Job Description Examples and Resources

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Here are some valuable examples of job descriptions we like and why we like them:

• The social media management company Buffer has an interesting approach to job descriptions. Even when they have no job openings, their company website maintains a full page dedicated to telling the company’s story in a way that anchors the reader as a potential character in that story. The page begins with a short story about Buffer, then tells the reader where they could work, what the team is like, benefits the company offers and the values it holds. By the end, someone who’s really drawn to working there will already be picturing joining the team and can get on a waiting list to find out when new roles open up.

• Stripe: Most of Stripe’s job descriptions start with the company’s mission and/or the team’s goals, and then share the objectives and impact of each role. This is a lot more compelling to candidates than just listing qualifications, which are still included, but come later in the description.

• Splice: These job descriptions not only help candidates concretely understand the role (“What you’ll do”), but also set expectations about how the process will look (“How we’ll handle your application”).

• Culture Amp: This company clearly put quite a bit of effort into their role narrative, and additionally links out to other things they’ve written on the culture at their company.

• LinkedIn’s Recruiter Toolbox: This resource includes tips, templates, and different examples of job descriptions.

• LinkedIn’s Talent Solution Template: This is another example from LinkedIn that uses the sequence of objectives, responsibilities, required qualifications, and preferred qualifications.

Further Reading on Job Descriptions

Here are some additional resources for writing great job descriptions:

• “Software Engineer Job Descriptions that Attract the Best Developers” (Jennifer Fu). A fantastic quick resource, covering everything from salary ranges to SEO and Google metadata.

• This 20-minute podcast (Manager Tools) has a good walk-through of writing a job description.

• Buffer’s rationale for removing the word hacker from their job descriptions has excellent reasoning on why titles matter.

• More details from Slate on how gendered language in job descriptions can dramatically reduce the number of applicants you’ll get.

• Mitchell Pronschinske covers how to skip the buzzword soup and write more helpful job descriptions.

• The 2019 Hired Global Brand Health Report summarizes a number of ways companies can better appeal to candidates, which may help with how you describe your company in job descriptions.