How to write a job description that attracts the right people

A strong job description does two jobs at once. It tells the right person, at a glance, that the role was written for them, and it tells everyone else to keep scrolling. Knowing how to write a job description well is mostly about cutting: one clear title, real outcomes, honest requirements and a visible pay band.

According to LinkedIn research reported by People Matters (January 2026), applicants per open role in India have more than doubled since early 2022. More applications do not mean better ones. A sharper JD is the cheapest filter you have.

What is the difference between a JD and a role scorecard?

A job description is an advert written for candidates. A role scorecard is an internal brief written for the hiring team: what the person must achieve, which skills are non-negotiable, what would rule someone out, the pay band and how long a notice period you can wait for. Write the scorecard first. The JD then becomes an edited, outward-facing version of it.

Most weak JDs are weak because nobody agreed on the scorecard. The hiring manager wants a builder, HR wants a stable profile, and both wishes end up as bullet points.

At Kintra, the brief call with the hiring manager produces that one-page scorecard before any outreach starts. You can use the same structure without an agency.

How to write a job description: the 8 parts

A strong job description has eight parts, in this order: a searchable title, a two-line role summary, the outcomes the person will own, the day-to-day work, must-have requirements, nice-to-haves, pay and work pattern, and the hiring process. Location and notice-period expectations belong near the top, because candidates in India often check them before anything else.

1. A title people actually search for. Use the title candidates type into job boards, not your internal grade. "Senior Associate II, Client Excellence" tells nobody anything.
2. A two-sentence role summary. Why the role exists and what changes when it is filled.
3. Outcomes for the first year. Five to seven results, measurable where possible. "Bring month-end close down to six working days" beats "Responsible for month-end close".
4. What the work looks like. Reporting line, team size, tools and travel.
5. Must-haves. Only what someone needs on day one. If you would hire a candidate without it, it is not a must-have.
6. Nice-to-haves. Labelled clearly, so strong candidates who lack one of them still apply.
7. Pay, benefits and work pattern. Salary band, whether it is fixed pay or total CTC, variable pay, location, office days and the notice period you can accept.
8. The hiring process. Number of rounds, whether there is an assignment and the expected time to an offer.

Where should notice period go?

Put it in the pay and work pattern block, stated as a tolerance. In India, the notice period is set by the employment contract and is usually one to three months, according to Nyaaya, the legal explainer from the Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy. "Immediate joiners only" quietly excludes most people who are currently employed. If you can wait 60 days, or buy out part of a notice period, say so.

What does LinkedIn data say about job posts?

LinkedIn's analysis of about 4.5 million US and UK job posts found that short posts of 1 to 300 words earned 8.4% higher apply rates per view than average (LinkedIn Talent Blog, 2018, using 2016 to 2017 data). A second LinkedIn study, from 2019, looked at what candidates want to read. Pay came first.

Two caveats. The data is several years old and comes from US and UK postings, so treat it as direction. And long posts beat medium ones, which suggests padding hurts more than length.

More than half of the views in that dataset came from phones, so read your draft on one before publishing. And with only 28% of candidates asking for culture content, two concrete sentences about how the team works beat a paragraph of values.

Should you show the salary range in India?

Usually, yes, though it costs you something. According to LinkedIn (2019), 61% of candidates say salary range is the most important part of a job description. A visible band filters out mismatched applicants early. The price is less negotiating room and, sometimes, awkward questions from current employees.

What do you gain and what do you give up?

How should you state CTC?

Indian offers are usually quoted as annual cost to company (CTC), which can bundle fixed pay, variable pay, employer provident fund contributions, insurance and allowances. A band of "INR 18 to 24 lakh CTC" means something very different if a large share of it is variable or tied to targets.

State fixed pay and variable pay separately, say whether the band includes benefits, and mention any joining bonus or buyout support. Candidates compare offers line by line.

How do you keep the language inclusive?

Describe the work so that every capable person can see themselves in it. Use neutral titles and pronouns, remove age and gender preferences, cut requirements the job does not need and spell out flexibility. Leading with skills also pays off in quality: LinkedIn's Future of Recruiting 2025 found that skills-based searches raise the likelihood of a quality hire by 12%.

