How to Write a Job Description: Template, Example and Compliance Tips
Reading Time: 10 minutes - A job description is the internal record of a role. The job posting is the ad you build from it.
- Include the purpose, five to ten essential functions, qualifications, working conditions, FLSA classification and pay range.
- Under the ADA, a description written before you advertise or interview is evidence of a job's essential functions.
- Job titles do not decide exempt status. Duties and salary do, and the federal minimum salary remains $684 per week.
- Many states, including Virginia since July 1, 2026, require a pay range in job postings.
- Get the free Word template in this guide.
A job description is the written record of a role: why it exists, its essential functions, the qualifications it requires, its working conditions, its FLSA classification and its pay range. To write one, start with the job’s purpose, list the five to ten functions that take most of the time, separate essential duties from marginal ones, set qualifications the work actually requires, and confirm the classification and pay range before the description becomes a job posting.
What to include 8 steps Example Free template
Free download: job description template (Word)
Header fields for the role, eight ready-to-fill sections from position purpose to acknowledgment, a 10-step customization guide and a final quality checklist.
What is a job description?
A job description is an internal document that defines a role: its purpose, the work it does, what it takes to do that work, and how it is classified and paid. It is not the same thing as a job posting. The posting is the advertisement you build from the description. It is shorter, written to attract candidates and, in a growing number of states, required to show a pay range.
The description has a second job that the posting does not. It is the record you come back to for hiring decisions, performance reviews, accommodation requests, pay decisions and FLSA classification. When a dispute comes up, it is often one of the first documents anyone asks to see.
What to include in a job description
Twelve sections cover almost every role. The free template below has a place for nearly all of them.
| Section | What goes in it |
|---|---|
| Job title | The title people actually search for. Skip internal codes and grade numbers. |
| Department and manager | Where the role sits and the title it reports to. |
| Location and work arrangement | City and state, plus on-site, hybrid or remote. |
| FLSA classification | Exempt or non-exempt, and which exemption applies. |
| Job summary | Two or three sentences on why the role exists. |
| Essential functions | The five to ten core duties, each with its share of time. |
| Other duties | Occasional or reassignable tasks. |
| Qualifications | Required and preferred education, experience, licenses and skills. |
| Supervisory responsibilities | Direct reports, and any authority over hiring, scheduling and discipline. |
| Physical requirements and working conditions | Lifting, time on your feet, travel and the work environment. |
| Pay range | The good-faith range or rate for the role. |
| Review date | When it was last reviewed, and who approved it. |
How to write a job description in 8 steps
- Start with why the role exists. Write one or two sentences on the problem the job solves. “Leads a team of six representatives so customers get accurate answers on the first contact” tells a candidate far more than “responsible for customer service.”
- Gather the real work. Talk to the person in the role and their manager, and look at what the job actually did over the last few months. Descriptions written from memory drift toward what the job used to be.
- List the essential functions. Five to ten of them, each starting with a verb, each tied to an outcome, each with a rough share of time. If a task takes less than 5% of the week and someone else could do it, it probably belongs in the next step.
- Separate essential from marginal duties. Essential functions are the reason the job exists. Marginal duties are occasional or could be handed to someone else. The difference matters under the ADA, so make the call on purpose.
- Set qualifications the work requires. Split required from preferred, and ask whether each requirement is truly needed on day one. “Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience” widens the pool without lowering the bar.
- Describe physical requirements honestly. Lifting limits, time standing or sitting, travel and the work environment. Overstating them can screen out qualified people, and understating them creates problems later.
- Classify the role under the FLSA. Decide exempt or non-exempt from the duties you just wrote and the salary, not from the title. Our FLSA overtime eligibility checker is a quick first pass.
- Add the pay range, then date and approve it. Set a good-faith range based on market data and your pay structure, record who approved the description and when, and keep it where managers can find it.
The compliance side most templates skip
Free templates cover the format. They rarely cover the legal questions a job description quietly answers.
