A role description for a job application says what the job is for, what the person will do, what they must already be able to do, and where and for how much the work happens. Write the duties before the requirements, and split the requirements into must-have and nice-to-have so a candidate can judge their own fit before they apply.
Start with purpose and duties
Open with two or three sentences on why the role exists and what changes when someone fills it. Then list the work. Indeed's employer guide tells writers to describe the day-to-day activities of the position and to outline the main responsibilities.
Use verbs a candidate can act on: own, build, review, approve.
Split requirements into must-have and nice-to-have
Sort every requirement into one of two lists before you write. A must-have is something you would turn down an otherwise strong candidate for lacking; everything else is nice-to-have.
Keep the must-have list short. Indeed warns that too many qualifications and skills could dissuade potential applicants.
| Line in the draft | Must-have example | Nice-to-have example |
|---|---|---|
| Experience | Has run paid search campaigns end to end | Has worked inside an agency |
| Tooling | Has owned a CRM and an email platform | Can write basic SQL |
| Credential | Can show work that shipped | Holds an analytics certificate |
Name the reporting line, location and pay
Name the manager's title and the team. Indeed asks employers to indicate the title of the manager the person will report to. Give the location a candidate can search for, plus whether the work is onsite, hybrid or remote.
Pay rules depend on where the job sits. California's Labor Commissioner's Office answers the posting question directly: "An employer with 15 or more employees must include the pay scale for a position in any job posting." The office reads that to cover roles that may ever be filled in California, either in-person or remotely. Pay scale there means a good faith estimate of the salary or hourly wage range expected at hire.
Directive (EU) 2023/970 takes a different route. It gives applicants the right to the initial pay or its range. The directive also bars employers from asking about pay history and requires job vacancy notices and job titles to be gender-neutral. Member states had to write it into national law by 7 June 2026. We found no UK rule that requires a salary range in the advert.
A template to fill in
- Role title:
- Reports to: [manager title], [team]
- Location: [city, country], onsite, hybrid or remote
- Pay: [range and period, where the law requires it or you choose to publish]
- Why the role exists: [two sentences]
- What you will do: [four to six duties, each starting with a verb]
- Must have: [the few things you will screen on]
- Nice to have: [everything else]
- How to apply: [what to send and to whom]
For employers and hiring teams
Read the draft as a candidate would, then cut it. Indeed reports that job descriptions between 700 and 2,000 characters get up to 30% more applications, shorter than most first drafts. An AI-powered job description tool turns a title and a short list of duties into a draft you can edit.
For a finished shape, work from these job description examples and templates. For a first marketing hire, read how to scope a first marketing hire job description before you post.