| name | job-description |
| description | When the user needs to write, review, or improve a job posting for a startup role. |
| related | ["interview-kit","sourcing-outreach","employer-brand"] |
| reads | ["startup-context"] |
| tags | ["nontechnical","startup-founder-skills","job-description"] |
Job Description
When to Use
Activate when the user asks to create a new job posting, rewrite an existing one, or get feedback on a draft JD. Also activate when the user is preparing to hire for a new role and needs to define it clearly before sourcing candidates.
Context Required
- From startup-context: Company name, mission statement, stage/funding, tech stack (for eng roles), team size, remote/hybrid/onsite policy, benefits, and equity structure.
- From user: Role title, reporting structure, seniority level, key responsibilities, must-have vs. nice-to-have qualifications, compensation range (or willingness to include one), and hiring timeline.
Workflow
- Clarify the role — Ask the user what problem this hire solves. A JD should start from business need, not a generic title. Confirm level, scope, and team placement.
- Draft the hook — Write a 2-3 sentence opening that connects the company mission to why this role matters right now. Avoid generic openers like "We are looking for a rockstar..."
- Structure the body — Organize into five sections: Mission & Impact, What You'll Do (6-8 bullets), What You Bring (5-7 bullets split into must-have and nice-to-have), What We Offer, and How to Apply.
- Apply anti-pattern checks — Scan the draft for corporate jargon, unrealistic requirement stacking, gendered language, and exclusionary phrasing. Flag and fix.
- Add startup-specific framing — Emphasize ownership, speed of impact, equity upside, learning velocity, and access to leadership. These are startup advantages over big-co offers.
- Review comp and inclusivity — Ensure compensation transparency (range or "we'll share in first conversation"). Confirm language passes inclusive-language guidelines.
- Final polish — Tighten to a scannable length (400-700 words). Ensure the tone matches the company voice from startup-context.
Output Format
A complete, ready-to-post job description in markdown with the following sections:
- Title and location/remote line
- Opening hook (2-3 sentences)
- About Us (3-4 sentences)
- What You'll Do (bulleted list)
- What You Bring (must-haves and nice-to-haves, clearly separated)
- What We Offer (bulleted list)
- How to Apply (1-2 sentences with clear next step)
Frameworks & Best Practices
The HERO Structure
- Hook: Why this role matters to the mission right now
- Expectations: What the person will actually do day-to-day
- Requirements: What they genuinely need to succeed (not a wish list)
- Offer: What the company gives back (comp, equity, growth, culture)
Anti-Patterns to Avoid
- Requirement inflation: Listing 15+ requirements signals you don't know what you need. Keep must-haves to 4-5.
- Corporate jargon: "Synergy," "leverage," "fast-paced environment" are empty. Use concrete language.
- Gendered language: Avoid "ninja," "rockstar," "aggressive." Use tools like the Gender Decoder or Textio guidelines as a reference.
- Years-of-experience gates: "7+ years of React" excludes strong candidates. Prefer demonstrated capability over tenure.
- Hidden role: If the job is actually three jobs, split it or be honest about the breadth.
Inclusive Language Guidelines
- Use "you" instead of "the ideal candidate" to feel inviting rather than evaluative.
- Replace "requirements" with "what you bring" to reduce self-screening by underrepresented candidates.
- Include an explicit encouragement to apply even if not a 100% match (research shows this matters for women and minority applicants).
- State accommodation availability for the interview process.
Compensation Transparency
- Include a salary range. Listings with ranges get significantly more applicants.
- If equity is offered, state the range in percentage or share count and mention the vesting schedule.
- Name benefits explicitly rather than saying "competitive benefits package."
Startup-Specific Framing
- Impact: "You'll be one of the first 10 engineers shaping the product architecture."
- Ownership: "You'll own the entire lifecycle of features, from design through production monitoring."
- Equity: "We offer meaningful equity because early employees take real risk and deserve real upside."
- Growth: "As we scale from 10 to 50, you'll grow into a leadership role if you want it."
Related Skills
interview-kit — After posting the JD, design the interview loop and scorecards for this role.sourcing-outreach — Use the JD as the basis for personalized outreach messages to passive candidates.employer-brand — Ensure the JD tone and content align with your careers page and employer brand narrative.
Examples
Prompt: "We need to hire our first product designer. We're a 12-person B2B SaaS startup, Series A, remote-first."
Good output snippet:
# Product Designer — Remote (US/Canada time zones)
Join Acme as our founding designer and shape the product experience
from the ground up. You won't be handed a pixel-perfect spec — you'll
partner directly with engineering and customers to figure out what to
build and how it should feel.
## What You'll Do
- Own the end-to-end design process for our core B2B platform
- Run discovery calls with customers weekly to ground designs in real workflows
- Build and maintain our design system as the foundation for a future team
- Collaborate async-first with engineering using Figma and Loom
...
Prompt: "Review this JD for red flags."
Good output snippet:
Issues found:
1. "Must have 10+ years in Python" — This filters out strong mid-career
candidates. Consider "deep fluency in Python" instead.
2. "Fast-paced environment" — This is vague. Replace with something
concrete: "We ship weekly and iterate based on customer feedback."
3. No salary range listed — Adding a range will increase your applicant
pool significantly.
