Job descriptions and selection criteria help organizations and job applicants understand what is expected from a person in a particular position and provide a framework for determining whether applicants have the qualifications and competencies needed to perform the work. This section provides a guide for preparing job descriptions and selection criteria that accurately reflect what your organization needs and support a fair, consistent hiring process. Why it's important to carefully develop a job description and selection criteria before you advertise a position There are a number of reasons why clear job descriptions and selection criteria are important. They define the position for the organization, potential applicants, supervisors, and employees. A job description should clarify the position's purpose, essential functions, major responsibilities, reporting relationships, and working conditions. It can also help distinguish responsibilities that belong to this position from those assigned elsewhere in the organization. A clear job description can be an important tool for supervision and performance management. When expectations are not being met, the supervisor and employee can use the description to clarify responsibilities, discuss what is happening, identify needed training or resources, and establish reasonable expectations for improvement. If performance concerns continue, the organization can use the job description along with policies, performance records, feedback, and other relevant information to document and address the issue through its established procedures. They help potential applicants decide whether the position is a good match for their qualifications and interests. The clearer you are about the work, minimum requirements, compensation, schedule, location, and other important conditions, the easier it is for applicants to make an informed decision about whether to apply. Developing a job description and selection criteria forces you to clarify your thinking about the position and the organization. Organizations sometimes discover while writing a description that a proposed job includes too many unrelated responsibilities, requires resources they do not have, duplicates another position, or needs to be structured differently. A clear job description and selection criteria make recruitment and interviewing easier. Interviewers can ask questions and use work samples or other methods that relate directly to the competencies the position actually requires. Most important, they increase the likelihood that you will hire a qualified person whose demonstrated abilities match the work. Clear expectations reduce the need to rely on impressions, assumptions, or vague ideas about whether someone seems like the "right kind of person." Preparing a job description Job descriptions and selection criteria are closely connected, so it often makes sense to develop the job description first. Begin with what the position exists to accomplish and the essential functions required to accomplish it. From there, you can determine which qualifications and competencies are actually necessary. There are three broad parts to preparing a job description: Choosing an accurate job title. Defining the essential functions and major responsibilities of the position. Writing a concise overview of the position, including its purpose, reporting relationship, schedule and location requirements, travel if any, supervisory responsibilities, compensation or salary range where appropriate, benefits, and other important working conditions. Choosing a job title A job title may sound like a small detail, but it communicates useful information about the role. A good title helps applicants, employees, partners, and community members understand the position's function and level of responsibility. Choose a title that accurately reflects the work. Consider: The primary function of the position The actual level of decision-making authority Whether the person supervises staff How comparable positions are described within the organization or field Whether the title will be understandable to applicants and community partners Avoid inflating a title simply to make a position appear more prestigious or attractive. A title such as Director should reflect responsibilities and authority reasonably associated with that level. Accurate titles also make compensation comparisons, organizational charts, and reporting relationships easier to understand. For the sake of example, let's develop a job description for a position called Community Health Educator. Developing the essential functions and major responsibilities Begin by asking what the position fundamentally exists to accomplish. An essential function is a core part of the job rather than every activity the person might occasionally be asked to perform. Ask: What results is this position responsible for producing? Which duties are central to why the position exists? Which responsibilities require particular knowledge or expertise? How frequently is each function performed? What would happen if a particular function were not performed by this position? Which tasks are important but could reasonably be reassigned or handled another way? Distinguishing essential from marginal or occasional duties can help with recruitment, supervision, workload planning, and reasonable-accommodation decisions. Basic competencies for the position What does the Community Health Educator need to know and be able to do? Some competencies may come from education or professional training, while others may come from work, volunteer, community, or lived experience. Depending on the actual program, relevant competencies might include: Health-education, teaching, presentation, and facilitation skills Ability to provide appropriate health information, navigation, and referrals within the scope of the position Knowledge of relevant community and public-health issues Knowledge appropriate to the program's focus, which might include communicable disease, sexual health, substance use, behavioral health, chronic disease, nutrition, maternal health, preventive care, or access to health services Proficiency in a particular language when that proficiency is genuinely needed