Business · Hiring & people
The Best Prompt for Writing a Job Description
The best prompt for a job description asks what the person will achieve, not only what they will do, and limits requirements to those the job really needs. This prompt turns your notes on the role into a posting with first-year outcomes, a capped list of must-haves, separate nice-to-haves and only the pay and benefits you supplied. A second section, for you alone, flags wording or requirements that could narrow the applicant pool without good reason.
Job Description Prompt
Writes a clear, candidate-facing job post built around outcomes and a short must-have list, with hiring-manager notes on anything to check.
- Works with
- ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini
- Difficulty
- Beginner
- Complexity
- Single reply
- Variables
- 6
- Version
- 1.0
Customize this prompt
Fill in what you know. Anything left blank stays as a [bracketed placeholder]. Nothing you type leaves your browser.
6 variables · fields marked * matter most
# Role You are a recruiter who writes job posts that candidates actually finish reading. You write plainly, you do not oversell, and you treat the reader as someone deciding whether this job is worth their time. # The role - Job title: [Job title] - Company and team: [Company and team] - Why the role exists and what the person will do: [Why the role exists and what the person will do] - Requirements the job cannot be done without: [Essential requirements] - Pay, location, working pattern and benefits: [Pay, location and benefits] - Tone: [Tone] # Write the job post Use this structure: 1. Opening - two or three sentences: what the role is, who it works with, and why it is open now. No company history. 2. What you will do - five to seven bullets, each starting with a verb and describing real work. Order them by share of time. 3. What success looks like - three or four outcomes the person should have achieved after six and twelve months, drawn from my notes. 4. What you need - no more than five must-haves, each one a skill or experience that can be demonstrated. Then up to three nice-to-haves under their own subheading. 5. What we offer - only the pay, benefits and working arrangements listed above. 6. How to apply - leave a placeholder: [APPLICATION STEPS]. # Rules - Do not invent anything about the company: no benefits, salary, culture claims, awards, growth figures or values I did not give you. If pay is not supplied, write [SALARY RANGE - TO CONFIRM]. Do not suggest a figure. - Write to the candidate as 'you'. Keep sentences short. Aim for 350 to 500 words. - Avoid inflated or coded language: rockstar, ninja, guru, fast-paced, wear many hats, work hard play hard, digital native, young and dynamic. - Do not include requirements about age, gender, nationality, family status, health or appearance, and do not ask for 'native' language ability; describe the level of proficiency the work needs. - A degree or a number of years counts as a must-have only if I listed it. Otherwise describe the capability. # Then, separately, notes for the hiring manager Under the heading 'Notes for the hiring manager (not for publication)', list: - any must-have I supplied that may exclude capable candidates without being essential, with a suggested rewording; - anything in my notes that was unclear or contradictory; - information candidates will expect that is missing; - a reminder to check the post against local employment and pay-transparency rules. # Output format The job post under the six headings, then a horizontal line, then the notes. Plain headings and bullets only.
Use it when you are
- Writing a posting for a new role from a hiring manager's rough notes
- Rewriting an old job description that has grown into a long wish list
- Producing consistent postings across several roles at a small company without a recruiting team
- Checking a draft posting for exclusionary wording before it is published
Why this prompt works
Outcomes sit beside duties
A bullet list of responsibilities tells a candidate what their days contain but not what the job is for. The six- and twelve-month outcomes section makes you articulate what success means, which helps candidates self-select and gives you a ready-made basis for interview questions and probation reviews.
The must-have list is capped
Requirements lists expand because adding a line costs the author nothing. A hard limit of five, each demonstrable, forces a decision about what is essential. Degrees and years of experience appear only if you asked for them; otherwise the capability itself is described.
Nothing about the employer is made up
Asked to write an appealing post, a model will happily add flexible hours, a generous bonus or a collaborative culture. In a job advertisement those inventions become promises. The prompt restricts the offer section to your inputs and leaves a visible placeholder where pay is missing.
Two audiences, two sections
Candidates should see a clean posting; the hiring manager needs caveats. Splitting the reply keeps review notes, such as a requirement that may screen out capable applicants or a missing detail, out of the publishable text while making sure they are raised.
How to use it
- Describe the role in your own words, including why it is open and what you hope the person will have done in a year.
- List only requirements you would reject a candidate for lacking. Put everything else in the role details and let the prompt sort it.
- Enter pay and benefits exactly as approved. If they are not confirmed, leave the field blank and keep the placeholder until they are.
- Read the notes for the hiring manager first and decide which suggested rewordings to accept.
- Replace [APPLICATION STEPS] with your process and have HR or a legal adviser check the post against local rules before publishing.
AI model compatibility
| Model | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT | Expected to work | If you want a second version for a job board with a character limit, ask in a follow-up for a shortened version that keeps sections 2, 4 and 5. |
| Claude | Expected to work | When rewriting an existing posting, paste it inside <current_posting> tags and add a line saying it is source material to improve, not text to preserve. |
| Gemini | Expected to work | No model-specific adjustment needed. Paste the prompt as written. |
“Expected to work” means the prompt uses plain, model-independent structure and has been reviewed for that — not that it has been run on that model. A model is marked Tested only when a test record is published below.
Worked example
Scenario: A small freight forwarding company hiring its first dedicated operations coordinator. The company is invented for illustration.
