A job description is the foundation of recruitment. It's also the problem.
Think about it: you're trying to find someone who will spend 2,000+ hours a year working with your team, affecting projects, culture, and outcomes for years to come. And you're basing that decision on... 500 words?
How a Job Description Should Be Created (Ideal World)
In an ideal world, creating a job description would be a comprehensive process:
- Deep brief with the hiring manager about real needs
- Input from team members who'll work with the new hire
- Insights from the departing employee (if applicable)
- Analysis of what worked and didn't with previous hires
- Clear understanding of team dynamics and culture
But let's be honest — when was the last time this actually happened?
Reality Check: How It Actually Happens
Here's what typically occurs:
- Manager sends a quick message: "We need a new developer"
- HR pulls an old job description template
- Minor tweaks are made based on a 15-minute call
- The JD goes live
- Everyone wonders why candidates don't "fit"
"We've hired three people for this role in two years. None of them worked out. Maybe we should look at how we're defining the role in the first place?"
The 10% Problem
A job description captures about 10% of what a role actually involves. The other 90% exists in:
- Unspoken expectations from the hiring manager
- Team dynamics that aren't documented anywhere
- Lessons learned from previous hires
- Daily realities that never make it to paper
- Cultural nuances that are "obvious" to insiders
A job description contains 500 words. A real role contains 50,000 experiences and expectations. That's a 99% information gap.
Why Nobody Asks the Team
The people who know most about what a role needs are often never consulted:
| Who | What they know | Why they're not asked |
|---|---|---|
| Team members | Day-to-day collaboration needs | "Not their job" |
| Departing employee | Real challenges of the role | Already checked out |
| Cross-functional partners | Collaboration requirements | Too complicated to coordinate |
The Cost of Getting It Wrong
Studies consistently show that 46% of new hires fail within 18 months. The cost?
- Direct replacement costs: 50-200% of annual salary
- Lost productivity during ramp-up
- Team morale impact
- Opportunity cost of delayed projects
Most of these failures can be traced back to the beginning: the job wasn't properly defined.
The Way Out: Systematic Input Collection
What if you could capture all that missing 90% — without spending weeks on meetings?
That's exactly what TalentByTeam does. Our AI conducts structured interviews with everyone who has insight into what a role really needs:
- 5-15 minute conversations with each person
- Everyone participates when it suits them
- AI identifies patterns, conflicts, and hidden expectations
- You get a complete picture, not a 500-word guess