Essential functions and the ADA
The Americans with Disabilities Act protects qualified individuals who can perform the essential functions of a job, with or without reasonable accommodation. The statute says that if an employer prepared a written description before advertising or interviewing applicants for the job, that description is considered evidence of the job’s essential functions.
EEOC regulations list other evidence too, including the employer’s judgment, the amount of time spent on the function, the consequences of not requiring the person in the job to perform it, and the experience of people who have held the job. Three practical takeaways: write the description before you post, keep the essential functions accurate, and record the share of time each one takes. Our ADA in the Workplace: Accommodation course covers what happens after an accommodation request arrives.
FLSA: the title does not decide exempt status
Calling a role a “manager” or a “coordinator” does not make it exempt from overtime. Federal regulations say a job title alone is not enough. Exempt status depends on whether the employee’s salary and duties meet the requirements of the regulations.
Most white-collar exemptions require three things: pay on a salary basis, a salary at or above the federal minimum, and duties that fit the exemption. On May 15, 2026, the Department of Labor formally rescinded its 2024 rule, so the federal minimum remains $684 per week ($35,568 a year), and $107,432 a year for the highly compensated employee exemption. Some states set higher thresholds.
Because duties drive the answer, the essential functions you write become evidence in a classification dispute. If the description says the role manages a team but the person spends most of the day on the phones, the description will not save the exemption. If a role is borderline, an FLSA Exemption Classification Review takes a closer look.
Pay transparency in job postings
A growing number of states, plus Washington, D.C., require a pay range in job postings, including California, Colorado, Illinois, New York and Washington. Virginia joined on July 1, 2026, and its law covers employers with even one employee in the state. Coverage thresholds and details vary by state and city, so check the rules everywhere you post. Our guide to Virginia’s pay transparency law walks through that one.
Keep the range on the internal description even where you are not required to post it. It keeps offers consistent and makes the next posting faster.
Wording that can create risk
EEOC regulations under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act say help-wanted language such as “recent college graduate” or “young” can discourage older applicants. Use gender-neutral titles, and describe requirements in terms of the work, not the kind of person you picture in the role.
Keep it current
Review each description at least once a year and whenever the role changes. An outdated description can undercut an exemption, an accommodation decision or a performance conversation.
Job description example: Customer Service Supervisor
A filled-in example. The pay figures are for illustration only.
| Section | Entry |
|---|---|
| Job title | Customer Service Supervisor |
| Department and manager | Customer Service. Reports to the Customer Service Manager. |
| Location and work arrangement | Charlotte, NC. Hybrid, three days on-site each week. |
| FLSA classification | Exempt (executive). Primary duty is managing the team, directs the work of six full-time representatives, and recommendations on hiring and discipline carry weight. |
| Job summary | Leads a team of six representatives so customers get accurate answers on the first contact, and owns the team’s quality and response-time targets. |
| Essential functions | Coaches representatives through weekly one-on-ones and call reviews (30%). Schedules the team to cover service hours and approves time off (15%). Resolves escalated customer issues the team cannot close (15%). Tracks quality and response-time metrics and reports them weekly (15%). Recommends hiring, promotion and discipline decisions and conducts performance reviews (15%). Trains new representatives on systems and policies (10%). |
| Other duties | Updates the team knowledge base. Occasionally covers the phones during peak periods. Other duties as assigned. |
| Qualifications | Required: two years of customer service experience, including at least one year leading or training others. Preferred: experience with a ticketing system. |
| Physical requirements | Sits at a desk for most of the day. Occasionally lifts up to 15 pounds. No overnight travel. |
| Pay range | $58,000 to $66,000 per year (example only) |
| Review date | Reviewed October 2026, approved by the HR Manager |
Notice the “occasionally covers the phones” line. Supervisors who spend most of their time doing the same work as their team put the executive exemption at risk, which is exactly why the share of time on each function is worth writing down.
