jd

UNIVERSAL RULES (apply to every job description task)

• NEVER produce a JD with salary listed as "competitive" -- always include a range; omitting the range deters good candidates
• NEVER list more than 5 essential requirements without questioning whether all are genuinely essential
• NEVER use "rockstar", "ninja", "guru" or similar -- these are exclusionary and have no descriptive value
• NEVER omit the equal opportunities statement
• NEVER omit the reasonable adjustments offer -- this is both good practice and a legal requirement in many jurisdictions
• NEVER write requirements in terms of years of experience with a specific tool when you mean proficiency at a skill level
• ALWAYS apply the inclusive language check automatically to every JD

BEFORE IMPLEMENTATION

Source	Check
Conversation	Role details (title, department, seniority level), team context, salary range, location and working pattern
hr.local.md	Equal opportunities statement, company description, benefits list, reasonable adjustments wording
Prior outputs	/match output if this JD is succession-driven (use the role requirements already defined)

CLARIFICATION QUESTIONS

Required (ask if not provided):

• What is the role title and seniority level?
• Which team or department is this role in?
• What does this person actually do (the work, not the requirements)?

Optional (ask if context suggests value):

• What is the salary range for this role?
• Is this role remote, hybrid, or office-based?
• Are there specific technical skills or tools required?

If information is missing: Use hr.local.md for company description, equal opportunities statement, and benefits. State "salary range not provided — recommend adding before publishing" in the output.

MANDATORY OUTPUT HEADER

Every output must begin with:

TASK:          Job Description -- [Role Title]
DOCUMENT TYPE: Job Description
JURISDICTION:  [From hr.local.md or user input]
CONFIGURATION: [hr.local.md loaded / best practices]
SENSITIVITY:   ROUTINE

JOB DESCRIPTION WORKFLOW

The Four JD Principles

PRINCIPLE 1: CANDIDATE'S PERSPECTIVE FIRST Write from the candidate's perspective, not the organisation's. "You will own financial analytics and investor reporting" > "Responsible for financial analytics and investor reporting" The candidate asks: "what will I actually do and why does it matter?" Answer that question first.

PRINCIPLE 2: LEAD WITH THE WORK, NOT THE REQUIREMENTS Structure: The work > Impact > Requirements > Offer Most JDs do the opposite: requirements first, work buried at the bottom. Candidates decide whether to apply based on the work, not the requirements. Put the work first.

PRINCIPLE 3: CALIBRATE REQUIREMENTS RUTHLESSLY Separate ESSENTIAL from BENEFICIAL with discipline. Rule: An essential requirement is one where the absence of it makes the candidate unable to do the job. Everything else is BENEFICIAL. Most JDs list 15 "essential" requirements. Most have 3-5 genuine ones. Over-specification deters qualified candidates who don't match every item.

PRINCIPLE 4: INCLUSIVE LANGUAGE BY DEFAULT Apply the inclusive language check to every JD automatically. Do not wait to be asked.

Phase 1: Gather Information

Collect from user or hr.local.md:

• Role title and department
• Work description (what this person will actually do)
• Essential requirements (genuine must-haves only)
• Beneficial requirements (nice-to-haves)
• Salary range (mandatory -- not "competitive")
• Location and working pattern
• Company context (from hr.local.md or user input)

Phase 2: Structure the JD

SECTION 1: ROLE AND COMPANY (2-3 sentences) One sentence on the company (what it does and why it matters) One sentence on the team context (who they work with; team size) One sentence on why this role matters now

SECTION 2: THE WORK (3-5 bullet points) What this person will actually do, day-to-day and longer term. Use active verbs: "Build", "Lead", "Own", "Design", "Analyse" Include: one aspirational element ("you will have the opportunity to...") Avoid: task lists that sound like a job manual

SECTION 3: WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR Essential (3-5 items maximum -- enforce this):

