Job descriptions can help you identify the essential functions of a position, and the qualifications needed for a role. They can also help you set clear expectations with employees, evaluate performance, make compensation decisions, identify training needs, handle requests for reasonable accommodations, and make exempt vs. non-exempt classification decisions. As such, it is a best practice to maintain a written job description for each position within your organization. Here are seven key elements of an effective job description.
Job identification and job summary
The job identification section and job summary can be key when your job description is needed for recruiting and hiring for a role. They are elements that candidates often see first and help them know if the role is right for them.
The job identification section should be listed at the top of the job description and include basic job details, such as:
1) Job title (for the purposes of job advertisements, choose a simple, clear and accurate job title that is likely to be found in job searches); 2) Department; 3) Supervisor's title; 4) Exempt vs. non-exempt status under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA); 5) The date the job description was created or last revised.
The job summary is generally a brief (one or two sentences) synopsis of the job and should include the role's most important functions (consider defining the essential functions of the job before creating the job summary).
Essential functions
Every job description should list a position's essential functions (the job duties that an employee must be able to perform with or without a reasonable accommodation). When developing the list of essential functions consider:
- Whether the job was created to perform that function;
- How often and for how much time the employee is expected to perform the function;
- The number of other employees available to perform the function; and
- The degree of expertise or skill required.
Note: Some employers also consider the ability to collaborate with other employees and teams to be an essential function and will list this skill in the job description.
To help develop the list of essential functions, interview employees who currently hold that position and their supervisors. When listing essential functions, use brief sentences in the present tense, beginning with an action verb. For example, an essential function for a maintenance technician might read: "Diagnose mechanical problems and determine how to correct them. And when listing job duties, use clear, precise language, so applicants and employees understand the role.
Avoid words and expressions that are vague, confusing, or used so often they have become meaningless and/or can discourage qualified applicants from applying. For example, replace terms like "team player" or "self-starter" with more precise descriptions of the job's requirements (such as, the position requires working on group projects with several different departments).
Non-essential functions
If there are additional functions, include them in your job description. These are functions that don’t meet the definition of essential and could be removed from an employee’s job responsibilities if the employee were unable to perform them for some protected reason, such as a disability.
It's a best practice to list these responsibilities separately from the essential functions. For instance, an employer has multiple data processing clerks, but they are occasionally asked to make phone calls to help another team. In this case, the task of making phone calls is a marginal one and should be listed as a non-essential function.
Job qualifications and skills
Job qualifications include the training, education, certification(s) and years of experience needed to perform the job. Differentiate between required qualifications and preferred qualifications. For example, "Three years of industry experience is required; five years is preferred."
Avoid inflating requirements. In some cases, education may be a substitute for the requisite experience and/or vice versa. If so, indicate that in the job description.
Make sure you use inclusive language and avoid terms that may discourage otherwise qualified workers from seeking the position. For instance, avoid terms like “ideal for a recent graduate.” While applicants of all ages can be a "recent college graduate," this statement may disproportionately exclude older workers. If the pay is lower, you can say that the job is entry-level or simply list the wage or salary. Never assume a worker wouldn't be interested in a job based on their age or the salary offered.
Also, identify the knowledge, skills or abilities required for someone to be successful in the role. These skills may reflect the knowledge, skills and abilities necessary to perform the job, as well as those required to be successful within the company as a whole. Examples can include: problem solving, project management, customer service, verbal communication, written communication, leadership, professional judgement, planning/organizing, quality control, safety and security, adaptability, initiative or innovation.
Physical demands and work environment
If the physical demands and/or work environment are essential to the job, include them in your job description.
If you include physical demands, focus on the task that needs to be done, rather than how it should be done. For example, say that the position requires "moving" 50 pounds, instead of "lifting" 50 pounds, or "traversing" the length of the warehouse instead of "walking" the length of the warehouse. Employees with disabilities may be able to perform the essential functions of the job with accommodation, such as using a cart, dolly or mobility aid.
If the job involves work in hazardous or adverse conditions, or a particular work environment (outdoors, extreme heat or cold), include that information in your job description as well.