Free job description template
The template is a Word document. It opens with header fields for the role: title, department, reporting line, location, employment category, schedule, FLSA classification, supervisory role, an optional pay range, effective and review dates, and a document owner. Then come eight sections: position purpose, essential functions, supervisory responsibilities, minimum qualifications, physical, sensory and communication requirements with an accommodation statement, work environment and schedule, a classification and compliance review, and an acknowledgment. A 10-step customization guide and a final quality checklist close it out. Replace the blue fields and delete the gray instructions before you use it.
Get the free job description template
Tell us where to send it and the download starts right away.
Common job description mistakes
- Writing for the person, not the role. Describe the job you need done, not the strengths of whoever holds it today.
- Listing every task. A twenty-item list hides the five that matter.
- Inflating the requirements. A degree or years of experience the work does not need shrinks your candidate pool.
- Leaving out physical requirements. They matter the day an accommodation request comes in.
- Letting it go stale. A description from three reorganizations ago works against you, not for you.
- Posting without a range in a pay transparency state. Check every state and city where the posting will appear.
Where to start
Pull the descriptions for the three roles you hire most often and compare each one with what the job actually involves today. Fix the essential functions first, confirm the classification, then add the range. Most employers find at least one role that has quietly changed.
Catapult’s HR practitioners write FLSA-compliant job descriptions with essential functions, qualifications and pay range guidance.
See Job Description Writing
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Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a job description and a job posting?
A job description is the internal record of a role: its purpose, essential functions, qualifications, classification and pay. A job posting is the advertisement built from it, shorter and written to attract candidates. Many states now require the posting to include a pay range.
Are job descriptions required by law?
No federal law requires employers to keep written job descriptions. They are still worth having. Under the ADA, a description written before you advertise or interview is evidence of a job’s essential functions, and accurate duties support FLSA classification decisions.
How long should a job description be?
One to two pages. Long enough to cover the essential functions, qualifications and working conditions, and short enough that managers will keep it current.
Should a job description include the salary?
Include the pay range or grade on the internal description. In states with pay transparency laws, the job posting must include a good-faith range as well.
How often should job descriptions be updated?
Review them at least once a year, and whenever the duties, reporting line or work arrangement change.
Should I include “other duties as assigned”?
Yes. It covers occasional tasks without listing them all. It does not turn an unlisted task into an essential function, so anything central to the job belongs in the essential functions list.
Sources
This article is for general information and is not legal advice. Employment laws vary by state and change often, so confirm the requirements for your locations with employment counsel. Current as of October 2026.
- 42 U.S.C. § 12111(8), Americans with Disabilities Act: definition of “qualified individual,” and written job descriptions as evidence of essential functions
- 29 C.F.R. § 1630.2(n), EEOC regulations: evidence of whether a function is essential
- 29 C.F.R. § 541.2, U.S. Department of Labor: a job title alone is insufficient to establish exempt status
- U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division, Fact Sheet #17A: exemptions for executive, administrative, professional, computer and outside sales employees
- Jackson Lewis, “Status Quo: DOL Final Rule Keeps Overtime Salary Levels at 2019 Thresholds” (May 2026): rescission of the 2024 rule, and the $684 per week and $107,432 thresholds
- 29 C.F.R. § 1625.4, EEOC regulations under the ADEA: help-wanted notices and advertisements
- Va. Code § 40.1-28.7:12 (SB 215 / HB 636), effective July 1, 2026: pay ranges in job postings
- State pay transparency statutes: California Labor Code § 432.3; Colorado Rev. Stat. § 8-5-201; Illinois 820 ILCS 112/10; New York Labor Law § 194-b; Washington RCW 49.58.110
Susan Sabath is an HR & Organizational Development Consultant at Catapult. She is part of the consulting team behind Catapult's HR on Demand outsourced HR service and its succession and workforce planning services.
