title<\/td>\r\n<td style=\"width: 50%; height: 12px;\">Qualifications<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr style=\"height: 12px;\">\r\n<td style=\"width: 50%; height: 12px;\">Job Location<\/td>\r\n<td style=\"width: 50%; height: 12px;\">Experience<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr style=\"height: 12px;\">\r\n<td style=\"width: 50%; height: 12px;\">Job Summary\/Duties\/Responsibilities<\/td>\r\n<td style=\"width: 50%; height: 12px;\">Training<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr style=\"height: 12px;\">\r\n<td style=\"width: 50%; height: 12px;\">Reporting to<\/td>\r\n<td style=\"width: 50%; height: 12px;\">Skills<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr style=\"height: 12px;\">\r\n<td style=\"width: 50%; height: 12px;\">Working conditions\/Hazards<\/td>\r\n<td style=\"width: 50%; height: 12px;\">Emotional Characteristics<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\nA key distinction is that the details listed under job description are not personal; they are aspects of the job. That is, the job description is what is to be done. Job specifications reflect what is required to complete the job and are personal in the sense that each candidate or employee will have a different job specification profile or combination of education, experience and expertise. Note that a job description may also contribute to the job analysis as a source document when a job is being reviewed or updated.\r\n<div class=\"textbox tryit\">\r\n<h3>Practice question<\/h3>\r\nhttps:\/\/assess.lumenlearning.com\/practice\/197c3c08-f769-4d2a-81bf-117981f00d4a\r\n\r\n<\/div>","rendered":"<div class=\"textbox learning-objectives\">\n<h3>Learning Outcomes<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Identify the elements of a job description<\/li>\n<li>Differentiate among job analysis, job descriptions and job specifications<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p>A job description is a written statement of what a position entails: what is done, how it\u2019s done and under what conditions. Wright State University\u2019s (WSU) Human Resources department notes that \u201cwhen well-written, [a job description] produces a realistic picture of a job and answers the question, \u201cWhat does the person in this role actually do?\u201d<a class=\"footnote\" title=\"&quot;Writing an Effective Job Description.&quot; Wright State University. Accessed September 12, 2019.\" id=\"return-footnote-1265-1\" href=\"#footnote-1265-1\" aria-label=\"Footnote 1\"><sup class=\"footnote\">[1]<\/sup><\/a> In addition to describing the responsibilities of the position, a job description is the primary reference document for recruiting and evaluation. To that point, WSU notes it \u201csets the stage for optimum work performance by clarifying responsibilities, expected results, and evaluation of performance.\u201d As is true of a job analysis, a job description should be \u201cincumbent neutral;\u201d that is, a classification of the position, without reference to a specific person in that position.<\/p>\n<h2>Elements of a Job Description<\/h2>\n<p>Although layouts vary, job descriptions generally include the following elements:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Job Title.<\/strong> Job title and other reference information such as a job code.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Reporting Relationships.<\/strong> Identification of the department the job is a part of, the position the role reports to and any supervisory responsibilities (i.e., number of staff supervised).<\/li>\n<li><strong>Job Summary.<\/strong> A brief (1\u20132 sentence) overview of the role, including its purpose, level and scope of responsibility.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Essential Functions.<\/strong> A representative description of the essential tasks, duties and responsibilities of the position. Although in templates this section is often titled \u201cJob Duties and Responsibilities,\u201d using the terminology \u201cessential functions\u201d reinforces the point that these are considered \u201cmust have\u201d capabilities. That is, they are required for the successful performance of the job and cannot be modified. For fairness and legal defensibility, these should include all but only those specific skills or abilities that are necessary. Employers who do not have job descriptions with current, defensible essential functions may find themselves unable to defend against a claim of discrimination.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Job Specifications.<\/strong> This section identifies the minimum acceptable qualifications for the job including education, experience, and specialized knowledge or skills, if applicable. If applicable, a job description may also list a few preferred qualifications, which may reflect a preference for additional education, experience, knowledge, skills or ability. For example, the job may specify a minimum of a bachelor\u2019s degree but list a preference for a master\u2019s degree or a Human Resource certification.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>CareerBuilder states that \u201cthe key to writing effective job descriptions is to find the perfect balance between providing enough detail so candidates understand the role and your company while keeping your description concise,\u201d noting that job descriptions that range between 700 and 2,000 characters receive up to 30% more responses.<a class=\"footnote\" title=\"&quot;How to Write a Job Description.&quot; Indeed. Accessed September 12, 2019.\" id=\"return-footnote-1265-2\" href=\"#footnote-1265-2\" aria-label=\"Footnote 2\"><sup class=\"footnote\">[2]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"textbox tryit\">\n<h3>Pratice Question<\/h3>\n<p>\t<iframe id=\"assessment_practice_3ba0d5eb-30b6-41ac-a108-e11eaae3bac0\" class=\"resizable\" src=\"https:\/\/assess.lumenlearning.com\/practice\/3ba0d5eb-30b6-41ac-a108-e11eaae3bac0?iframe_resize_id=assessment_practice_id_3ba0d5eb-30b6-41ac-a108-e11eaae3bac0\" frameborder=\"0\" style=\"border:none;width:100%;height:100%;min-height:300px;\"><br \/>\n\t<\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h2>Job Analysis, Job Descriptions, and Job Specifications<\/h2>\n<p>A job analysis is an internal document that serves as the basis for both job descriptions and job specifications. A job description summarizes key details of the job, including its purpose, essential functions and job specifications. Job specifications are a subset of the job description that detail the minimum acceptable qualifications for the job. For an illustration of this, refer to Table 1.