Why Most Job Descriptions Fail (and What to Do Instead)

**📄 The Job Description Is Broken** You've seen them a thousand times: "We're looking for a rockstar self-starter with 5+ years of experience in a fast-paced environment…" It's generic. It's recycled. It says everything and nothing all at once. And worst of all—it's **repelling the candidates you actually want to hire.** --- ## 🚨 What's Wrong with Traditional Job Descriptions? - **They're too vague** "Responsible for growth" tells a candidate nothing about what they'll actually do. - **They're overloaded with buzzwords** Rockstar. Ninja. Synergistic thinker. These aren't qualifications—they're branding clichés. - **They don't describe the actual problem to solve** Most JDs list tasks, not challenges. Great candidates want to solve problems—not tick boxes. - **They prioritize credentials over capability** Requiring a specific number of years in an arbitrary stack filters out high-potential talent fast. --- ## 🎯 What Candidates Actually Want to Know If you want better applicants, give them better context. Here's what high-quality candidates are looking for: - What problem will I be responsible for solving? - What does success look like in the first 90 days? - What constraints exist (team size, budget, tools)? - What's broken, blocked, or urgent? - Why does this role matter to the company right now? In other words: don't write a **checklist.** Write a **mission brief.** --- ## 💡 The Shift to Problem-Centric Hiring When you describe the problem first, everything changes: - You attract people who've *solved it before* - You avoid attracting resume-padders who keyword-match and ghost later - You spark curiosity—and filter for strategic thinking - You give hiring managers a shared language with candidates from day one --- ## 🤖 How Vetta Helps You Write Better Than a Job Description With Vetta, you don't even write a job description in the traditional sense. Instead, you: - Describe the **problem you're hiring to solve** - Define what success looks like - Let our AI match you to people who've already tackled that challenge - Skip the resume scan, the filtering, and the inbox flood You get blinded matches, STAR-format accomplishments, and analytics that help you hire faster. No more guessing if someone fits. You already know they've done it. --- ## ✅ What to Do Instead If you want different results, start with a different approach. --- ## 🧠 Final Thought: Your Job Description Is the First Filter Most companies write job descriptions to justify a role. You should write them to attract the right person. If you're ready to stop posting laundry lists and start hiring people who solve real problems: > Ready to flip the script on job descriptions? > Try Vetta free →