Uploaded a hiring post and either got crickets or a sea of irrelevant applications.
Sounds familiar? Every hiring manager has struggled with their mailbox from time to time. In fact, 42% of employers had to revise a job description after posting it because they were receiving too many unqualified candidates.
Job descriptions are changing. It’s no longer a static explanation of responsibilities required to quickly fill in a position. Nowadays, job descriptions showcase a company’s culture, employer branding, and technical roadmap. A single mistake can repel good talent. 52% of job seekers say the quality of a job description influences their decision to apply for a job.
How does this evolution from ‘simple explanation’ to ‘key hiring driver’ change job description creation and maintenance? 7 HRs across various industries share their struggles in writing and maintaining job descriptions. And we have found solutions for them.
Struggling To Write Job Descriptions
When the job description was just a formality, it was quite easy to write one. But now that the entire hiring success depends on it, the stakes are higher. In fact, 21% of employers have had to revise a job description after it was posted because they weren’t receiving enough candidates. Specificity is the key. Sara Green-Hamann, an HR leader and consultant, says that businesses, mainly small and medium-sized, often struggle to write job descriptions because the roles are still evolving. Being specific becomes hard as they would like flexibility in the job profile.
Ongig simplifies job description writing
We talked with HR professionals around the world to understand their struggles and developed a solution so you never have to start from a blank page again. Once you go to the Ongig dashboard, you can click on a new job, enter the job name, and automatically receive a base description to get started. You can further optimize it according to your company’s requirements. Ongig Text Analyzer also provides you with a score on various aspects, such as word choice and readability, to help you edit the description for maximum efficiency.
Ongig helps you write and assess job descriptions
Finding It Hard To Stay Away From Jargon
Another challenge is that many job descriptions are written in corporate jargon. Anu Mandapati, CEO & Fractional Chief Culture & Talent Officer at Qultured, says sometimes the complicated language in job descriptions makes it tough for candidates to assess what success in the role actually looks like. This confusion either makes them hesitant to apply or, worse, leads them to apply for the wrong role entirely.
Ongig flags jargon in job descriptions
Ongig Text Analyzer flags any jargon and helps you simplify it. While some jargon may be necessary, being flagged serves as a quick reminder to simplify wherever possible. Overall, you end up with more readable job posts by the end.
Going Too Narrow or Too Broad With Descriptions
How specific can you be with a job description? Getting into detail, hour by hour, will overwhelm talent. And a high-level description is just not enough to attract the right candidates.
| “Go too narrow, and you scare away flexible thinkers. Go too broad, and you attract people with no grounding in the job.” ~ Guillermo Triana, HR, PEO Advisor and Founder & CEO at PEO-Marketplace.com |
Behavioral requirements for the role are also a complicated area. Among all technical requirements, behavioral skills either end up showing in the job description as a token gesture or are fully absent. Uku Soot , Organizational Growth Strategist at IPB Partners, says he often has to reconstruct job descriptions on the basis of behavioral clarity for his clients. For one of the manufacturing clients, he rewrote descriptions of team leads not just on the basis of technical prowess but also included skills on who could better manage team dynamics. Their turnover was reduced drastically since people were now aware of what exactly to expect in the job on the first day.
Ongig creates job description templates
Ongig helps you templatize job descriptions so you are not missing out on any key details: technical , behavioral or cultural. You can create different templates for different roles.
Create job templates with Ongig
Another standout feature in Ongig is auto-applying templates. You can take any job description and just apply the template. It restructures the description as the required template, leaving sections empty where details are not provided. Now, you know the missing links in the job descriptions and can fill them out and create wholesome descriptions.
Auto-apply job templates in Ongig
Leaving Room for Bias
Bias remains a complicated subject area that gets even more nuanced as soon as you go global. In the UK, job descriptions must comply with employment, equality, and health and safety requirements. There may also be industry-specific constraints to consider. In the US, in addition to national legislation, there may be variations in state employment law. Wendy Makinson, HR Manager at Joloda Hydraroll , says, “Language differences and cultural nuances need to be taken into account, in addition to local and national legislation. Attention also needs to be given to accessibility and local market adaptability while maintaining a level of consistency to ensure global cohesion.”
