The job description is the silent contract between the organisation and the employee. The advertisement is written from it, the interview questions are built on it, and performance is later measured against it.
1 The job description
| Element | What it contains |
|---|---|
| Title and reporting line | The job title, who it reports to, and who reports to it |
| Purpose | One line: why does this job exist? |
| Main duties | 6 to 10 duties with clear verbs, not vague phrases |
| Authority | What the jobholder approves and within what limits |
| Qualifications | Education, experience and required certifications |
| Competencies | Behavioural skills: communication, accuracy, problem solving |
| Performance indicators | How success in this job is measured |
The phrase that ruins a job description
“Any other duties as assigned.” Written in good faith, it becomes an open door to disputes: the employee sees an overreach, the manager sees flexibility. Bound its scope or delete it.
2 Sourcing channels
| Channel | Its advantage | Its limits |
|---|---|---|
| Internal promotion or transfer | Knowledge of the organisation and motivation for the rest | Leaves a new vacancy and brings no fresh thinking |
| Employee referrals | Usually fast and good quality | Can weaken diversity and build cliques |
| Job platforms | Wide reach | Large volume needing careful screening |
| Universities and co-op training | Building capability from the start at lower cost | Needs time to develop |
| Recruitment agencies | Suited to scarce and leadership roles | Higher cost |
3 The selection path
Screening
Matching the minimum requirements
Testing
A practical or technical test of skill
Interview
Structured, with standard questions
Verification
Documents and references
Offer
A written, clear job offer
Each step filters, and most mistakes happen when the practical test is skipped
4 The structured interview
An unstructured interview measures a candidate’s presence, not their capability. A structured interview uses the same questions for every candidate, a written rating scale, and focuses on real past behaviour rather than hypotheticals.
Weak: “Are you accurate in your work?” — the answer is known in advance.
Strong: “Tell me about a time you found an error in figures after they had been approved. What was the error? What did you do? And what was the outcome?”
The answer is scored on four elements: the situation, the task, the action they personally took, and the result. Anyone who says “we” throughout deserves a follow-up: and what exactly was your part?
5 Common selection mistakes
- The halo effect: one positive impression — a prestigious university, say — blinds you to everything else.
- Similar-to-me bias: favouring whoever resembles us in background or interests.
- First impression: judging in the first two minutes and then hunting for confirmation.
- No practical test, settling for conversation alone.
- Skipping reference and document verification.
- Time pressure: “we need them tomorrow”, so the available candidate is chosen rather than the right one.
Three practices that reduce error
An interview panel of two or more · a written assessment immediately after each interview, not a week later · a decision based on total scores rather than the last impression.
Lesson summary
- The job description underpins the advertisement, the interview and later performance measurement.
- Every sourcing channel has an advantage and a limit, and a mix beats relying on one.
- The practical test is a step that is never skipped, however tight the timeline.
- A structured interview with behavioural questions and a rating scale is more accurate than an unstructured one.
- The halo effect, similar-to-me bias and first impressions are the best-known selection errors.
6 Test your understanding
Three quick questions
Pick the answer you believe is correct and you will see the result immediately.
1. Which question is closest to a structured behavioural interview?
Past behaviour is the best predictor of future performance, and an open question about a real situation is hard to dress up.
2. A candidate was chosen for their prestigious university despite a weak practical test result. What is the error?
One positive attribute overwhelmed the rest of the evidence — that is the definition of the halo effect.
3. What is the purpose of performance indicators in a job description?
When an employee knows the measure of their success from the start, there is far less disagreement at appraisal time.