How long should a job description be?

Aim for 400 to 700 words. Anything shorter feels vague; anything longer loses candidates before they reach the application. If your listing runs past 800 words, cut requirements and company boilerplate first.

Should I use inclusive language in job descriptions?

Yes, and it goes beyond pronouns. Avoid terms like 'rockstar,' 'ninja,' and 'dominant' that research links to lower application rates from women. Tools like Textio or a simple word audit can flag gendered language before you post.

How do I write a job title that shows up in search results?

Use the title candidates actually search for, not your internal nomenclature. 'Growth Marketing Manager' outperforms 'Marketing Wizard Level 3' every time. Save creative titles for the team culture section, not the searchable headline.

What is the biggest mistake companies make in job descriptions?

Copying last year's listing. Roles evolve, teams change, and requirements shift. A description that was accurate eighteen months ago probably misrepresents the current job and will attract the wrong pool of candidates.

How to Write Job Descriptions That Attract Top Talent | Generator Collection

Lead With the Job, Not the Company

Most job descriptions open with three paragraphs about how innovative and fast-paced the company is. Candidates have skimmed those paragraphs a hundred times this week. They want to know what they will be doing, who they will report to, and roughly what the job pays — in that order.

Save the company pitch for later in the listing, after you have already hooked the right person. A senior engineer looking for their next role is not going to abandon a compelling role description because the company overview comes second. They will leave a dull opening paragraph before they ever find out what the role involves.

A strong opening gives the job title, the core function in one sentence, and the team or product the person will work on. That is enough to tell a qualified candidate whether to keep reading.

Write Requirements That Are Actually Required

Requirements lists are where job descriptions go to die. A bulleted list of fifteen must-haves — including five years of experience in a framework that is three years old — tells candidates you have not thought carefully about what the role actually needs. It also drives away qualified people who fail one arbitrary item.

Split requirements into two groups: genuine hard requirements and nice-to-haves. Keep the hard list short. If someone with seven of your ten requirements could succeed in the role with a few weeks of ramp time, those other three are not requirements.

Research consistently shows women apply for roles where they meet close to all the stated requirements; men apply if they meet roughly sixty percent. An inflated requirements list does not screen people out — it screens the wrong people out.

Be Specific About Day-to-Day Work

Phrases like 'you will drive cross-functional alignment and own strategic initiatives' communicate nothing. A candidate reading that has no idea whether this means running weekly standups, writing quarterly plans, managing stakeholder relationships, or something else entirely.

Describe what the person will actually do in their first ninety days. List the recurring responsibilities in concrete terms: 'review and merge pull requests for the payments service,' 'lead weekly calls with three enterprise accounts,' 'write and publish two pieces of long-form content per month.' Concrete tasks help the right candidates self-select in and the wrong ones self-select out.

If the role involves ambiguity — a startup where priorities shift monthly, for example — say so directly. That is valuable information. Some candidates want that; others do not. Honesty here saves everyone time.

Include Salary and Key Benefits — Always

Salary transparency is rapidly becoming the norm, and for good reason. Candidates who waste two rounds of interviews before learning the comp is thirty percent below market are not going to give glowing reviews on Glassdoor. Listing a range upfront filters for candidates whose expectations are aligned and shows respect for their time.

Beyond salary, mention the benefits that actually differentiate you: flexible hours, remote or hybrid structure, equity, parental leave length, learning budgets. Skip the table tennis table. Experienced candidates have learned that perks listed in job descriptions rarely look the same in practice.

Frequently asked questions

How long should a job description be?: Aim for 400 to 700 words. Anything shorter feels vague; anything longer loses candidates before they reach the application. If your listing runs past 800 words, cut requirements and company boilerplate first.
Should I use inclusive language in job descriptions?: Yes, and it goes beyond pronouns. Avoid terms like 'rockstar,' 'ninja,' and 'dominant' that research links to lower application rates from women. Tools like Textio or a simple word audit can flag gendered language before you post.
How do I write a job title that shows up in search results?: Use the title candidates actually search for, not your internal nomenclature. 'Growth Marketing Manager' outperforms 'Marketing Wizard Level 3' every time. Save creative titles for the team culture section, not the searchable headline.
What is the biggest mistake companies make in job descriptions?: Copying last year's listing. Roles evolve, teams change, and requirements shift. A description that was accurate eighteen months ago probably misrepresents the current job and will attract the wrong pool of candidates.