Why You Need Clear Job Descriptions Before You Hire

Avoid confusion, burnout, and bad hires—plus grab my free template!

Hiring your first employee (or your next one) should feel exciting—not stressful, chaotic, or like you're guessing your way through. And yet, so many small business owners skip one huge step before making that first hire:

They don’t write a clear job description.

I get it. You’re busy. You need help yesterday, and you figure, “They’ll just jump in and help wherever I need them.”

But without a clear job description, things can unravel fast.

Here’s Why It Matters

A good job description sets the expectations of the role for both the candidate and for you as the hiring manager. It clarifies:

• What the person is responsible for

• What success looks like

• What skills are actually required (vs. “nice to haves”)

• Whether you’re even hiring for the right thing
  

When you skip this step, what usually happens is... chaos. I’ve seen it many times:

The business owner hires someone to "just help with stuff." The employee tries to do their best, but they’re never really sure what’s expected. The business owner gets frustrated because things are falling through the cracks. The employee feels like they’re failing. Eventually, someone quits—or gets fired—and the cycle starts over.

It’s not because anyone is bad at their job, it’s because expectations were never clear to begin with.

A lot of business owners think job descriptions are just a generic list of tasks. But they should be much more intentional than that.

If you’re hiring someone to wear multiple hats (which is super common in small businesses), your job description needs to reflect that. And if you’re hiring for a specialty role—say, a marketing strategist or a finance lead—you’ll want to be really specific about what that person is responsible for.

Pro tip: If you're trying to cram five jobs into one person, you might not need a specialist, you might need a generalist who's amazing at managing competing priorities.

What to Include in a Strong Job Description

Here’s what I recommend including:

1. A short company overview
   Help candidates understand your vibe. What do you do? Who do you serve? What’s your mission or vision?

2. A summary of the role
   What’s the overall goal of this role? What kind of person will thrive in it?

3. Key responsibilities
   Be specific! Instead of “Handles social media,” write something like:
   “Create and schedule content for Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok 3x per week.”

4. Requirements
   Only include what’s actually necessary. Does this role really require a college degree? Do they need to be in your time zone? Must they have a specific certification?

5. Perks and benefits
   Do you offer PTO? Paid holidays? 401(k)? Let folks know!

6. Equal opportunity language
   A quick EEOC statement can go a long way to show that you’re inclusive and compliant.
   
   

Bonus: Job Descriptions Are a Retention Tool, Too

Job descriptions aren’t just for hiring—they’re a tool to keep things running smoothly long-term.

• Review them during onboarding

• Revisit at the 6-month mark

• Update them during annual performance reviews

They help reduce burnout, maintain clarity, and keep everyone aligned on what matters most.

Not Sure Where to Start? I’ve Got You.

I created a free Job Description Template to help you build a customized, easy-to-use job description for your next hire. It includes:

✨ A plug-and-play format
✨ Tips for how to write each section
✨ AI prompts to help you personalize the details

👉 Click here to download the free template

Happy Hiring!

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