# Write a job description: prompt chain Turn your notes on a role into a job description where every requirement ties to a duty, must-haves and nice-to-haves are kept apart, and wording that could put off qualified people is flagged and fixed. **Made for:** Anyone who writes a job posting, such as an HR generalist, a recruiter, a hiring manager or an office manager at a small organization. ## Before you start Have these ready: - **Notes on the role** (required): Paste what you know about the job as it stands, such as the duties, the team, where and how it works, and the pay range if you have one. Do not paste the name or details of the person who held the job before. - **What you want in a person** (required): List what you are hoping for, in your own words, even if it is rough. This template will test each item against the duties. **How to use this chain** 1. Open a new chat in any AI assistant. 2. Copy the Step 1 prompt, replace every [PASTE HERE: ...] slot with your material, and send it. 3. Keep each answer: later steps ask you to paste it in. Run each step in the same chat or a new one; a new chat keeps steps from blurring together. 4. After a step that has a check, run the check before you move on. ## Step 1: List the duties Pick out each duty from the notes, quoted word for word, so the rest of the work has a fixed list to test against. Copy this prompt: ````text You are an experienced HR generalist who writes job descriptions from rough notes. Your task is to list every duty in the notes below. The notes: [PASTE HERE: Notes on the role] Rules: - A duty is something the person in the role will do. Do not list the pay, the hours, the team or the place as duties. - Quote each duty from the notes word for word, as short as you can. Do not correct it and do not reword it. - One row for each separate duty, in the order the notes give them. Do not merge two duties and do not add one the notes do not have. - Do not add duties that jobs like this one usually have. Return one markdown table and nothing else: | # | Duty (quote) | ```` **You get back:** A numbered table of the duties, each quoted from the notes. **Check after Step 1: Every duty is quoted word for word from the notes** Check by eye: Each quote in the Duty (quote) column appears in the notes on the role, with shortened fragments in the same order. If it does not pass: Run the step once more, and add what was wrong to the end of the prompt. If it still does not pass, fix it by hand and make a note of it. ## Step 2: Tie each requirement to a duty Test every requirement against the duties and mark it must-have, nice-to-have or not tied to a duty. Copy this prompt: ````text You are a careful HR reviewer who asks, for each requirement, "Does the job need this?" Your task is to test each requirement below against the list of duties. The requirements: [PASTE HERE: What you want in a person] The duties: [PASTE HERE: the answer from Step 1 (List the duties)] Rules: - One row for each separate requirement, in the order they are written. Split a line that holds two requirements into two rows. Do not add a requirement that is not in the text. - Quote each requirement word for word, as short as you can. - In the Duty # column, give the number of the duty that needs it. If no duty needs it, write none. - Level must be exactly one of: must-have, nice-to-have, not tied to a duty. Use must-have only when a duty cannot be done without it, and the person could not learn it in the first weeks. Use nice-to-have when it helps with a duty but is not needed. Use not tied to a duty when the Duty # is none. - In the Reason column, write one short sentence that names the duty and says why it needs the requirement. For a row that is not tied to a duty, say what is missing. - Do not judge the person. Judge only whether the duties need the requirement. Return one markdown table and nothing else: | # | Requirement (quote) | Duty # | Level | Reason | ```` **You get back:** A table that ties each requirement to a duty, or marks it as not tied. **Check after Step 2: Every requirement is quoted word for word from your list** Check by eye: Each quote in the Requirement (quote) column appears in the what you want in a person, with shortened fragments in the same order. If it does not pass: Run the step once more, and add what was wrong to the end of the prompt. If it still does not pass, fix it by hand and make a note of it. ## Step 3: Draft the job description Write the posting from the duties and the tied requirements only, with must-haves and nice-to-haves in separate lists. Copy this prompt: ````text You are an experienced HR writer who produces plain, welcoming job descriptions. Your task is to write a job description from the notes, the duties and the tied requirements below. The notes on the role: [PASTE HERE: Notes on the role] The duties: [PASTE HERE: the answer from Step 1 (List the duties)] The requirements and their levels: [PASTE HERE: the answer from Step 2 (Tie each requirement to a duty)] Rules: - Use these headings in this order: About the role, What you will do, What you need, Nice to have, Pay and hours. - Under What you will do, write the duties in plain words, one bullet each. Do not add a duty. - Under What you need, list only the requirements marked must-have. Under Nice to have, list only those marked nice-to-have. Leave out every requirement marked not tied to a duty. - Under Pay and hours, use only the figures in the notes. If the notes give no pay, write: [Pay range to be added before posting]. Do not invent a figure. - Write about the work, not about the kind of person. Use "you" and active verbs. Do not describe age, gender, family, health, nationality or background, and do not use words that suggest them, such as "young", "energetic", "mature", "native speaker" or "digital native". - Word a physical must-have as the task, not the body, such as "lift and carry items of up to 30 pounds during event set-up", and add "with or without a reasonable accommodation". - Do