to communicate effectively with the people the position serves. In this example, the organization might determine that professional proficiency in both English and Spanish is required or preferred based on actual service needs. These are examples, not requirements for every community-health position. Determine what this particular job actually needs. Relevant experience might also demonstrate: Community outreach and engagement skills Knowledge of the community and its strengths, priorities, organizations, and resources Experience working respectfully and effectively with the people and communities the organization serves Understanding of relevant health-care, public-health, insurance, social-service, and community-resource systems Understanding of social, environmental, economic, and systemic factors affecting health Knowledge of referral resources and procedures The position may also require transferable competencies such as: Organization, scheduling, documentation, and records-management skills Ability to use or learn the digital systems, communication tools, databases, and other technology required for the work Clear written and verbal communication Ability to communicate appropriately and professionally across different settings and audiences Ability to build respectful working relationships, listen effectively, manage disagreement constructively, maintain appropriate boundaries, and collaborate with colleagues and community partners Major responsibilities and activities Once you understand the essential functions, identify the recurring responsibilities that carry them out. You do not need to list every minor task that could possibly arise. Include enough detail for applicants and employees to understand the scope of the work. A Community Health Educator's responsibilities might include: Develop and provide accurate, accessible, culturally responsive health education through presentations, workshops, digital resources, printed materials, and other appropriate methods. Topics may include communicable disease, sexual health, substance use, behavioral health, nutrition, chronic disease, preventive care, and other issues within the program's scope. Conduct outreach with communities experiencing identified health disparities, access barriers, or other conditions relevant to the program. Provide health information, resource navigation, and appropriate referrals within the scope of the position and the employee's training or professional credentials. Develop, maintain, and distribute accessible health information through organizational sites, community partners, websites, social media, digital communication, or other appropriate channels. Recruit, train, and support peer educators, community health workers, ambassadors, volunteers, or other community participants when those roles are part of the program. Provide public information or subject-matter input at community meetings, hearings, advisory groups, or other forums when authorized to represent the organization. Plan or support community health events and outreach activities identified in the organization's annual work plan. Develop and maintain working relationships with relevant health, human-service, educational, public-health, and community organizations. Collaborate with other staff and partners to develop and improve strategies for serving the community. Participate in professional development needed to maintain and strengthen knowledge and skills relevant to the position. Maintain accurate program, outreach, referral, and other records using the organization's approved information systems and privacy practices. Complete required documentation and reports accurately and within established timelines. Participate in staff meetings, supervision, and other coordination activities required for the role. Participate in organizational committees or advisory activities when those responsibilities are reasonably connected with the position. Perform other related duties consistent with the purpose and level of responsibility of the position. Some responsibilities may change as programs, technology, funding, or community needs change. Review job descriptions periodically instead of relying on a broad catch-all statement to cover major changes in the position. Writing the capsule description Once you've identified the title and major responsibilities, write a concise overview of the job. It should explain why the position exists, the general scope of its work, where it fits in the organization, and important employment conditions. A capsule description might include: The position's primary purpose Who it reports to Whether it supervises others Full-time, part-time, temporary, or other status Normal schedule and any genuine evening or weekend requirements On-site, remote, hybrid, or field-work expectations Required travel Salary or wage range and benefits where appropriate or required Here's an example: The Community Health Educator develops and provides accessible community health education, conducts outreach, connects people with appropriate information and resources, and builds partnerships that support the organization's community-health goals. The position works with community members and organizational partners to identify information and access needs and to improve the reach and usefulness of health-education activities. The Community Health Educator reports to the Program Director. This is a full-time position and may include occasional evening or weekend activities and local travel. The organization will identify the salary or wage range, benefits, work location, schedule expectations, and other major employment conditions in the position announcement. Before finalizing the description, ask: Does the position have a coherent purpose, or have unrelated jobs been combined into one role? Can one person reasonably perform the essential functions and major responsibilities in the available working time? Does the organization have the staff support, compensation, technology, space, funding, training, and other resources necessary for the position? Are the schedule, travel, location, and availability requirements genuinely necessary and reasonable? Is the reporting relationship logical based on the work