People & Exec SupportFree tool
Job Description Writer for Small Business
A job description built from your notes: pay and schedule up front, an honest picture of the work, and only the requirements the job needs.
Free to start · Opens in your River workspace, ready to edit and share
How to write a job description
A job description tells candidates what the work is, what it pays and what it takes to do it well. A good one opens with a title people search for and the pay, schedule and location. Then it gives an honest summary of the job, five to eight duties, a short list of real must-haves, and clear steps to apply.
Write it for the person you hope to hire. Every line should help a good candidate decide to apply, or decide the job isn't for them, before either of you spends an hour on an interview.
What goes in a job description
The parts below run in the order candidates read them. In a small business, one document often does two jobs: it is the posting people apply from and your record of what the role requires.
The parts of a job description, with a clinic front desk as the example
| Part | What it holds | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Job title | The plain name people search for, plus a level if it matters | Front Desk Coordinator |
| Pay, schedule and location | The range, the hours, the place, and whether it's on site, hybrid or remote | $21 to $24 an hour, weekdays 7:30 to 4, on site |
| Summary | Three or four sentences on what the job is really like, hard parts included | "You'll be the first face patients see and the voice on every call." |
| Duties | Five to eight tasks, most important first, each starting with a verb | Check in patients, collect copays, keep four therapists' schedules full |
| First 90 days | Two to four results that show what success looks like | Runs the schedule without help by week six |
| Requirements | A few must-haves needed on day one, then nice-to-haves | Must: a year at a front desk. Nice: insurance verification. |
| Benefits | What you actually offer, in plain terms | Health insurance after 60 days, 10 paid days off |
| How to apply | What to send, to whom and by when, then an equal opportunity line | A resume and two lines on why this job, by June 30 |
Define the job before you write
Settle four things in writing before you draft a word. They supply most of what the posting needs.
Name the results
Write down what this person should have achieved after 90 days and after a year. The duties follow from those results.
List the real work
Ask whoever does the job now, or did it last, what fills their week. O*NET OnLine1, a free database sponsored by the US Department of Labor, lists typical tasks for more than 900 occupations.
Learn from the last hire
If someone held the role before, note what tripped them up. A missing skill may be a must-have; a hard pace belongs in the summary.
Set the pay range
Decide what you can pay now, not after the interviews. O*NET also shows what an occupation pays, nationally and in your state and metro area.
If more than one person has a say in the hire, agree on the level, budget and start date in a hiring manager intake meeting before anyone drafts the posting.
Write a clear title and an honest summary
Use the title candidates would type into a job search, not an internal or playful one. Google's guidelines for job listings in its search results say the title should be the job's title only, with no job codes, addresses, dates, salaries or company names2. Its example of a good one is "Shipping and Receiving Warehouse Associate," not an all-caps line shouting that the warehouse is hiring.
Not sure what people call the job? O*NET's occupation pages list the job titles workers report. For receptionists, they include Front Desk Receptionist, Medical Receptionist and Scheduler.
For the summary, describe a normal day, busy stretches and hard parts included. "The phones rarely stop before noon" tells the right candidate more than "fast-paced environment," and the people who apply anyway know what they're signing up for.
Keep requirements to what the job needs
Every must-have should be something a person can't do the job without on day one. Everything else is a nice-to-have, or something you'll teach. Write each one so you can check it from a resume or a single interview question.
Degree requirements creep in easily. In a 2017 report, Harvard Business School, Accenture and Grads of Life found that 67% of production supervisor postings in 2015 asked for a college degree3. Only 16% of people doing that job had one. Ask whether the best person who ever did your job would pass your list.
The duties you list carry legal weight, too. The Americans with Disabilities Act's employment rules cover employers with 15 or more employees. Under them, a written job description prepared before you advertise or interview counts as evidence of which duties are essential4. List a physical demand only if the job truly needs it.
Before: Bachelor's degree required. 3+ years in a fast-paced environment. Rockstar multitasker. Must be able to lift 50 pounds.
After, must-haves: A year or more at a front desk, reception or customer service job. You've booked appointments in any scheduling software.
After, nice-to-haves: Insurance verification. Any electronic health records system.
- Checkable. Each must-have can be confirmed from a resume or one question, unlike "rockstar multitasker."
- No degree. Nothing in the duties calls for one, so it's gone.
- No lifting line. The desk job involves no heavy lifting, so it was cut.
Those same must-haves become your screening list when applications arrive, which keeps resume screening quick and consistent.
Post the pay and check the wording
In the US, several states now require a pay range in the posting itself. New York requires one from employers with four or more employees5. California requires a pay scale in any job posting from employers with 15 or more employees6. Its Labor Commissioner applies that to remote jobs that could be filled from California.
In both states, the range has to be what you honestly expect to pay, not a placeholder. Where no law requires one, post a range anyway: it saves you interviewing people who need more than you can pay.
Then read every line for wording that screens people out. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission says it is illegal to publish a job ad that shows a preference for, or discourages, applicants7 because of a protected trait. Those include race, religion, sex, national origin, disability, and age 40 or older.
