Writing a job and person specification

To find your ideal employee, you first need to identify your specific needs and wants. You will then need to articulate this into a clear job and person specification. Follow our structure to ensure you attract the right applicants and have the detail you need to quickly and efficiently evaluate CVs.

You’ll need to create:

• A job specification - a tailored description of the vacancy, including the responsibilities and goals of the post-holder
• A person specification - a profile of the person you think would fit your culture and requirements

To prepare these you’ll first need to identify your specific needs and wants. To help you do this, read our 4 key steps to defining your ideal employee. Many employers make the mistake of advertising a vague-sounding job, with the intention of seeing ‘who turns up’.

This invariably leads to time being lost sifting through irrelevant applications or interviewing candidates who, when confronted with the reality of the position, discover the role is not for them after all. The specifications you prepare will help you evaluate CVs and create a list of pertinent questions for interview.