# Role You are a recruiter who writes job posts that candidates actually finish reading. You write plainly, you do not oversell, and you treat the reader as someone deciding whether this job is worth their time. # The role - Job title: Operations Coordinator - Company and team: Fernhill Logistics, a 40-person freight forwarder; the role joins a five-person operations team - Why the role exists and what the person will do: Shipment volume has doubled in a year and bookings are handled ad hoc by account managers. We need someone to own carrier bookings, chase customs documentation and be first contact for delivery queries. Within a year we want bookings centralized and fewer shipments delayed by missing paperwork. - Requirements the job cannot be done without: Experience coordinating shipments or comparable logistics work; confident with spreadsheets; clear written English; a degree - Pay, location, working pattern and benefits: 32,000-36,000 depending on experience; Bristol office three days a week; 25 days holiday plus public holidays; pension - Tone: Straightforward and professional # Write the job post Use this structure: 1. Opening - two or three sentences: what the role is, who it works with, and why it is open now. No company history. 2. What you will do - five to seven bullets, each starting with a verb and describing real work. Order them by share of time. 3. What success looks like - three or four outcomes the person should have achieved after six and twelve months, drawn from my notes. 4. What you need - no more than five must-haves, each one a skill or experience that can be demonstrated. Then up to three nice-to-haves under their own subheading. 5. What we offer - only the pay, benefits and working arrangements listed above. 6. How to apply - leave a placeholder: [APPLICATION STEPS]. # Rules - Do not invent anything about the company: no benefits, salary, culture claims, awards, growth figures or values I did not give you. If pay is not supplied, write [SALARY RANGE - TO CONFIRM]. Do not suggest a figure. - Write to the candidate as 'you'. Keep sentences short. Aim for 350 to 500 words. - Avoid inflated or coded language: rockstar, ninja, guru, fast-paced, wear many hats, work hard play hard, digital native, young and dynamic. - Do not include requirements about age, gender, nationality, family status, health or appearance, and do not ask for 'native' language ability; describe the level of proficiency the work needs. - A degree or a number of years counts as a must-have only if I listed it. Otherwise describe the capability. # Then, separately, notes for the hiring manager Under the heading 'Notes for the hiring manager (not for publication)', list: - any must-have I supplied that may exclude capable candidates without being essential, with a suggested rewording; - anything in my notes that was unclear or contradictory; - information candidates will expect that is missing; - a reminder to check the post against local employment and pay-transparency rules. # Output format The job post under the six headings, then a horizontal line, then the notes. Plain headings and bullets only.
What a good response should contain
- An opening that explains the role exists because volume doubled, without company history
- Duties ordered by time spent, starting with carrier bookings and documentation
- Six- and twelve-month outcomes about centralized bookings and fewer paperwork delays
- An offer section containing only the stated salary range, office pattern, holiday and pension
- A hiring-manager note questioning whether the degree is essential and suggesting 'clear written English' be tied to the documents the role handles
This is an illustrative scenario showing how to fill in the prompt and what to look for. It is not a recorded model output. Recorded outputs will be published here once this prompt has a test record.
Testing and editorial review
Status: Untested. Reviewed for structure and clarity by the editorial team. No recorded model test yet.
No test record has been published for this prompt yet. When it is tested, this section will show the model and version, the date, the inputs, the actual output and notes against our seven-point rubric. We do not publish numerical scores.
| Author | TheBestPromptFor Editorial Team — The editorial team writes, reviews and maintains the prompts and guides on TheBestPromptFor. Prompts are drafted with AI assistance and reviewed against published editorial standards. |
|---|---|
| Published | November 15, 2026 |
| Last reviewed | November 15, 2026 |
| Last tested | Not yet tested |
| Version history |
|
Limitations and things to check
- Employment law, pay-transparency rules and required wording differ by country and region. The prompt reminds you to check but cannot do the check.
- The model can flag commonly exclusionary phrases, but it is not a substitute for a review by someone trained in fair hiring practice.
- It only knows the role from your notes. Vague notes give a generic posting.
- A job post is not an employment contract. Make sure duties and terms match what will be in the offer.
Alternative prompts
Research
User Interview Discussion Guide Prompt
Writes a timed discussion guide for customer or user interviews: screener, opening script, behavior-based questions with probes, and a table tying each question to a learning goal.
- ChatGPT
- Claude
- Gemini
Content Writing
Conversion Copywriting Prompt
Works out what a page must make the reader believe, then writes the copy in that order using only the proof you supply.
- ChatGPT
- Claude
- Gemini
Content Writing
Editing and Proofreading Prompt
Edits a draft at the level you choose, protects the author's voice, and returns a change log plus queries instead of silent rewrites.
- ChatGPT
- Claude
- Gemini
Business
OKR Drafting and Review Prompt
Drafts objectives and measurable key results from your priorities and current metrics, then audits its own draft for tasks disguised as results.
- ChatGPT
- Claude
- Gemini
Related resources
Guide
How to Write a Good AI Prompt
The five parts of a complete prompt (goal, context, task, constraints, output format), with a worked rewrite and a pre-send checklist.
Guide
Prompt Templates vs Prompts: What Is the Difference?
A prompt is one complete request; a template is a reusable prompt with named variables. When to use each and how to turn one into the other.
Frequently asked questions
Should a job description include the salary?
Many candidates expect it, and some jurisdictions require a pay range in advertisements, so check the rules where you hire. The prompt publishes pay only if you supply it and otherwise leaves a visible placeholder, so the question is not quietly skipped.
Why limit must-haves to five?
Long requirement lists discourage people who could do the job but do not match every line, and they blur which criteria you will really assess. Five demonstrable must-haves keep the bar clear. Anything else belongs under nice-to-haves or can be learned in the role.
Is this an internal job description or a job advertisement?
It is written as a candidate-facing posting. For an internal role profile used in grading or performance management, keep the duties and outcomes sections, remove the offer and apply sections, and add reporting lines and decision rights as your HR framework requires.
Sources and references
- Prompt engineering guide — OpenAI
- Prompt engineering overview — Anthropic
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