not add a company claim, a benefit or a number that the notes do not give. - End with exactly this line: Check this draft with your HR or legal team before you post it. Return the job description in markdown and nothing else. ```` **You get back:** A job description with duties, must-haves, nice-to-haves and pay, ending with a reminder to check it. **Check after Step 3: No number appears that your notes and list do not have** Check by eye: Every number in the answer also appears somewhere in at least one of "notes on the role" and "what you want in a person"; this does not check what each number means. If it does not pass: Run the step once more, and add what was wrong to the end of the prompt. If it still does not pass, fix it by hand and make a note of it. ## Step 4: Find wording that could put people off List each phrase in the draft that could exclude or discourage qualified people, with the kind of concern and a plainer replacement. Copy this prompt: ````text You are a fair-hiring reviewer who reads job postings for wording that shuts people out without meaning to. Your task is to find every phrase in the draft below that could exclude or discourage qualified people. The draft: [PASTE HERE: the answer from Step 3 (Draft the job description)] Rules: - Look for wording that points to age, gender, family status, disability or health, nationality or origin, or a background the duties do not need. Examples are "recent graduate", "he", "salesman", "must be able to stand all day" when the duty does not need it, "native speaker" and "culture fit". - Also look for a requirement worded more strictly than the duty needs, such as a number of years, a degree or a car, when a skill or a result would say the same thing. - Quote each phrase from the draft word for word, as short as you can. One row for each phrase. If you find none, write one row with none in the Phrase column. - Concern must be exactly one of: age, gender, family, health or disability, origin, stricter than the duty needs, other, none. - In the Replacement column, give plainer wording that keeps the real need. Do not leave it empty. Write keep for a row where the phrase is a true need of a duty, and say why in the same cell. - Do not judge the people who wrote the notes. Return one markdown table and nothing else: | # | Phrase (quote) | Concern | Replacement | ```` **You get back:** A table of flagged phrases, each with a concern and a replacement. **Check after Step 4: Each concern is one of the eight allowed words** Check by eye: Every row of the table has one of "age", "gender", "family", "health or disability", "origin", "stricter than the duty needs", "other" or "none" in the Concern column. If it does not pass: Run the step once more, and add what was wrong to the end of the prompt. If it still does not pass, fix it by hand and make a note of it. ## Step 5: Write the final job description Apply the replacements to the draft, change nothing else, and add a short list of what the hiring team still needs to decide. Copy this prompt: ````text You are a copy editor who swaps listed phrases and changes nothing else. Your task is to write the final job description from the draft, using the replacements in the table. The draft: [PASTE HERE: the answer from Step 3 (Draft the job description)] The flagged phrases and their replacements: [PASTE HERE: the answer from Step 4 (Find wording that could put people off)] Rules: - Replace each flagged phrase with its replacement. For a row marked keep, leave the phrase as it is. - Change nothing else. Keep every other word, number and heading as written. Do not add a duty, a requirement or a figure. - After the job description, add a heading "For the hiring team" with two to four bullets. Each bullet is a question the hiring team must still answer, such as whether a must-have is truly needed on day one, whether a stated requirement could be met in another way, or whether the pay range is confirmed, since many states and cities require one in the posting. - One bullet must ask which duties are essential to the role and which are occasional or could be shared. - Start the answer with one line that begins "Changes:" and says how many phrases were replaced and how many were kept. - Keep the closing line "Check this draft with your HR or legal team before you post it." as the very last line. Return markdown in this form and nothing else: Changes: (the counts) (the job description) ## For the hiring team - (a question) Check this draft with your HR or legal team before you post it. ```` **You get back:** The final job description, a count of the wording changes, and questions for the hiring team. **Check after Step 5: The reminder to check it with your HR or legal team is in the final text** Check by eye: The answer contains the text fragment "Check this draft with your HR or legal team before you post it." (including inside a longer word). If it does not pass: Run the step once more, and add what was wrong to the end of the prompt. If it still does not pass, fix it by hand and make a note of it. ## Final checks Run these on the finished result. **Final check 1: Each must-have is tied to a duty** Open a new chat (so the check is not swayed by the work) and paste this check prompt: ````text You are a careful reviewer. You do not fix or rewrite the work; you only decide whether it passes one check. The check: Each must-have is tied to a duty Look at every row marked must-have in the answer. Does its Duty # name a real duty in the list below, and does the Reason show that the duty cannot be done without the requirement? Answer FAIL and quote each must-have that is not tied, or whose reason is only that the job is better with it. The duties: [PASTE HERE: the answer from Step 1 (List the duties)] The work to check (the answer from Step 2 (Tie each requirement to a duty)): [PASTE HERE: the answer from Step 2 (Tie each requirement to a duty)] Reply with exactly PASS or FAIL on the first line. On the second line, say