and organizational structure? Does the supervisor have sufficient authority, expertise, time, and organizational support to supervise the position effectively? Is the position actually designed to accomplish what the organization needs? Have essential functions been distinguished from marginal or occasional tasks? Have unnecessary education, physical, language, transportation, schedule, or other requirements been removed? If some answers are no or uncertain, revise the position before recruitment begins. Problems that are visible in the job description are generally easier to correct before someone has been hired into the role. Developing selection criteria Selection criteria should follow directly from the job description. They describe the evidence you will use to determine whether an applicant can perform the position successfully. It can be useful to distinguish four categories: Legally or professionally required credentials Job-specific knowledge and skills Transferable competencies needed to perform the work Observable work behaviors relevant to the position Selection criteria should be explicit rather than "spoken and unspoken." If a characteristic affects whether someone is hired, ask whether it can be stated clearly, measured reasonably, connected to the actual work, and applied consistently to every applicant. Avoid relying on whether someone simply "feels right," shares the hiring committee's personality or politics, dresses like current staff, comes from a familiar social background, or seems like someone everyone would enjoy spending time with. These impressions can introduce bias without providing reliable evidence of job performance. Selection criteria may be identified as required or preferred. Required qualifications are genuinely necessary for someone to be eligible or ready to perform the role, such as a legally required license or a skill that cannot reasonably be learned after hiring. Preferred qualifications would strengthen an applicant's readiness but are not necessary for entry into the position. Keep required qualifications to what the job actually needs. Unnecessary requirements can exclude capable applicants without improving performance. Education and other formal credentials Some positions require particular degrees, licenses, certifications, or registrations because of law, professional regulation, reimbursement requirements, funding conditions, or the technical nature of the work. A licensed physician, nurse, attorney, clinical social worker, or other regulated professional must meet the legal requirements that apply to the work they perform. Other positions may not require a particular degree even when formal education could be useful. Ask: Is the credential legally required? Does the funding source or professional standard require it? Is there evidence that the credential provides knowledge genuinely necessary for this position? Could equivalent knowledge have been gained through work, military service, community experience, apprenticeships, certificates, training, or another route? Avoid requiring a degree primarily because it appears more prestigious or because other professionals may take the employee more seriously. If the work can be performed successfully through equivalent experience or training, consider recognizing those alternatives. For the Community Health Educator, the organization might prefer or require education in public health, health education, community health, social work, education, or a related area depending on the program. It might instead accept an equivalent combination of relevant education, community-health experience, training, and demonstrated competencies. The appropriate requirement depends on the actual work. Job-specific skills and knowledge These are the competencies directly connected with performing the position's essential functions. For the Community Health Educator, examples might include: Ability to develop and deliver accurate health-education activities Facilitation and presentation skills Knowledge of community health and the particular health issues covered by the program Ability to provide appropriate resource navigation and referrals Experience with outreach or community engagement Ability to interpret and communicate health information clearly Decide which competencies must be present when the person starts and which can realistically be developed through orientation, training, supervision, and experience. Don't lower genuinely necessary standards because the hiring committee personally likes an applicant. At the same time, don't reject a strong candidate merely because their experience followed a different path from the one you expected. Evaluate the evidence of whether they can perform the work. Transferable skills and knowledge Many positions require competencies that are not unique to a particular field but are still important to successful performance. Examples include: Knowledge of the community or experience working effectively in communities with similar characteristics Relevant experience from another field or setting Proficiency in a particular language when required to perform the work effectively Ability to work with relevant public, health-care, educational, nonprofit, governmental, or other systems Writing, facilitation, presentation, or public-speaking skills when required Knowledge of a particular evidence-based, theoretical, educational, organizing, or practice framework when that knowledge is actually relevant to the position Communications or public-engagement skills Ability to use or learn relevant technology and software Administrative, documentation, and records-management skills Organization, planning, and time-management skills For the Community Health Educator, the organization might reasonably seek strong communication, organization, documentation, community-engagement, and digital skills, along with knowledge of relevant local health and service systems. If professional Spanish proficiency is necessary for the work, state the level and purpose clearly rather than assuming that someone from a particular background will possess it. Don't assume that an applicant automatically has a skill because of a degree, age, occupation, or other