One of the most common questions we get asked is: what actually makes a great job description?

At Liberty Hive our point of view is that job descriptions are deeply bespoke. In a world where AI can produce a perfectly polished but utterly soulless JD in seconds, authenticity matters more than ever.

Very simply, the best job descriptions are clear, honest, and human.

That said, there are some essential health checks we always recommend before you hit “post”.

1. Be upfront about the non-negotiables

If there are corporate policies that can’t be changed, flag them early.

You’d be amazed how common it is that candidates ask for greater flexibility. Save everyone time and be explicit from the outset about what is and isn’t flexible (e.g. days in the office)

2.  Always state the salary band

We strongly recommend including a salary band, not a single number.  It signals transparency, allows flexibility based on experience, prevents misalignment later in the process

3. Explain who this person will actually work with

One of the most effective additions you can make is answering:  “Who will this person work closely with, day to day?”

This brings the role to life far more than another bullet point about “stakeholder management” ever could. Even better is providing a simple overview of the team structure, something that’s rarely included in JDs but is one of the first things candidates ask about.

4. Hard skills are easy. Culture fit is not.

Matching on hard skills is the easy bit, frankly, that’s what AI is good at. The Liberty Hive platform does this automatically when a role is posted, surfacing the most relevant candidates instantly.

The harder part and the bit technology can’t do on its own, is the human overlay that conveys cultural fit. One of our bravest clients once described themselves as marmite: not for everyone, but perfect for the right people. That level of honesty is powerful.

5. Ruthlessly prioritise the role

It’s tempting to list everything. When writing the “what’s required” section, avoid a long shopping list and ask yourself: If this person only did three things really well, what would they be?

On the Liberty Hive platform, you can select as many skills as you like but we’ve recently added the ability to highlight the top three priority skills, for exactly this reason.

6. Sense check your job spec with key partners

That’s where our specialists come in. At Liberty Hive, we’ve all worked in the industries we recruit for. We’re not generic recruiters; we’re specialists across media, marketing, creative, HR, and finance.

That’s what allows us to help shape job descriptions, working with our partners to bring to help their job posts stand out.

7. Don’t leave shortlisting entirely to AI

When applications flood in, it’s tempting to let AI do all the filtering.

Be careful, there is a danger you could miss some brilliant people, especially those with unconventional backgrounds or highly transferable skills.

One simple alternative we love is to have 2–3 short screening questions by email.

Ask questions that:

• Get to the heart of what you actually need

• Give candidates a real flavour of the role and challenges

• Reveal thinking, not just experience

This small human layer makes a big difference, and we’re happy to build these screening questions directly into the Liberty Hive job-posting process.