Next Level Job Descriptions: The No BS Guide for Tech Leaders

Most tech managers treat job descriptions like paperwork. Copy last year's post, swap a few buzzwords, hit publish.

Then you wonder why you're drowning in unqualified applicants while the right candidates ignore you.

Your job description isn't just an ad. It's a filter. Done right, it protects your calendar from wasting time on the wrong people and makes top engineers actually want to talk to you.

The Problem

Generic job descriptions attract generic candidates. "Seeking motivated team player with strong communication skills" tells nobody anything. It's noise.

Worse, vague posts make great engineers assume you don't know what you need. They move on to companies that do.

The Solution

Spend 10 minutes answering these questions before you write anything. Your HR team or whoever drafts the post needs this clarity, or they're just guessing.

1. What's the actual business problem? Not "we need a developer." Why can't you solve this without this hire? What breaks if you don't fill this role? What improves when you do?

2. What does success look like? In 12 months, what will this person accomplish that makes you glad you hired them? Be specific. "Improve the platform" means nothing. "Migrate our monolith to microservices and cut deployment time by 50%" means something.

3. What's missing from your current team? Look at who you already have. What skills do you need more of? What redundancies can you live without? Hire to fill gaps, not clone your best engineer.

4. What's the growth path? Top engineers don't take lateral moves. Where does this role lead? Senior Engineer? Architect? Team Lead? If there's no next step, say that upfront. Some people want stability, not ladders.

5. Who should NOT apply? Be honest about deal-breakers. If this isn't remote, say so. If you need someone who thrives in ambiguity, not process, say that. Eliminate mismatches early.

6. What will they actually do? List the first three priorities they'll tackle. Rank them. Be honest about how much legacy maintenance vs greenfield work this is. "Excellent communication skills" is meaningless. "Daily standups with product and weekly demos to stakeholders" is real.

7. What's the tech stack? List everything they'll touch. Not just what you want them to know, but what they'll actually work with day one. Including the legacy stuff.

8. What are the first-year goals? What will you judge them on in their first review? These should tie directly to question 2. Vague goals produce vague performance.

9. What proves they can do this? What do you need to see in their work history? Specific projects? Team sizes? Types of problems solved? Give your screeners something concrete to look for.

10. What's the team culture? Not corporate platitudes. Describe the actual tempo. Fast-moving startup chaos? Steady enterprise process? Collaborative? Heads-down? Remote-first or office-centric?

Now Write the Post

Once you've answered these, the job description writes itself:

"We're looking for our next [title] who has ambitions to grow into [growth path].

Our vision is to [desired outcome] but we need help with [business problem].

This is not a [what you're NOT looking for]. This role needs [relevant qualifications].

Coming in, you'll start by [immediate tasks].

You'll work with [tech stack].

The expectation is for you to [first-year goals] and eventually move into [growth path].

We are [actual culture description]."

The Payoff

Specificity filters. The wrong people self-select out. The right people see themselves in the role and get interested.

You interview fewer candidates. Better candidates. And you stop wasting weeks on people who were never a fit.

Don't have time to do this?

Contact us at info@astutesearch.com and we'll make sure you get it right.