<\/p>\n<table style=\"border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%; height: 96px;\">\n<caption>Table 1. Job Analysis produces a Job Description and Job Specifications<\/caption>\n<thead>\n<tr style=\"height: 12px;\">\n<th style=\"width: 50%; height: 12px;\" scope=\"col\">Job Description<\/th>\n<th style=\"width: 50%; height: 12px;\" scope=\"col\">Job Specifications<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr style=\"height: 12px;\">\n<td style=\"width: 50%; height: 12px;\">Job Title<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 50%; height: 12px;\">Qualifications<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 12px;\">\n<td style=\"width: 50%; height: 12px;\">Job Location<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 50%; height: 12px;\">Experience<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 12px;\">\n<td style=\"width: 50%; height: 12px;\">Job Summary\/Duties\/Responsibilities<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 50%; height: 12px;\">Training<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 12px;\">\n<td style=\"width: 50%; height: 12px;\">Reporting to<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 50%; height: 12px;\">Skills<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 12px;\">\n<td style=\"width: 50%; height: 12px;\">Working conditions\/Hazards<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 50%; height: 12px;\">Emotional Characteristics<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>A key distinction is that the details listed under job description are not personal; they are aspects of the job. That is, the job description is what is to be done. Job specifications reflect what is required to complete the job and are personal in the sense that each candidate or employee will have a different job specification profile or combination of education, experience and expertise. Note that a job description may also contribute to the job analysis as a source document when a job is being reviewed or updated.<\/p>\n<div class=\"textbox tryit\">\n<h3>Practice question<\/h3>\n<p>\t<iframe id=\"assessment_practice_197c3c08-f769-4d2a-81bf-117981f00d4a\" class=\"resizable\" src=\"https:\/\/assess.lumenlearning.com\/practice\/197c3c08-f769-4d2a-81bf-117981f00d4a?iframe_resize_id=assessment_practice_id_197c3c08-f769-4d2a-81bf-117981f00d4a\" frameborder=\"0\" style=\"border:none;width:100%;height:100%;min-height:300px;\"><br \/>\n\t<\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t <section class=\"citations-section\" role=\"contentinfo\">\n\t\t\t <h3>Candela Citations<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t <div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <div id=\"citation-list-1265\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <div class=\"licensing\"><div class=\"license-attribution-dropdown-subheading\">CC licensed content, Original<\/div><ul class=\"citation-list\"><li>Job Descriptions. <strong>Authored by<\/strong>: Nina Burokas. <strong>Provided by<\/strong>: Lumen Learning. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/\">CC BY: Attribution<\/a><\/em><\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t <\/section><hr class=\"before-footnotes clear\" \/><div class=\"footnotes\"><ol><li id=\"footnote-1265-1\">\"<a href=\"https:\/\/www.wright.edu\/human-resources\/policies-and-resources\/writing-an-effective-job-description\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Writing an Effective Job Description<\/a>.\" Wright State University. Accessed September 12, 2019. <a href=\"#return-footnote-1265-1\" class=\"return-footnote\" aria-label=\"Return to footnote 1\">&crarr;<\/a><\/li><li id=\"footnote-1265-2\">\"<a href=\"https:\/\/www.indeed.com\/hire\/job-description\/how-to-write-a-job-description\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">How to Write a Job Description<\/a>.\" Indeed. Accessed September 12, 2019. <a href=\"#return-footnote-1265-2\" class=\"return-footnote\" aria-label=\"Return to footnote 2\">&crarr;<\/a><\/li><\/ol><\/div>","protected":false},"author":17,"menu_order":10,"template":"","meta":{"_candela_citation":"[{\"type\":\"original\",\"description\":\"Job Descriptions\",\"author\":\"Nina Burokas\",\"organization\":\"Lumen Learning\",\"url\":\"\",\"project\":\"\",\"license\":\"cc-by\",\"license_terms\":\"\"}]","CANDELA_OUTCOMES_GUID":"89a47fa4-b279-41ae-ab6f-6358f483d0e1, 9dcf5be4-6e60-4385-81af-e82e90e2e94d, 5ba26c27-ab3b-4867-8a4e-bbc928d2afe2","pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":[],"pb_section_license":""},"chapter-type":[],"contributor":[],"license":[],"class_list":["post-1265","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry"],"part":1253,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-humanresourcesmgmt\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/1265","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-humanresourcesmgmt\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-humanresourcesmgmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-humanresourcesmgmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-humanresourcesmgmt\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/1265\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3464,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-humanresourcesmgmt\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/1265\/revisions\/3464"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-humanresourcesmgmt\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/1253"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-humanresourcesmgmt\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/1265\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-humanresourcesmgmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1265"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-humanresourcesmgmt\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=1265"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-humanresourcesmgmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=1265"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-humanresourcesmgmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=1265"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}