Indian job ads still carry filters that shrink the pool without improving it. The usual suspects, and what to do with each:

• Age brackets such as "below 30" or "young and dynamic team". Delete them and describe the work.
• Gender preferences. Delete them.
• "Native English speaker". State the real need, such as "writes client-ready emails in English".
• College-tier filters. Ask for the capability, not the campus.
• "Rockstar" or "ninja". Name the actual skill.
• "He will be responsible for". Write to "you".

Some constraints are genuine, such as night shifts or a required certification. Explain them in one line, so candidates read a fact about the job instead of a bias about them.

What should a job description template include?

A usable job description template has fixed fields for the title, summary, outcomes, day-to-day work, must-haves, nice-to-haves, pay, work pattern and hiring process. Fill each field from your role scorecard and delete any you cannot fill honestly. Then replace every bracket below.

[Job title] | [City, or remote / hybrid] | [Team or function]

About the role
[Two sentences: why this role exists and what changes when it is filled.]

What you will achieve in your first year
- [Outcome 1, with a measure if possible]
- [Outcome 2]
- [Outcome 3]

What the work looks like
- Reports to: [title]
- Team: [size and roles]
- Travel: [none, or how often]

You must have
- [Must-have 1: needed on day one]
- [Must-have 2]
- [Must-have 3]

It would help if you have
- [Nice-to-have 1]
- [Nice-to-have 2]

Pay and work pattern
- Fixed pay: INR [x] to [y] lakh per year
- Variable pay: [structure, or none]
- Benefits: [insurance, leave, learning budget]
- Work pattern: [onsite / hybrid with x office days / remote]
- Notice period: [what you can accept, and whether you support a buyout]

How we hire
- Rounds: [for example recruiter call, hiring manager, work sample, final]
- Expected time from application to offer: [x weeks]

[One sentence on equal opportunity and the interview adjustments you offer.]

What does a weak JD look like after a rewrite?

A weak JD lists duties and adjectives. A rewritten one states outcomes, separates must-haves from preferences and gives candidates the facts they need to decide. Here is a finance role as it often appears on Indian job boards, then rewritten from a scorecard. Neither version describes a real company.

Before

We are looking for a dynamic, result-oriented Finance Executive to handle all accounting activities. The candidate should have excellent communication skills and be a team player. Should have 3 to 5 years of experience. B.Com or M.Com mandatory, CA preferred. Immediate joiners preferred. Salary as per industry standards.

After

You will own month-end close for our India entity, reporting to the Finance Controller. In your first year, success means closing the books within six working days, clearing GST reconciliations every month and preparing audit schedules without rework. You need hands-on experience with month-end close and GST returns, and you should be comfortable in Tally or a similar accounting system. SAP experience or CA Inter would help, but neither is required. Fixed pay is INR [x] to [y] lakh a year, plus an annual bonus. We can wait up to 60 days for the right person to join.

What changed?

• Adjectives became outcomes the candidate can picture.
• "3 to 5 years" became the actual capability, because years are a weak proxy for skill.
• The degree list shrank to what the work needs.
• Pay became visible, with the bonus shown separately.
• "Immediate joiners" became a stated notice-period tolerance.

Which job description mistakes cost you applicants?

The costliest mistakes are an internal job title, a wish-list of requirements, no pay information, slogans in place of facts and a tone that is either stiff or too casual. LinkedIn's 2019 research found overly casual posts made applicants 2 to 4 times less likely to apply, so friendliness has limits.

When does a polished JD not matter much?

For senior, confidential and very niche roles, most strong candidates are passive and never search a job board. There the JD becomes a briefing note for a recruiter or search consultant, and direct outreach does the real work. The scorecard behind it still decides who gets hired.

Picture this: a manufacturer needs a plant head for a new facility, and the people who could do the job are running plants elsewhere. None of them is reading job adverts. Reaching them takes a talent map and a recruiter who can explain the role.

Nor can a great JD rescue a slow process. If candidates drop out between rounds or after the offer, fix your recruitment process steps before you rewrite the advert again.

What should you do with your next JD?

Write the one-page scorecard before you touch the advert, then build the JD from it using the eight parts. Read the draft on your phone and cut anything a candidate would skip. Ask one person outside the team to check the language. For a hard-to-fill or confidential role, brief a recruiter as well as posting.

If you want a second opinion on how to write a job description for a specific opening, share your hiring brief. Kintra will turn it into a role scorecard and, if you want help filling the role, run it through its permanent recruitment service.