Write a skills-focused job description by starting with the work the role actually performs, then naming the capabilities and relevant experience needed to deliver its outcomes. Replace unsupported proxies—such as a degree or a set number of years—with job-related evidence, while retaining qualifications required by the work or applicable rules. Finally, choose a suitable way to evaluate the skills you name.
Start with the role’s current work
Before drafting, speak with employees who do the job and the people who supervise it. Identify why each major function exists, what successful results look like, and what has changed. Remove outdated duties, and distinguish essential responsibilities from occasional or marginal tasks.
This matters for both accuracy and accessibility. The EEOC’s ADA Technical Assistance Manual advises employers using written descriptions to review them for accuracy against the current job’s actual functions. It also explains that actual work can be more relevant than a description that no longer reflects the role. A particular method of performing a function is not necessarily essential if the function’s purpose or result can be achieved another way; qualified applicants with disabilities may be able to perform essential functions with reasonable accommodation. See the EEOC guidance on essential functions.
Translate outcomes into observable skills
For each important outcome, ask what a person must know or be able to do, and what evidence at work would demonstrate that capability. Describe the context and result rather than relying on a vague trait or keyword. For example, if the job requires communicating technical findings, specify the audience and purpose—such as explaining findings to nontechnical stakeholders—if that accurately reflects the role.
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OPM defines job analysis as a systematic review of tasks and competencies. In federal hiring, qualifications should be specific and tied to that analysis. The same discipline helps any employer make requirements understandable and defensible: a candidate should be able to tell what the skill means in this job, not merely see a list of desirable-sounding terms. OPM’s qualification policy describes job-related knowledge, skills, and abilities that may be demonstrated through education, experience, or training, while recognizing that some federal occupational series have specific standards.
Describe experience as evidence, not just years
State what kind of work would show readiness for the role. “Three years of experience” alone does not tell applicants what they must have done or what proficiency they need. Instead, identify the relevant work, its scope, and the result or level of responsibility that matters.
Where different seniority levels or grades require different experience, describe those levels separately. OPM’s USAJOBS experience guidance recommends specific descriptions of specialized experience and distinguishing experience levels when relevant. Its federal hiring context is important: private employers should not treat federal announcement instructions as universal rules.
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Review degree, license, and credential requirements
For every formal qualification, ask whether it is genuinely needed on entry and why. Keep a degree, license, certificate, or minimum experience threshold when the job or applicable rules require it. Otherwise, consider whether the relevant capability could be demonstrated through work, education, training, or other experience.
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Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →If education is required, state the requirement plainly. Where a posting system calls for it and no education is required, say so rather than leaving candidates to guess. If education may substitute for experience, explain the substitution and any applicable limits. OPM’s USAJOBS education guidance describes these expectations for federal announcements; regulated professions and other hiring contexts may impose their own requirements.
Removing a four-year-degree screen by itself does not make a process skills-first. The U.S. Department of Labor’s 2024 Skills-First Hiring Starter Kit was designed to help employers implement this approach and notes the practical challenge employers can face even after dropping that screen. Skills-first hiring means recognizing capabilities regardless of where or how someone acquired them, not lowering standards or replacing one proxy with another.
Write the posting in plain, direct language
Use active voice and address the candidate where it reads naturally. “You will oversee…” is more direct than “The incumbent oversees…”. Explain specialized experience in ordinary language, and remove internal jargon candidates would not know.
A practical structure for a non-federal posting is:
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1Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches2Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors3Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute- Role purpose: State the problem the role exists to solve and its main contribution.
- Key outcomes and responsibilities: List current, meaningful work and the results it is intended to produce.
- Skills and capabilities: Group job-related knowledge and abilities so applicants can understand what matters.
- Relevant experience: Describe the work or other evidence that demonstrates capability, distinguishing levels if needed.
- Education and credentials: State requirements, accepted substitutions, and any applicable no-education requirement.
- Work conditions and essential functions: Accurately describe relevant conditions and functions, with attention to applicable accommodation duties.
- Evaluation: Briefly say what evidence or assessment will be used to evaluate the named skills.
This is a drafting aid, not an official required template. Federal announcements may have required sections and field rules in the USAJOBS application guidance.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Match assessment to the skill and the job
For each important capability, decide what evidence would demonstrate proficiency. Depending on the work, that could be a work sample, structured interview question, demonstration, or another appropriate method. Do not assume one assessment format is best for every role.
OPM’s assessment and selection guidance says tools should fit the job and organizational setting. Consider work complexity, staffing, time, and resources when selecting a method. OPM’s Merit Matters article describes a federal IT initiative that used a coding assessment rather than relying only on a self-reported skill claim; that example illustrates one agency’s approach, not a universal requirement. The article also reports that OPM had begun rewriting 604 federal occupational series as part of a classification and hiring initiative—a contextual count, not evidence of the impact of skills-focused descriptions. See OPM’s Merit Matters.
Compare drafts before publishing
When choosing between a traditional draft and a skills-focused revision, check whether each requirement is grounded in current work and whether the posting makes the expectations clear to candidates.
Quick Recap
- Job evidence: Can you trace each requirement to a current task or outcome?
- Specificity: Can a candidate understand the capability required and what experience could demonstrate it?
- Necessity: Is each degree, credential, or experience threshold supported by a job-related reason or applicable rule?
- Accuracy and accessibility: Does the description distinguish essential functions from marginal tasks and focus on the result rather than assuming one method?
- Assessability: Is there a suitable way to evaluate each important skill?
- Clarity: Can a job seeker quickly understand the work, qualifications, and acceptable alternatives?
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