The job profile is often the first point of contact between your organisation and a potential candidate. It shapes who applies, how many people apply, and the quality of those applications. Yet many job profiles are poorly written, generic, or riddled with requirements that bear little relation to what the role actually demands. Here is how to do it better, in three steps.
Step 1: Start with the role, not the ideal CV
The most common mistake in writing a job profile is to begin with a wish list of qualifications and experience — essentially describing the CV of a hypothetical ideal candidate — rather than the actual nature and demands of the role itself.
Start by asking: what will this person actually be doing, day to day? What are the most important outcomes they need to deliver in the first six months? What are the biggest challenges they will face? What does a great performance look like — and what does a poor one look like?
By grounding your job profile in the real demands of the role, you make it far more useful as a hiring tool — and far more appealing to candidates who can genuinely see themselves in it.
Step 2: Define the right requirements — and only those
Once you understand the role, you can define what is truly required to perform it well. Be ruthless: every requirement you list should be genuinely necessary, not merely desirable, and it should be possible to assess it in the selection process.
Common pitfalls to avoid:
- Requiring a specific degree when what you really need is a specific competency
- Inflating the years of experience required without evidence that more experience predicts better performance
- Using vague language like "team player" or "results-driven" that says nothing specific
- Listing so many requirements that no real candidate could meet them all
The most effective job profiles are clear, specific, and focused on the handful of things that genuinely matter for success in the role.
Step 3: Make it compelling — sell the role and the organisation
The best candidates have options. Your job profile needs to do more than list requirements — it needs to make people want to apply. This means communicating:
- What makes the role genuinely interesting and meaningful
- What kind of people thrive in your organisation and why
- What candidates can expect to learn, develop, and achieve
- What your culture feels like — in specific, authentic terms
Avoid corporate language and generic statements. Be honest, specific, and human. Candidates respond to authenticity.
Conclusion
A great job profile is not just a list of requirements — it is a carefully crafted communication that attracts the right people and discourages the wrong ones. By starting with the role, defining only what truly matters, and making it genuinely compelling, you significantly improve both the quality and the relevance of your applicant pool. Want to know how Selection Lab can help you design better selection criteria and profiles? Get in touch with us.
