jd-craft

name

jd-craft

description

Generate a bias-free, ATS-optimized, skills-based job description for 2026. Runs a banned-word filter on gender-coded ("rockstar/ninja/guru/aggressive/dominate"), age-coded ("digital native/young/recent grad"), and ability-coded ("walk the floor") language; enforces skills-based requirements (drops "5+ years required" to "3 years preferred" unless regulatory); auto-injects pay transparency block for CA/CO/CT/HI/IL/MD/NV/NY/RI/WA states (and others added in 2026); generates ATS-parseable structure (single column, no tables, no graphics, plain headings) so the 75% of applications filtered by ATS see real text; produces multiple channel formats (LinkedIn long-form, Indeed structured, internal careers page, Slack/Lever/Greenhouse import). TRIGGER on "job description", "JD", "write a JD", "open req", "we're hiring", "post a job", "career posting", "writing a role". The Hewlett Packard finding still holds: women apply when they meet 100% of criteria, men at 60% — wording discipline directly affects who applies.

Job Description Generator

You generate job descriptions that (a) attract a wide qualified candidate pool, (b) survive ATS filters, (c) comply with pay-transparency laws, and (d) signal a credible employer brand. Bias-free is the floor, not the ceiling.

The signal is real: A Hewlett Packard study found women apply when they meet 100% of stated criteria; men at 60%. The wording of "required" vs "preferred", "5+ years" vs "demonstrated experience", "guru" vs "engineer" directly shapes who self-selects.

============================================================ === PRE-FLIGHT ===

Verify:

• Role specifics: title, level (IC1-IC7 / M1-M5), team, manager, comp band, location/remote policy.
• State / country compliance: pay transparency required in CA, CO, CT, HI, IL (Jan 2025), MD, NV, NY, RI, WA, DC. Federal contractors have additional disclosures. International: EU Pay Transparency Directive transposed in many member states by 2026.
• Skills-based scope: what are the 5-7 specific skills that determine success in year 1? Not "years of experience" as a proxy.
• Hiring stage: do you have a structured interview kit yet? (If not, route to /interview-kit-builder first — the JD and kit should match.)

Recovery:

• If comp band undefined, refuse to publish in transparency-required states and surface the requirement.
• If role title is jargony ("Code Ninja", "Growth Hacker"), suggest the standardized title for ATS search visibility.

============================================================ === PHASE 1: BIAS-FILTER PASS ===

Maintain a banned-pattern list. Categories:

Gender-coded:

• Masculine-skewed: rockstar, ninja, guru, aggressive, dominant, fearless, competitive, "thick skin", combat, hunt, conquer, killer.
• Feminine-skewed (also a problem): nurturing, supportive without context, gentle, compassionate when not core to role.

Age-coded:

• "Digital native", "young and hungry", "recent grad", "energetic", "fresh perspective" (often code for young).
• Conversely: "seasoned", "mature" (often code for older).

Ability-coded:

• "Walk the floor", "hit the ground running", "see eye to eye", "lend an ear".

Race / cultural-coded:

• "Culture fit" (use "culture add"), "tribe", "blackballed".

Class-coded:

• "Top-tier university" (drop unless regulatory), "Ivy League graduate".

Vague status terms:

• "Rockstar", "wizard", "guru" — banned all sides.

For each match, suggest the inclusive replacement. Refuse to publish if any banned term remains.

VALIDATION: A red-team fixture of 30 JDs with known violations — the filter catches ≥ 28.

============================================================ === PHASE 2: SKILLS-BASED REQUIREMENTS ===

Convert from "years of experience" to "demonstrated skills":

Bad: "5+ years of React experience." Good: "You've shipped at least one React production app and can debug a re-render cycle."

Bad: "Bachelor's degree in CS required." Good: "Proficiency in software design and one statically-typed language. CS degree, bootcamp, or self-taught all welcome."

Rule: only keep "X years required" if regulatory (e.g., FAA pilot hours, AMA medical license years). Otherwise convert to a behavioral skill.

Split requirements into two buckets:

• Must have (3-5 max): things truly required for day 1. If you can train it, it doesn't belong here.
• Nice to have (3-5): would accelerate ramp but the candidate can learn.

VALIDATION: "Must have" list ≤ 5 items. Each is a behavioral / skill description, not a credential.

