# Write a job description: checklist 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. ## Before you start - [ ] Have ready: Notes on the role 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. - [ ] Have ready: What you want in a person List what you are hoping for, in your own words, even if it is rough. This template will test each item against the duties. ## 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. - [ ] You have: A numbered table of the duties, each quoted from the notes. - [ ] Check: Each quote in the Duty (quote) column appears in the notes on the role, with shortened fragments in the same order. A plain rule you can check by eye. If not: 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. - [ ] You have: A table that ties each requirement to a duty, or marks it as not tied. - [ ] Check: Each quote in the Requirement (quote) column appears in the what you want in a person, with shortened fragments in the same order. A plain rule you can check by eye. If not: 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. - [ ] You have: A job description with duties, must-haves, nice-to-haves and pay, ending with a reminder to check it. - [ ] Check: 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. A plain rule you can check by eye. If not: 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. - [ ] You have: A table of flagged phrases, each with a concern and a replacement. - [ ] Check: 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. A plain rule you can check by eye. If not: 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. - [ ] You have: The final job description, a count of the wording changes, and questions for the hiring team. - [ ] Check: The answer contains the text fragment "Check this draft with your HR or legal team before you post it." (including inside a longer word). A plain rule you can check by eye. If not: 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 - [ ] Check: 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. Checked by a second AI prompt. If not: 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. - [ ] Check: Every row of the table has one of "must-have", "nice-to-have" or "not tied to a duty" in the Level column. A plain rule you can check by eye. If not: 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. - [ ] Check: 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. Checked by a second AI prompt. If not: 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. - [ ] Check: 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. Checked by a second AI prompt. If not: 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. - [ ] Check: 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. Checked by a second AI prompt. If not: 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. - [ ] Check: 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. Checked by you. If not: Carry on, but write down the problem so whoever uses the result knows about it. ## 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. --- From Logic Lab (logiclabhq.com). Free to use and adapt, with credit.