Ongig detects bias in job descriptions
Ongig Text Analyzer detects all types of biases that slip through cracks: Gender, Age, Racial, Disability, Elistism, and more.
Bias detection in Ongig
The best part is that Ongig not only flags the words but also helps you rewrite the section by eliminating problematic words.
Automated Job Rewriter in Ongig
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Having Inconsistent Descriptions Across Teams
Disconnected job descriptions across teams don’t reflect well on the company. Guillermo Triana, HR, PEO Advisor and Founder & CEO at PEO-Marketplace.com, says he has seen issues where one team refers to the same role as ‘Client Success Manager’ and another team refers to it as ‘Account Executive’. Both roles have wildly different salaries, sometimes off by $10,000 or more. The end result is candidate confusion, internal resentment, and endless “why am I paid less?” conversations between employees after hiring.
Ongig centralizes job descriptions
Ongig brings all job descriptions in one centralized job and template library, so every team does not end up writing a unique and disconnected posting. For any requirement, they can directly go to one centralized database, select the role, and create a consistent description with base salary.
Job description library in Ongig
Posting Outdated Job Descriptions
Sometimes job descriptions are way too far off from reality. Matt Collingwood, Recruitment Specialist and Founder at VIQU IT Recruitment, says he was shocked when he once worked with a hiring manager who had been using the same job description for over 10 years. Over the decade, the job requirements would have evolved significantly, but none of them have been reflected in the job description.
Ongig tracks the edit history of job descriptions
Ongig shows the last updated date in the job description, so you are not sharing a job description edited in 2023 to a new applicant in 2025.
Audit log in Ongig
Promoting Job Descriptions That Don’t Reflect Company Culture
71% of job seekers say it’s important to see details about company culture in a job description. Vague job descriptions that don’t show the company’s focus on growth and inclusion negatively impact hiring.
| “Outdated or vague job descriptions send a message that clarity, growth, and inclusion aren’t priorities. That shapes how people see your culture, before they apply and when they’re an employee.” ~ Anu Mandapati, CEO & Fractional Chief Culture & Talent Officer at Qultured |
Ongig maintains the company culture in job descriptions
Ongig firstly helps you templatize the entire job description so you have placeholders to highlight company details such as mission and vision statement, benefits, and perks. Additionally, Ongig allows you to set custom checks, such as pay transparency, ensuring the job description aligns with your company’s policies.
Creating Descriptions Disconnected From Talent Strategy
Too often, job descriptions get treated like HR paperwork rather than recruiting tools. They’re simply copied and pasted from outdated templates or pulled from competitors’ postings without thinking about the current needs of the company or what makes their organization or role unique.
| “The fix here is to reframe how job descriptions fit into the workforce strategy and treat them more like an active recruitment tool than a passive document. Job descriptions that clearly articulate the company’s culture, how the role connects to the bigger picture, and what is truly essential for success are the most effective at attracting high-quality talent.” ~ David Case, President at Advastar |
Ongig integrates with existing HR systems
Ongig connects with ATS and HRIS, so you don’t have a job description in isolation. You can run analytics on top of it and measure conversions of descriptions. Take it one step further and review retention to evaluate your hiring strategy. Overall, you start seeing the job description as a recruiting tool and not just a few lines to kickstart hiring.
Solve all your job description struggles with Ongig
Ongig was born out of necessity when HRs were looking for a solution that was not available in the market.
| “When we first began talking to Ongig in late 2019 we were looking for a product that didn’t quite exist yet, but Ongig’s Text Analyzer was the closest we had found to what we were looking for. We approached Ongig with a dream and a hopeful release date. Ongig not only eagerly took on the challenge and made that dream a reality but made it even better than we had expected it to be. We now have a dynamic, automated job posting process that successfully works together with our internal system, Ongig, and the job boards we advertise on.” ~ Carrie Hannah, Director of Recruitment Marketing, Supplemental Health Care |
Ongig manages the entire job description lifecycle from creation, posting to tracking conversations. Schedule a quick demo to improve hiring processes.
