Inclusive Job Description Template

Why the posting is where a candidate pool first narrows

Every later stage of hiring can only choose among the people who applied, which makes the job description the widest filter in the process. A capable candidate who reads a long list of requirements and decides they fall short of two of them never appears in any data you collect, so the loss is invisible unless you look for it.

That is why an inclusive posting is mostly about substance rather than tone. Friendlier adjectives help a little. Shorter, honest requirements, a stated pay range and a truthful description of the working pattern help far more, because they change who judges themselves eligible to apply in the first place.

Separating what the job needs from what the last hire had

Most requirement lists describe the previous person in the role rather than the role itself. Start instead from three to five outcomes the new hire must deliver in their first year, and for each one ask what skill or knowledge is genuinely needed on day one and what can be learned in the first months.

Treat degrees and years of experience with particular care. Where a degree is a legal or professional necessity, say so. Where it stands in for a skill, name the skill instead and accept equivalent experience. A figure such as "seven years of experience" is usually a guess at competence, so describe the competence and let candidates show it.

Pay, working pattern and adjustments

State the pay range. A number of US states and cities now require ranges in postings, and the rules differ on scope and thresholds, so confirm what applies with your legal team. Where it is not required, publishing a range still saves both sides time and removes one of the places where negotiation gaps open between groups.

Describe hours, location and flexibility as they really are, including any on-call or travel commitment. End with a line naming who to contact to ask for an adjustment during the hiring process and how, so a candidate who needs one does not have to disclose it to the hiring manager first.

Reviewing postings as a system

Rewriting one description at a time is slow and easy to undo. Unit 5 of the course shows how to cut the hiring funnel by stage and by group, which tells you whether the loss is happening at application, at screening or at interview, and therefore whether the posting is even the right place to start.

Once you know postings matter, build a short checklist into the approval step for every new requisition, so each description is checked against it before it goes live. That turns a one-time cleanup into the way the organization writes postings from then on.

A filled-in example

Mistakes to avoid

• Fixing the wording but not the requirements. Softer language on top of a twelve-item required list changes very little. Cut the required list first, then look at tone.
• Using years of experience as a filter. A year count excludes capable people who learned faster or elsewhere, and says nothing about quality. Describe what the person must be able to do and let them show it.
• Hiding the pay range. Leaving pay out narrows the pool and can breach local posting rules. Check what applies where the role is based, and publish a genuine range rather than an implausibly wide one.
• Describing a working pattern that does not exist. Promising flexibility that the team cannot give produces early resignations. Describe the job as it is, and let candidates decide.