in one sentence why. If it fails, name the exact item or line that fails. Do not add anything else. ```` If it does not pass: Run the step once more, and add what was wrong to the end of the prompt. If it still does not pass, fix it by hand and make a note of it. **Final check 2: Every level is one of the three allowed words** Check by eye: Every row of the table has one of "must-have", "nice-to-have" or "not tied to a duty" in the Level column. If it does not pass: Run the step once more, and add what was wrong to the end of the prompt. If it still does not pass, fix it by hand and make a note of it. **Final check 3: No requirement that is not tied to a duty appears in the final text** Open a new chat (so the check is not swayed by the work) and paste this check prompt: ````text You are a careful reviewer. You do not fix or rewrite the work; you only decide whether it passes one check. The check: No requirement that is not tied to a duty appears in the final text Read the table below and list every requirement marked not tied to a duty. Does any of them appear in the final job description, in the same words or in other words? Answer FAIL and quote each place where one appears. The requirements and their levels: [PASTE HERE: the answer from Step 2 (Tie each requirement to a duty)] The work to check (the answer from Step 5 (Write the final job description)): [PASTE HERE: the answer from Step 5 (Write the final job description)] Reply with exactly PASS or FAIL on the first line. On the second line, say in one sentence why. If it fails, name the exact item or line that fails. Do not add anything else. ```` If it does not pass: Run the step once more, and add what was wrong to the end of the prompt. If it still does not pass, fix it by hand and make a note of it. **Final check 4: Must-haves and nice-to-haves are in separate lists** Open a new chat (so the check is not swayed by the work) and paste this check prompt: ````text You are a careful reviewer. You do not fix or rewrite the work; you only decide whether it passes one check. The check: Must-haves and nice-to-haves are in separate lists Compare the final job description with the table below. Is every must-have under "What you need" and every nice-to-have under "Nice to have", with none in the wrong list and none missing? Answer FAIL and quote each requirement that is in the wrong list or missing. The requirements and their levels: [PASTE HERE: the answer from Step 2 (Tie each requirement to a duty)] The work to check (the answer from Step 5 (Write the final job description)): [PASTE HERE: the answer from Step 5 (Write the final job description)] Reply with exactly PASS or FAIL on the first line. On the second line, say in one sentence why. If it fails, name the exact item or line that fails. Do not add anything else. ```` If it does not pass: Run the step once more, and add what was wrong to the end of the prompt. If it still does not pass, fix it by hand and make a note of it. **Final check 5: No flagged wording is left in the final text** Open a new chat (so the check is not swayed by the work) and paste this check prompt: ````text You are a careful reviewer. You do not fix or rewrite the work; you only decide whether it passes one check. The check: No flagged wording is left in the final text Look at the table below. For each row where the Replacement is not keep, does the phrase in the Phrase column still appear in the final job description? Also read the final text for any other wording that points to age, gender, family, health, nationality or background. Answer FAIL and quote each place where one is left. The flagged phrases: [PASTE HERE: the answer from Step 4 (Find wording that could put people off)] The work to check (the answer from Step 5 (Write the final job description)): [PASTE HERE: the answer from Step 5 (Write the final job description)] Reply with exactly PASS or FAIL on the first line. On the second line, say in one sentence why. If it fails, name the exact item or line that fails. Do not add anything else. ```` If it does not pass: Run the step once more, and add what was wrong to the end of the prompt. If it still does not pass, fix it by hand and make a note of it. **Final check 6: A person who knows the job and the rules reads it before it is posted** Ask yourself: Read the job description as someone who has never worked here. Ask a person who does or knows the job whether each must-have is needed on day one. Check the pay, the hours and any statement about accommodations against your own policy and local rules, and have your HR or legal team look at it before it goes out. Only a person can say what the law and your own policy require. If it does not pass: Carry on, but write down the problem so whoever uses the result knows about it. ## What you end up with - A job description with the duties, the must-haves, the nice-to-haves and the pay. - A table that shows which duty each requirement ties to, and which were left out. - A table of wording that could put people off, with what replaced it. - A short list of questions the hiring team must still answer. ## Changing this chain - This template helps you write a clear, fair first draft. It does not tell you what the law requires where you hire, and the last line says so. Check the posting with your HR or legal team before it goes out. - Paste only notes your organization lets you put into an AI tool, and leave out the name and details of anyone who held the job before. - A requirement left out because it is not tied to a duty is not lost. It is in the second table, so you can decide to add the duty that needs it or to drop the requirement. - To fit your own style, add a line to the draft step about your house voice or an equal opportunity statement your organization already uses, and keep it word for word. - For a role with a long list of duties, run the duties step first, trim the list yourself, then run the rest. --- From Logic Lab (logiclabhq.com). Free to use and adapt, with credit.