A position description, also called a job description, is a brief written explanation of a job. It is a summary of the job functions and includes the job title, purpose, tasks, responsibilities, and other information such as qualifications, work aids, equipment, conditions, and co-worker relationships. Position descriptions are used to inform job applicants about the job. A position description should be a summary, but it should include enough detail so that the reader can make accurate inferences about what the job entails. Position descriptions should identify the position, define the position within limits, and describe the content and scope of the position. Position descriptions are useful for all levels of jobs, from entry level to upper management.
Position requirements are often included either as a part of a position description or along with a position description. Position requirements are employee characteristics necessary for successful performance of the tasks and duties of a job, usually including knowledge, skills, abilities, other characteristics (e.g., attitudes, values, and personality), education level, experience level, and certifications, licensures, and other credentials. They may also include physical requirements (e.g., the ability to stand for long periods, lift a certain weight, or see with normal or corrected-to-normal vision). The physical requirements must be proven to be necessary for the position and not easily accommodated, for instance with accessible technology. Position requirements should be based on solid evidence, usually from a job analysis, because they may be challenged in court if they deny access to the position to a protected class (e.g., race, color, religion, sex, or national origin).
Position descriptions, especially those that include a variety of types and amounts of information, serve many purposes. They are used to explain a position to individuals, particularly position applicants, who do not know about or understand the position. In other words, they are used to clarify the position responsibilities and the position’s relationship to other positions. Position descriptions may also be used for establishing the classification and pay scale of positions. They may be used for other purposes, such as recruitment, placement, employee orientation, training needs evaluation, training, employee development, performance evaluation, performance appraisal, organizational structure analysis, work distribution, promotion, succession planning, and legal compliance.
Position descriptions that are developed from a job analysis are more likely to be factually correct and current, and therefore better suited to serve all these purposes and to meet legal requirements. One of the most important uses of a job analysis is to identify selection criteria for a specific position. Selection criteria that are derived from a job analysis must be validated in order to meet legal requirements for personnel selection for a specific position. It is recommended that a separate validation study be performed to establish the relationship between the selection criteria and successful job performance.
Position descriptions should not be used to replace employee orientation or employee training, and are not intended to restrict the position’s supervisor from assigning other associated tasks and responsibilities.
Gael, S. (1988). Chapter 2.1 Job Descriptions. In S. Gael (Ed.), The Job Analysis Handbook for Business, Industry, and Government (Vol.1, pp. 71-79). New York: John Wiley and Sons.
Sanchez, J. I. & Levine, E. L. (2001). The Analysis of work in the 20th and 21st centuries. In N. Anderson, D. S. Ones, H. K. Sinangil, & C. Viswesvaran (Eds.), Handbook of Industrial, Work, and Organizational Psychology: Volume 1 Personnel Psychology (pp. 71-89). London: Sage.
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