You may also choose to indicate the frequency with which the employee is expected to perform each of the physical demands. The work environment should describe the conditions under which the job applicant must perform their duties. For example, exposure to:
- Extreme heat or cold
- Wet and/or humid conditions
- Outside weather conditions
- Moving mechanical parts
- High or precarious places
- Fumes, toxic chemicals or airborne particles
- Sounds or a pitch that may cause marked distraction.
Employers should also include whether the work will be performed in a traditional workspace or remotely.
This portion of the job description can also include any protective or other kinds of equipment needed, such as:
- Protective clothing: gloves, steel-toed boots, etc.
- Protective equipment: protective eyewear, respirators, etc.
- Hand tools: hammer, shovel, screwdriver, etc.
- Power tools: radial saw, reciprocating saw, drill, etc.
- Vehicles: automobile, truck, tractor, lift, etc.
Scope and changes
In each job description, include a statement indicating that:
- The job description is not intended to cover every single requirement of the job.
- The company reserves the right to change job duties at any time.
Equal opportunity employer statement
It’s a best practice to include an equal opportunity statement to demonstrate that you don’t discriminate on the basis of any characteristics protected by law.
What about salary range?
Some states and local jurisdictions have enacted laws that require employers to include the salary range for a position in advertisements for jobs, promotions or transfers. Thus, if you post (internally or externally) a job description as an advertisement for an open position, you may be required to include the pay range for the position.
Here are some examples of laws that require such disclosures:
State or local jurisdiction & covered employers
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Pay disclosure requirements
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California
(All employers)
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- Upon request, an employer must:
- Provide an applicant with the pay scale for the position for which they applied (even prior to initial interview); and
- Provide an employee with the pay scale for their current position.
- An employer with 15 or more employees must include the pay scale for a position in any job posting. If the employer engages a third party to announce, post, or publish a job posting, the employer must provide the pay scale to the third party. The third party is required to include the pay scale in the job posting.
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Colorado
(All employers)
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In each posting for each job opening, an employer must disclose:
- The rate of compensation (or a range thereof); including salary and hourly, piece, or day rate compensation; that the employer is offering for the position.
- A general description of any bonuses, commissions or other forms of compensation offered for the position.
- A general description of all employment benefits offered for the position.
- The date the application window is expected to close.
- Employers must make reasonable efforts to provide, within 30 days of selection, information to certain employees about the candidate selected.
Note: Through July 1, 2029, employers physically located outside of Colorado with fewer than 15 employees working remotely in Colorado are only required to provide notice of remote job opportunities.
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Connecticut
(All employers)
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Employers must:
- Provide a job applicant with the wage range for a position for which the applicant is applying, upon the earliest of: (1) the applicant's request, or (2) prior to or at the time the applicant is made an offer of compensation; and
- Provide an employee with the wage range for their position upon: (1) their hiring, (2) a change in the employee's position with the employer, or (3) the employee's first request for a wage range.
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District of Columbia
(All employers)
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Employers must provide the minimum and maximum projected salary or hourly pay in all job listings and position descriptions advertised.
In stating the minimum and maximum salary or hourly pay for the position, employers must extend the range from the lowest to the highest salary or hourly pay that they in good faith believe at the time of the posting they would pay for the advertised job, promotion or transfer opportunity.
Before the first interview, employers must also disclose to prospective employees the existence of health care benefits available to the employee.
Note: These requirements were added in 2024.
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Hawaii
(Employers with 50 or more employees)
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Employers must disclose in job listings an hourly rate or salary range that reasonably reflects the actual expected compensation for the position.
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Illinois
(Employers with 15 or more employees)
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Effective January 1, 2025, employers must include in any job posting the pay scale and benefits for the position. The requirement for job postings only applies to positions that:
- Will be physically performed, at least in part, in Illinois; or
- Will be physically performed outside of Illinois, but the employee reports to a supervisor, office, or other worksite in Illinois.