The agency's own example is an ad seeking "females" or "recent college graduates." Describe the work instead of the person you picture: "checks in 50 patients a day," not "young, energetic team."
When to ask a lawyer
Pay range rules differ by state and city, and some reach remote jobs. If you hire in more than one state, or a posting draws a complaint, have an employment lawyer review it. This guide is general information, not legal advice.
Check it before you post
Read the draft once the way a candidate would, on a phone. If you'd skim past a line, cut it.
Before you post the job
- The title is one a candidate would search for
- Pay, schedule and location are in the first lines
- The summary names what's hard about the job
- Every must-have is needed on day one
- No word hints at age, sex or another protected trait
- It says what to send, to whom and by when
Want a first draft to edit? Describe the role in the box at the top of this page, and River writes the posting from your notes, marking anything it still needs from you. For a bigger team, the job description and requirement register tests each must-have against the people already doing the job.
How it works
Start with a few lines about the job, the way you'd explain it to a friend, or drop in an old posting or your notes. River writes the posting in your workspace with pay and schedule up front, an honest summary, duties, goals for the first 90 days, requirements and how to apply. It never invents pay, perks or requirements; anything missing is marked for you to confirm.
It also questions your requirements. Any degree, years of experience or physical demand the duties don't justify comes out. A note for you explains each change and whether your location likely requires a pay range.
Describe the role
Explain the job in your own words or drop in an old posting, plus pay and schedule if known.
River drafts the posting
Title, pay and schedule up front, an honest summary, duties, 90-day goals, requirements and how to apply.
Read the notes
A note under the posting lists requirements it cut or questioned, likely pay range rules and anything to confirm.
Edit and adapt it
Change anything, then ask for a short job board version, interview questions or a matching offer letter.
What you get
- A searchable job title and a summary that says plainly what the work is like, hard parts included
- Pay, schedule and location in the first lines, with benefits exactly as you describe them, never invented
- Five to eight duties, plus two to four outcomes that show what success looks like by day 90
- Short must-have and nice-to-have lists, with requirements the duties don't justify cut and explained
- How to apply and a short equal opportunity statement, in a document you can edit and share
- A note under the posting, just for you, on likely pay range rules and anything left to confirm
Common questions
What should a job description include?
A job description should include a searchable title, the pay range, the schedule and the location. It also needs a short summary of the work, five to eight duties, must-have and nice-to-have requirements, benefits, and how to apply. Put pay and schedule near the top, and keep any company background to a line or two.
How do I write a job description with River?
Describe the role in the box at the top of this page, or drop in an old posting or your notes. Add pay and schedule if you know them. River then writes the posting into your free River workspace, with a note underneath on anything to confirm. Edit it there, share it, or ask River for changes.
Do I have to put a pay range in a job posting?
In some US states, yes. New York requires a range from employers with four or more employees, and California and Washington from those with 15 or more. Colorado requires pay information in all job postings, and some cities add their own rules. Check your state labor department for the current rule. Where a range is optional, posting one still saves you and your candidates time.
What is the difference between a job description and a job posting?
A job description is your internal record of what a role does and requires. A job posting is the ad candidates read, so it leads with pay, schedule and why the job is worth applying for. Small businesses often use one document for both, and River can turn a posting into a plainer internal version if you ask.
How long should a job description be?
About one page is enough for most roles: long enough to answer what a candidate needs to decide, and short enough to read on a phone. Give most of that space to the summary and duties. Cut generic culture paragraphs and minor tasks that take a few minutes a week. River can also write a version under 150 words for job boards.
What are common job description mistakes?
Common job description mistakes include requirements the job doesn't need, a missing pay range and an internal or playful title. Another is describing the person you picture instead of the work. Vague must-haves cause a quieter problem. Applicants often mirror a posting's words when they tailor a resume and cover letter, so "strong communicator" comes back in every application and tells you nothing.
Is the job description writer free?
Yes, it is free to start. Your job description opens in a River workspace, where you can edit it, share it with anyone helping you hire, or ask River to change it. Paid plans add more AI use and access to the most advanced models.
Sources
U.S. Department of Labor. “O*NET OnLine.” onetonline.org (opens in a new tab)
Google for Developers. “Learn About Job Posting Schema Markup.” developers.google.com (opens in a new tab)
Harvard Business School. “New Report: Degree Inflation Hurting Bottom Line of U.S. Firms, Closing Off Economic Opportunity for Millions of Americans.” hbs.edu (opens in a new tab)
eCFR. “29 CFR 1630.2: Definitions.” ecfr.gov (opens in a new tab)
New York State Department of Labor. “Pay Transparency.” dol.ny.gov (opens in a new tab)
California DIR. “California Equal Pay Act.” dir.ca.gov (opens in a new tab)
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. “Prohibited Employment Policies/Practices.” eeoc.gov (opens in a new tab)
Built by
Chandler Supple
Co-founder & CEO, River
Chandler has spent the last six years working in AI, building tools for millions of users and Fortune 100 companies. In 2025, he co-founded River to build a new kind of operating system for AI agents.