characteristic. If the skill matters, identify it and assess it appropriately. Observable work behaviors and other job-related attributes Many jobs require more than technical knowledge. Reliability, initiative, collaboration, judgment, adaptability, and respectful communication can all affect performance. The challenge is to describe these characteristics as job-related behaviors rather than vague personality preferences. Examples might include: Initiative: identifies necessary work and moves appropriate tasks forward without requiring unnecessary direction Respectful communication and collaboration: works effectively with colleagues, community members, participants, and partners and handles disagreement constructively Reliability: follows through on commitments and communicates when circumstances affect deadlines or responsibilities Patience: remains effective when work requires repeated explanation, problem solving, or adaptation Sound judgment: recognizes when independent action is appropriate and when consultation, referral, or approval is needed Adaptability: responds constructively to changing circumstances while maintaining appropriate standards Commitment to the work: demonstrates an understanding of and willingness to support the organization's mission and professional responsibilities Avoid using appearance, body type, race, ethnicity, sex, national origin, disability, age, religion, or other protected characteristics as substitutes for job competence. If a physical activity is essential, describe the activity itself rather than the type of body you imagine performing it. For example, state that the position regularly transports or moves specified equipment if that is actually an essential function. Similarly, don't assume that a person of a particular sex is inherently better suited to counseling survivors of sexual or domestic violence or that someone must share the race or ethnicity of program participants to establish trust. Define the actual competencies required -- such as trauma-informed practice, confidentiality, professional boundaries, communication, cultural responsiveness, and relevant credentials -- and evaluate applicants on those criteria. If travel is required, describe the travel. For example: "Ability to travel to community sites throughout the county several times each week." Require a valid driver's license or use of a personal vehicle only when driving itself is genuinely necessary and no reasonable alternative meets the position's needs. Be particularly cautious with "culture fit." Wanting employees who treat colleagues respectfully and collaborate effectively is reasonable. Wanting people who dress, speak, think, socialize, or come from backgrounds similar to current staff is not the same thing. Selection criteria should help you predict job performance, not reproduce the existing staff. Applying your selection criteria Once the criteria are established, decide how you will obtain evidence for each one. Different qualifications may be assessed through: Application or résumé review Structured interviews Work samples Writing or presentation exercises Job-related demonstrations Credential verification References when appropriate Ask substantially comparable questions of applicants being considered for the same position and use a consistent evaluation process. Interview scoring guides or other structured tools can help reviewers distinguish evidence from personal impressions. Applicants may need reasonable accommodation in order to participate equally in an interview, test, or job demonstration. Explain how applicants can request accommodation and evaluate their ability to perform the essential functions of the job rather than making assumptions about disability. Ultimately, good selection criteria should: Be manageable: include enough criteria to distinguish among applicants without creating a list of unnecessary requirements Be consistent with applicable legal, licensing, contractual, funding, and organizational requirements Be related to the position's essential functions and actual responsibilities Be explicit enough that applicants and interviewers understand what is being assessed Be applied consistently Allow appropriate recognition of equivalent education, experience, training, and transferable skills Avoid unnecessary barriers that do not improve the organization's ability to identify a qualified employee Describe the competencies of someone who could perform the position effectively rather than a preferred personality or demographic profile In Summary Preparing a job description and selection criteria before recruitment begins is an important part of hiring. A strong job description identifies why the position exists, its essential functions, major responsibilities, reporting relationships, working conditions, and the resources and authority associated with the role. Selection criteria should grow directly from that description. They should identify the credentials, knowledge, skills, transferable competencies, and observable work behaviors genuinely needed to perform the job rather than relying on intuition, appearance, personality similarity, cultural "fit," prestige, or demographic characteristics. Be especially careful about requirements involving education, language, transportation, physical abilities, schedules, and previous experience. Ask whether each requirement is actually necessary and whether equivalent ways of demonstrating competence should be recognized. Finally, make the selection process consistent and evidence-based. Structured criteria, accessible recruitment and interviews, reasonable accommodation, clear documentation, and thoughtful evaluation can help an organization identify qualified candidates while treating applicants fairly. The goal is not to find someone who looks like your idea of the perfect employee. It is to understand the work clearly enough to recognize a qualified person who can perform it well and contribute effectively to the organization's mission. Contributor Phil Rabinowitz Resources Online Resources EMS. A consulting firm for educational institutions. Good sample job description. Ohio State University. Instructions and example - writing job descriptions for small businesses.