============================================================ === PHASE 3: PAY TRANSPARENCY BLOCK ===

Auto-generate the comp section based on detected location. Default template:

## Compensation

Base salary range: $X–$Y (USD). This range reflects what we'd typically offer to a
candidate hired at this level for this location. The actual offer depends on level,
location-adjusted band, and equity grant.

Equity: This role is eligible for equity grants. Typical grant for this level is X–Y
options or RSUs (4-year vest, 1-year cliff).

Benefits: Health/dental/vision (we cover 100% of employee, 75% of dependents),
401(k) with 4% match, 20 days PTO + holidays + birthday off, $X/year learning budget.

Total compensation: We target {percentile} of {peer cohort} for this role/level.

State-specific adjustments:

• CA: must include hourly range for non-exempt roles.
• CO: must include "expected close date" if known.
• NY/NYC: must include "good faith" salary range.
• WA: must include compensation AND general description of benefits.

VALIDATION: For each state in the listing's location field, the appropriate disclosures are present.

============================================================ === PHASE 4: ATS STRUCTURE ===

Up to 75% of applications are filtered by ATS before a recruiter sees them. Generate JD as ATS-parseable:

• Single column.
• Headings as plain text (## About the role, not images of headings).
• No tables, no graphics in the JD body.
• Bullet lists, not paragraphs of dense text.
• Skill keywords listed naturally in the prose (so candidate ATS-matching works both ways).
• Action verbs, present tense, second person ("You'll ship...", "You'll partner with...").
• Avoid acronym-only ("KPI", "OKR") — spell out at first mention.

VALIDATION: JD rendered as plain text retains all critical information. No essential content lives in images.

============================================================ === PHASE 5: CHANNEL VARIANTS ===

Generate variants for each channel:

1. Internal careers page (full version, ~500-800 words).
2. LinkedIn long-form (~400-600 words; LinkedIn truncates after ~2000 chars in the feed preview, so lead with hook).
3. Indeed structured (job title ≤ 100 chars, summary ≤ 1500 chars, ATS-keyword density tuned).
4. Slack / X / community announcement (≤ 280 chars + link).
5. Lever / Greenhouse / Workday import (CSV or JSON matching their schema).

VALIDATION: Each variant respects its character limit and surfaces the role + compensation + apply-link in the first viewport.

============================================================ === PHASE 6: PROCESS TRANSPARENCY ===

Top-quartile candidates pre-screen the process. Include in the JD:

• Interview stages (with rough duration): "30-min recruiter call → 60-min hiring manager → 90-min technical → 90-min cross-functional → reference checks → offer."
• Expected timeline: "We aim to make a decision within 2 weeks of first conversation."
• Visa / sponsorship policy: explicit yes/no per region.
• Remote policy: fully remote / hybrid (with days/week) / in-office.

VALIDATION: Process section is concrete (durations, stages, decision timeline), not vague ("multiple interviews").

============================================================ === PHASE 7: OUTPUT PACKAGE ===

jd-{role-slug}/
├── README.md                       # Where to post each variant
├── careers_page.md                 # full version
├── linkedin.md
├── indeed.md
├── slack_announcement.md
├── ats_import.json                 # Lever/Greenhouse-compatible
├── bias_report.md                  # which banned phrases were caught + replaced
└── compliance_check.md             # pay transparency, sponsorship, EEO disclaimers

============================================================ === SELF-REVIEW ===

Score 1–5:

• Complete: All variants + bias report + compliance check delivered?
• Robust: Banned-phrase filter catches edge cases? Pay transparency state-specific?
• Clean: ATS-parseable as plain text? Variants respect character limits?
• Inclusion-credible: Would a TA partner familiar with bias research (Textio, Ongig data) accept this as production-ready?

Common gap: failing to convert "5+ years required" to behavioral skill. Re-scan the must-haves and convert.

============================================================ === LEARNINGS CAPTURE ===

Append to ~/.claude/skills/jd-craft/LEARNINGS.md:

— <role, level, state>

• What worked:
• What was awkward: <retry/manual fix>
• Suggested patch:
• Verdict: [Smooth / Minor friction / Major friction]

============================================================ === STRICT RULES ===

• Never publish without bias-filter pass. Banned terms cost real candidates real applications.
• Never publish in a transparency state without comp range. Some states fine $1k-$10k per posting.
• Never use degree as a proxy for skills unless legally required.
• Never include EEO statements that are vague ("we welcome diversity") — be specific or omit (vague EEO underperforms in candidate trust surveys).
• Never write requirements that exceed actual day-1 needs. Inflation of "must have" is the single largest equity leak.