A job description template built for screening

The structure

Common templates share the same core: title, location, reporting line, a short summary of the role, duties, requirements, and pay. Pin's guide suggests opening with title, pay and location and a two to three sentence role summary. We add one rule: split requirements into must-haves and nice-to-haves, and write each so a resume can show it.

1. Title and location: the real title, plus whether on site, hybrid or remote.
2. Summary: two or three sentences on what the person will do and for whom.
3. Duties: five to eight bullet points, most important first.
4. Must have: three to six checkable items.
5. Nice to have: two or three.
6. Pay and schedule: range, hours, start date.
7. How to apply: where to send the resume.

Write must-haves a resume can prove

Legally sensitive requirements, such as a driver's license or availability for early starts, are often not on a resume. In our screening they are marked "confirm in interview" instead of "missing". Also avoid wording that rules out groups without being a real job requirement; ScreenSkills' template warns, for example, that phrases like "willing to work long hours" can discriminate against people with caring responsibilities unless the role genuinely requires them.

A filled example

Operations Coordinator, Austin TX, on site. You keep our field crews on schedule and our invoices out the door.

Duties: schedule daily crew routes; answer customer calls; send invoices; track materials.

Must have: 2+ years scheduling crews or appointments; QuickBooks Online; clear written English; Monday to Friday availability.

Nice to have: Spanish; experience in landscaping or home services.

Pay: $20 to $24 an hour. Apply: email your resume to the address on this page.

This is an invented example for illustration, not a real posting.

Common mistakes in job ads

• Twenty must-haves. If everything is required, nobody qualifies and the ranking means little. Keep three to six, and move the rest to nice-to-have.
• Years of experience as a proxy for skill. "5+ years" screens out capable people. Name the task instead: "has run payroll in QuickBooks".
• Buzzwords. "Self-starter" and "rockstar" cannot be checked on a resume. Say what you want done.
• Hiding the pay. A pay range saves everyone time and is required in some states and cities. Check your local rules.
• Missing dealbreakers. A schedule, a license, a location: if it matters, write it as a must-have so it is checked, or as a confirm-in-interview item.

Once the ad reads like the list above, a person or a screening can compare ten resumes or two hundred against it in the same way. Fairness also improves: every candidate is measured on the same few written requirements instead of on whichever resume you read first.

After the applications arrive

Upload the job description and the resumes you received to a screening: start one, or read how it works and pricing. You get an Excel ranking where each must-have is marked met, partly, not shown or confirm in interview, each with a quote from the resume. You can paste the ad into the message box if you do not have a file. If your ad has no clear list, we derive four to six requirements from its duties and show them in the Notes sheet so you can ask for a change in one of your two rounds.

Better ads give better shortlists. If the ranking looks off, check the job description first.

More about Screen

Sources (checked 2026-11-09): www.pin.com/blog/job-description-templates-recruiters/ · www.screenskills.com/media/6755/job-description-template.pdf