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Maryland
(All employers)
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In each public or internal posting for each position, employers must disclose the wage range and general description of benefits and any other compensation for the position. If a posting wasn’t made available to the applicant, the employer must disclose the required information to the applicant: (1) before a discussion of compensation is held and (2) at any other time when requested by the applicant.
Note: These requirements were amended in 2024.
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Massachusetts
(Employers with 25 or more employees)
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Beginning October 29, 2025, employers with 25 or more employees in Massachusetts must:
- Disclose the pay range for a position in any job posting or advertisement.
- Provide the pay range for the position to an employee who is offered a promotion or a transfer to a new position with different job responsibilities.
- Provide the pay range for a position to an employee holding such position or to an applicant for such position upon request.
Pay range is defined as the annual salary range or hourly wage range that the employer reasonably and in good faith expects to pay for such position at that time.
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Minnesota
(Employers with 30 or more employees)
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Effective January 1, 2025, Minnesota employers with 30 or more employees must provide a minimum and maximum annual salary range or hourly range of compensation, or a fixed pay rate, on job postings. The range must be based on an employer’s good faith estimate and cannot be open-ended. Covered employers must also provide a general description of benefits and other compensation offered, including health and retirement benefits.
The law covers any posting made electronically or in print with desired qualifications for an available position intended to recruit applicants, including postings on the employer’s behalf by recruiters and other third parties.
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Nevada
(All employers)
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Employers must:
- Provide the wage or salary range or rate for a position to a person who has completed an interview for the position.
- Provide the wage or salary range or rate for a promotion or transfer to a new position to an employee who has:
- Applied for the promotion or transfer;
- Completed an interview for the position or been offered it; and
- Requested the wage or salary range or rate.
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New Jersey
(Employers with 10 or more employees)
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Effective June 1, 2025, an employer with 10 or more employees over 20 calendar weeks and who conducts business, employs individuals or takes applications for employment within New Jersey (also includes job placement, referral and other employment agencies, but excludes certain temporary help firms) must disclose in each internal or external posting for a new job or transfer opportunity:
- The hourly wage or salary, or a range of the hourly wage or salary; and
- A general description of benefits and other compensation programs for which the employee would be eligible
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Jersey City, New Jersey
(Employers with five or more employees)
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Employers that use any print or digital media circulating within the city to provide notice of employment opportunities must disclose a minimum and maximum salary and/or hourly wage, including benefits, in the posting or advertisement.
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New York
(Employers with four or more employees)
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When advertising a job, promotion, or transfer opportunity, employers must state the minimum and maximum annual salary or hourly wage for the position.
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New York City, New York
(Employers with four or more employees)
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Ithaca, New York
(Employers with four or more employees)
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Albany County, New York
(Employers with four or more employees)
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Cincinnati, Ohio
(Employers with 15 or more employees)
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Upon request, employers must provide the pay scale for a position to an applicant who has received a conditional offer of employment.
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Toledo, Ohio
(Employers with 15 or more employees)
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Rhode Island
(All employers)
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Employers must:
- Upon request, provide the wage range for the position for which the applicant is applying.
- Provide an employee the wage range for the employee's position at the time of hire, when the employee moves into a new position, and upon request.
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Vermont
(Employers with five or more employees)
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Effective July 1, 2025, employers must disclose in job listings an hourly rate or salary range that reasonably reflects the actual expected compensation for the position. The requirement applies to job listings and advertisements for positions that are external, or internal transfers or promotions within a current employer.
Employers must take the following actions for these job openings:
- A role paid on a commission basis (in whole or in part) must disclose that the role is commission-based. It is not required to contain the role’s compensation or range of compensation.
- A role paid on a tipped basis must disclose that the role is paid on a tip basis and include the base wage or range of base wages for the job opening.
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Washington
(Employers with 15 or more employees)
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In each posting for each job opening, employers must disclose the wage scale or salary range and a general description of all benefits and other compensation.
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Conclusion
Maintain a written job description for each position within your company and keep relevant copies in employees' personnel files. As job duties can change, review and update job descriptions on a regular basis. To ensure accuracy, seek the input and buy in of current employees and supervisors when developing or updating job descriptions.
