In smaller businesses, job descriptions are likely to be written by the relevant hiring manager, or even the company owner. In many cases, a smaller company’s job spec tends to double up as the job advert, whether it is placed on the company website, LinkedIn or elsewhere.
In larger businesses, job specs are often held and managed centrally by HR, with involvement from the hiring manager. They tend to be longer and peppered with “general responsibility” sections which apply to all roles across the organisation.
It is worth bearing in mind the size of the company when reading a job description as a potential applicant. It will give you a snapshot of the organisational structure and the team setup in which you might end up working.
For example, if you read certain items on a job spec that seem a little out of place (which is quite common), it will be helpful to consider who might have written the document. If the company is larger, you can take these extra items with more of a pinch of salt because they chances are that these items are included by default on all of the company’s documents. However, if the company is smaller, these incongruous items may in fact be a part of the role, and will be worth discussing in interview.
To discuss either writing or reading a job description, please give the Next Phase team a call!