You Manage It! 4: Customer-Driven HR Writing a Job Description
Job descriptions are useful tools that document job content and that can aid decisions for recruitment, staffing, training, compensation, and human resource planning. The purpose of this skill-building activity is to give you some experience writing a job description. In preparation, carefully read the section in this chapter titled “ Job Descriptions” and refer to the figures in that section that provide examples of a specific job description and a general job description.
Next, select a job and write a job description. Ideally, your job description should be based on a job you are familiar with—the best candidate for this exercise is one at which you are currently employed or recently experienced. It could be a part-time or full-time job. If you have no work experience to draw from for this exercise, then ask a friend or relative to provide detailed information about his or her job.
Once you have chosen the job for this exercise you are ready to begin.
Critical Thinking Questions
-
2-21. What do you see as the main differences between a specific job description and a general job description?
-
2-22. Suppose several people are employed in the same job as the one for which you are writing a job description. Would it be necessary to write a different job description for each person who works in the same job? Explain.
-
2-23. Carefully follow the format for the “Specific Job Description” provided in Figure 2.6 when writing the job description for the job you selected. Make sure that you include in your job description the following elements: (1) job title and identification information, (2) job summary, (3) job duties and responsibilities, (4) job requirements, and (5) minimum qualifications. Check your work to make sure the style of your job description matches the example in the text as closely as possible.
Team Exercise
-
2-24. Work with a partner or a small group of three to four people and exchange job descriptions with your partner or a group member. Read each other’s job descriptions and make suggestions for improvements based on the example provided in the text. Take turns discussing the suggested revisions with your partner or group so that each person receives some feedback on his or her job description. Make revisions to your job description as needed to improve it. It is normal for a job description to go through several revisions before the document is finished. Now examine the job description you just wrote and revised. Discuss with your partner or group how this job description could be applied to making decisions in the organization that offers the job. Next, discuss what additional steps would be needed to finalize the job description before it could actually be used as a basis for employment decisions in a company.
Experiential Exercise: Individual
-
2-25. The purpose of this experiential exercise is to learn how managers actually use job descriptions in their organizations. First, you will need to get the names and contact information for three to five managers you know either from your work experience or from personal contact. Or, ask a professor or someone in the career development office at your school for the names of a few managers. You can contact the managers in person, by e-mail, or on the telephone. Ask each manager what uses they have for job descriptions in their organizations. Also, ask the managers how important job descriptions are for making human resource decisions in their organizations—and follow up one more time by asking them to explain why they think that job descriptions are important (or not). Record the responses and summarize your findings. Be prepared to share your findings with other members of the class. Did you find a diversity of opinion from the managers about how they use job descriptions and how important they find them to be? If you did find a diverse set of responses, what do you think accounted for this variety of opinions?