Introduction
A job posting is often a candidate’s first real glimpse inside your organization—and job description red flags can send great candidates running before you ever get the chance to meet them.
That’s because sometimes, what candidates see isn’t quite what you intended.
A “fast-paced environment” might sound exciting to you. But a candidate might read, “Everything is always on fire.”
What If It Really Is a Fast-Paced Environment?
A good job description gives candidates the information they need to make an informed decision about whether they can succeed in the role—and whether they want to work for your organization. It’s not supposed to sell everyone on the job. It’s supposed to help the right people understand what they’re signing up for.
That doesn’t mean hiding the hard parts.
Last year, my team helped a behavioral health organization develop an onboarding program for employees who worked with people experiencing challenges with substance misuse and mental health. Their work could be incredibly rewarding. It could also be incredibly stressful, unpredictable, and downright difficult.
The organization didn’t pretend otherwise. Its job descriptions helped candidates understand what they were getting into, and our onboarding program took that transparency a step further by preparing new employees for what they would encounter on the job.
Once the onboarding program was implemented, turnover dropped almost immediately—and their transparent job descriptions were an integral part of that drop.
The Job Description Matters
Sometimes, the problem isn’t that a job is demanding. It’s that the job description either disguises what makes it demanding behind vague language or includes “requirements” that aren’t actually necessary to do the job at all.
So before you post your next opening, watch for these seven job description red flags that may be sending great candidates in the opposite direction.
And if you’re on the opposite side of the hiring process, use these red flags as clues in your job search. They may tell you want to watch for—or questions to ask if you land an interview.
1. The Mystery Job
What the JD says: Seeking a motivated self-starter to join our dynamic team. The ideal candidate will wear many hats, take ownership of their work, and perform a variety of duties as assigned.
What candidates hear: We’re not entirely sure what this job is either. You’ll discover your responsibilities after you accept our offer. Possibly one at a time, like side quests.
What to say instead: Tell candidates what they’ll actually be responsible for. Focus on the most important tasks they’ll perform, the outcomes they’ll need to achieve, and who they’ll work with. If the role includes a wide variety of responsibilities, say what those are rather than asking candidates to prepare for an unspecified collection of hats.
You don’t have to account for every task that might ever land on someone’s desk. Jobs evolve, unexpected needs come up, and “other duties as assigned” exists for a reason. But candidates should be able to read your job description and form a reasonably accurate picture of what doing that job will look like.
Specificity also helps candidates determine whether they’re qualified—and whether they want the job. That means you may get fewer applications from people who aren’t a good fit and more informed applications from people who are—which could also mean less turnover.
2. The Hidden Terms and Conditions
What the JD says: Hybrid position with occasional travel. Some flexibility in scheduling required.
What candidates hear: “Hybrid” could mean one day a month in the office or four days a week—we’ll tell you eventually. “Occasional” travel could mean twice a year or twice a month. And we hope you didn’t have anything important planned for your evenings.
What to say instead: Be specific about requirements that affect when and where employees work. Do you expect employees onsite three days a week? Say so. If the job requires approximately 25% travel, say that—and, if you can, explain what that typically looks like. If employees regularly work evenings or weekends, candidates deserve to know that before they apply.
And please don’t advertise a position as remote when what you really mean is “remote, as long as you live within 30 minutes of our office and can come in whenever we ask.”
Before requiring employees to work onsite, ask whether they genuinely need to. Some highly qualified candidates have disabilities that make working onsite difficult or even impossible. An unnecessary onsite requirement can eliminate well-qualified candidates without giving them a chance.
If being in the office isn’t necessary to do the job, don’t make it necessary to get the job.
Be upfront about what the job truly requires. The goal isn’t to convince as many people as possible to apply. It’s to give the right candidates enough information to recognize the right job.
3. Stress as a Job Requirement
What the JD says: Must be comfortable working in a fast-paced environment with rapidly shifting priorities. Must work well under pressure and be able to multitask.
What candidates hear: We don’t plan ahead, everything is urgent, and you will have no idea what you’re doing from one Tuesday to the next.
What to say instead: Describe the working conditions candidates will actually encounter. Does the role involve responding to urgent client requests? Managing several projects with competing deadlines? Switching frequently between tasks?
Candidates can make a much more informed decision about whether the job is right for them if they know what “fast-paced” really means.
And if the environment is unnecessarily stressful, don’t make “ability to tolerate our dysfunction” a job requirement. Fix what you can. For example, if everyone is stressed out because turnover is high, consider investing in better onboarding and employee support.
(Cough, we can help with that. Cough, cough.)
4. Personality as a Qualification
What the JD says: Seeking an outgoing, high-energy “people person” with excellent interpersonal skills.
What candidates hear: Quiet people and introverts need not apply. Please be charming. And if you don’t make eye contact, laugh at the right moments, and perform enthusiasm the way we expect, we may decide you’re “not a good fit.”
What to say instead: Focus on the skills and behaviors the job actually requires—not the personality you imagine the ideal employee having.
Does the employee need to explain complex information clearly to clients? Facilitate meetings? Build productive relationships with stakeholders? Resolve conflicts? Those are job-related skills you can describe and evaluate.
Being outgoing, bubbly, or naturally charismatic is a personality preference. This distinction matters for inclusion. Introverts may see “outgoing personality required” and decide not to apply for a job they could perform exceptionally well. Neurodivergent candidates may communicate differently from what an interviewer expects—for example, making less eye contact, taking more time to formulate an answer, or displaying enthusiasm in less obvious ways. None of those things necessarily tells you whether someone can communicate effectively or do the job well.
Even “excellent interpersonal skills” deserves a second look. What does excellent mean for this particular role? If you can’t translate it into something observable and relevant to the work, you may end up evaluating candidates against unwritten social rules instead of actual job requirements.