• [Skill or quality] -- explain why it is essential if not obvious Beneficial (not required):
• [Items that would help but are not blockers] Character / ways of working:
• [1-2 items about how they work, not what they know]

SECTION 4: WHAT WE OFFER Salary: [Range -- always include a range] Benefits: [Key items from hr.local.md] Location and working pattern Growth / development opportunity (if genuine -- do not fabricate)

SECTION 5: HOW TO APPLY + EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES Application instructions Equal opportunities statement (load standard from hr.local.md) Reasonable adjustments offer (always include)

Phase 3: Inclusive Language Check

Apply to every JD without being asked:

REMOVE these words/phrases: Gender-coded masculine: "rockstar", "ninja", "guru", "dominate", "aggressive growth", "crushing it", "killing it", "hunt" Gender-coded feminine: "nurturing", "collaborative" as the only descriptor Age-coded: "young and dynamic", "recent graduate" (unless required), "digital native", "energetic young team" Unnecessary specificity: "5 years in [specific tool]" (replace with "proficiency in [tool category]"); "degree in [specific subject]" unless genuinely required Requirements that mask experience bias: "culture fit" (too vague; replace with specific behaviours); "startup experience required" unless genuinely relevant

FLAG for review: Any requirement listed as essential with a years-of-experience threshold that could be replaced with a skills/competency description. Years of experience predicts tenure, not ability.

ALWAYS INCLUDE: Salary range (or "competitive" is not acceptable -- be specific) Reasonable adjustments offer Equal opportunities statement Hybrid/remote flexibility if it exists

Phase 4: Requirements Calibration Test

Before finalising the essential requirements list: For each "essential" item, ask: "Could a highly capable candidate do this job well without this?" If YES -> move to BENEFICIAL If NO -> keep as ESSENTIAL

Rule: If your essential list has more than 5 items, at least 2 of them are almost certainly BENEFICIAL masquerading as ESSENTIAL.

OUTPUT FORMAT

TASK:          Job Description -- [Role Title]
DOCUMENT TYPE: Job Description
JURISDICTION:  [From hr.local.md or user input]
CONFIGURATION: [hr.local.md loaded / best practices]
SENSITIVITY:   ROUTINE

[ROLE TITLE] -- [DEPARTMENT]
[Company] | [Location] | [Salary Range]

THE WORK
[3-5 bullet points, active verbs, candidate perspective]

WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR
Essential:
  - [Requirement -- why it is essential if not obvious]
Beneficial (not required):
  - [Item]
Character / ways of working:
  - [1-2 items]

WHAT WE OFFER
  [Salary, benefits, location, growth]

HOW TO APPLY
  [Instructions]
  [Equal opportunities statement from hr.local.md]
  [Reasonable adjustments offer]

INCLUSIVE LANGUAGE CHECK:
  [Pass/Fail with specific findings]
  [Requirements calibration status]

NEVER DO THESE

• NEVER produce a JD with a salary listed as "competitive" -- this is the single most effective way to deter good candidates
• NEVER list more than 5 essential requirements without questioning whether all 5 are genuinely essential
• NEVER use "rockstar", "ninja", "guru" or similar -- these are exclusionary and have no descriptive value
• NEVER omit the equal opportunities statement
• NEVER omit the reasonable adjustments offer -- this is both good practice and a legal requirement in many jurisdictions
• NEVER write requirements in terms of years of experience with a specific tool when you mean proficiency at a skill level

AUTHORITATIVE SOURCES

• CIPD (cipd.org) — Recruitment and talent planning resources, inclusive recruitment guidance
• SHRM (shrm.org) — Job description toolkit, competency-based job analysis resources
• EEOC (eeoc.gov) — Pre-employment inquiry guidelines, ADA compliance for job postings
• Textio (textio.com) — Research on inclusive language impact in job descriptions

ALL OUTPUTS REQUIRE REVIEW BY A QUALIFIED PROFESSIONAL BEFORE USE IN BUSINESS DECISIONS.