Your job description is lying to candidates (and they know it)

Read this job description and then tell me what this person actually does: Dynamic, fast-paced environment seeking a self-starter who thrives in ambiguity. Must be a team player with excellent communication skills and a passion for innovation. Competitive salary and great culture!

Did you learn anything? No. Because that describes approximately every job ever posted.

Now try this one: You’ll spend about 60% of your time in Excel building financial models for client presentations. The other 40% is client meetings where you need to explain complex analysis in plain English. Our clients are mostly manufacturing companies going through transitions — think acquisitions, new product launches, operational restructuring. Sometimes they’re excited about your recommendations. Sometimes they’re defensive. You need to handle both.

Which one tells you what the job is actually like?

Job descriptions fail when they’re written for legal compliance or to make the company sound impressive. They work when they’re honest about the actual work and why someone talented would want to do it.

Stop telling candidates you want “rock stars” and “ninjas.” Tell them about the specific problem they will be solving. Stop listing every possible skill you might someday want. Tell them the three capabilities that actually matter for success in the role. And for the love of everything, stop claiming your environment is “fast-paced” unless you’re willing to also mention that it means evening emails are common and deadlines are tight.

Candidates are smart. They know “wears many hats” probably means “we haven’t figured out what this role is yet.” They know “opportunity for growth” often means “we’re understaffed and you’ll be stretched thin.”

The job descriptions that work? They are the ones that sound like a real human wrote them for another real human. They’re honest about both the exciting parts and the hard parts. They give candidates enough information to actually decide if this opportunity makes sense for them.

Your job description is probably the first impression a candidate gets of your organization. Make it honest. Make it human. Make it something you’d want to read if you were looking for work.