Before putting a personality trait in a job description, ask yourself: Does someone truly need this trait to succeed in the role—or is this simply the kind of person we're most comfortable working with?
5. Chaos Disguised as Flexibility
What the JD says: Must be flexible, adapt quickly to change, and be comfortable with shifting priorities in a dynamic environment.
What candidates hear: We will change our minds constantly, often without telling you why. The thing we said was your top priority yesterday is no longer important. Please accept this with a smile.
What to say instead: Start by figuring out what kind of flexibility the job really requires. Do client needs sometimes change unexpectedly? Do employees regularly move between projects? Is the organization growing quickly, so processes are still evolving? Say that.
And take a hard look at whether all that change is truly inherent to the work. Sometimes, priorities have to shift. And sometimes, organizations are simply bad at planning and communicating decisions. Calling that a “dynamic environment” doesn’t make it a feature.
Unpredictability can also create unnecessary barriers for neurodivergent employees and others who do their best work with clear expectations, advance notice, and time to adjust to change. That doesn’t mean they can’t adapt. It means there’s a difference between being able to respond when change is necessary and being expected to function indefinitely in preventable chaos.
If priorities genuinely change frequently, tell candidates what that looks like—and, ideally, how you help employees navigate it. Maybe managers clearly communicate what has changed and why. Maybe employees get help reprioritizing their workload instead of being told that everything is still urgent.
Flexibility is a valuable skill, but it shouldn’t be a euphemism for organizational dysfunction.
6. The Unwritten Rules of "Culture Fit"
What the JD says: Looking for a team player who will fit into our close-knit culture. We work hard, play hard, and treat each other like family.
What candidates hear: This sounds warm and fuzzy, but what does it mean? There are rules here, but we’re not going to write them down. You’ll figure them out. And be prepared for mandatory fun.
What to say instead: If you have a culture where people genuinely care about and support one another, by all means, tell candidates about it. That can be a wonderful reason to want to work for you. But give them something more meaningful than “we’re like a family” or “we work hard, play hard.”
What does your culture really look like? Maybe employees regularly collaborate rather than compete. Maybe people can disagree openly without being punished for it. Or the organization offers wellness benefits that prioritize the whole person. Describe the values and behaviors that make your culture something worth joining.
Be cautious about hiring for “culture fit.” It’s easy to favor candidates who communicate like us, share our interests, come from similar backgrounds, or simply make us feel comfortable. What feels like “fit” can quietly become sameness—and put people from different backgrounds at a disadvantage.
Instead of looking for a culture fit, consider what a candidate might add to your culture. What perspective, experience, working style, or way of thinking could make the team stronger? Every person you hire becomes part of your culture and adds to it in some way. You’re not just looking for someone who can fit into what already exists—you’re choosing who will help shape what it becomes.
Hire for shared values, not sameness. Your next great hire might be someone who doesn’t quite fit the mold.
7. The Salary Guessing Game
What the JD says: Competitive salary commensurate with experience.
What candidates hear: We know how much we’re willing to pay you, but you’ll have to go through three interviews before we tell you.
What to say instead: Put the salary range in the job description. And make it a range you actually intend to use—not $45,000–$175,000 because technically someone, somewhere, under some circumstances, could earn either of those amounts.
I once applied for a job with a wide salary range, only to learn in the first interview that the salary was capped near the lower middle of the range. Don’t waste people’s time like that.
Salary transparency lets candidates decide whether a position meets their needs before either of you invests time in the hiring process. It can also help reduce pay inequities. When compensation depends heavily on what candidates earned previously or how aggressively they negotiate, people who have historically been underpaid can carry that disadvantage from one job to the next.
If experience, location, or other factors affect where someone will fall within the range, explain that. “$70,000–$85,000, depending on relevant experience” tells candidates far more than “competitive compensation.”
And if you’re worried that publishing the salary will discourage some people from applying, reframe that thought. It will discourage people from applying who wouldn’t accept the salary anyway—saving time and effort in the hiring process.
A smaller pool of candidates who know what the job pays and are still interested is far more useful than a larger pool you’ll have to whittle down once everyone finally learns what “competitive” means.
Nobody wants to spend hours tailoring a résumé, writing a cover letter, and sitting through interviews only to discover that the job pays less than they made a decade ago.
Are Your Highest Paid Employees Good at the Job—or Good at Negotiating?
A company I used to work for hired two employees with similar levels of experience and education at the same time. One was stellar—a high performer in every sense of the phrase. The other, not so much. Nearly everything she did required rework.
Guess which one was paid more? It was the one who was far better at negotiating than she was at her job. Listing the salary range in the job description would have resulted in more equitable pay—and the company might have been able to keep that high performer who ended up leaving for a higher paying job.
Summary
In short, don’t hide the hard parts of the job. Prepare people for them by avoiding these 7 job description red flags:
- The mystery job: Instead, tell people exactly what they’ll be doing.
- The hidden terms and conditions: Explain in-office, travel, and after-hours requirements.
- Stress as a job requirement: Describe the actual working conditions and set realistic expectations.
- Personality as a qualification: List the skills and behaviors needed, not personality traits.
- Chaos disguised as flexibility: Provide a clear picture of what kinds of changes employees should be prepared for.
- The unwritten rules of “culture fit”: Describe your culture in meaningful terms, focusing on hiring for culture add instead of culture fit.
- The salary guessing game: List the salary range in the job description. Every job seeker out there is begging you.
Transparency doesn’t end with the job description. Once you’ve told people what to expect, onboarding needs to prepare them for it.
(And if your current onboarding is 30 minutes of eLearning and “Good luck,” we need to talk.)
