Quick note: This is a brand new recipe to complement my Prompt Hackers Cookbook - a collection of 220+ copy-paste ready AI prompts organized by what you’re trying to accomplish.
Note that the ‘Combine with’ suggestions reference recipes in The Prompt Hackers Cookbook
The Problem
Your job description reads like every other company's, attracts candidates who aren't a fit, and doesn't help you filter for what actually matters.
The Outcome
A job description that clearly communicates what the role actually involves, attracts qualified candidates who match your reality, and helps wrong fits self-select out.
Time Required: 25 minutes
Difficulty Level: Intermediate
Best Platform: Claude (better at capturing nuance and tone)
What You’ll Get
A job description that sounds like a real company talking about a real job. About 70-80% will be ready to use immediately. The other 20-30% needs your specific examples, inside jokes, or technical details AI can't know. You'll get clear "apply if" and "don't apply if" sections that do heavy filtering before you ever read resumes. The screening questions are usually spot-on for testing what actually matters versus checking boxes.
Variations
Quick Version: Skip the 30/60/90 day milestones and company reality check, just focus on role description
Deep Version: Add "Write 3 example interview questions with scoring rubrics for each non-negotiable requirement"
Combine With
Recipe #17 (The Interview Question Designer) to build out your full hiring process
Recipe #12.5 (The Differentiation Statement) if you’re struggling to articulate what makes your company different
Recipe #11.2 (The Objection Anticipator) to address concerns great candidates might have about joining
Chef’s Tips
If you can’t articulate why the last person left, you’re not ready to write this JD yet
The “You Probably Shouldn’t Apply If” section is the most valuable part - it saves you from 50 bad interviews
Job titles matter less than you think - describing reality matters more
If you list more than 5 requirements, you’re describing a unicorn that doesn’t exist
The best JDs make 20% of readers immediately know they’re perfect and 60% immediately know they’re not - that’s good filtering
Remote vs. office matters more than salary to most candidates - be crystal clear
If you wouldn’t want to do this job based on the description, rewrite it until you would
Success Metric: If you get fewer total applicants but a higher percentage of qualified candidates worth interviewing, it worked. If you get the same generic pile of resumes, your description is still too generic.