Checklist for Defining a Role and Selecting Candidates Using Clear Criteria

A well-defined vacancy starts before the job advertisement is written. If the duties, responsibilities, and requirements are unclear, the company may attract unsuitable candidates or assess applications using different criteria. For an SME, a straightforward, up-to-date role profile can serve as a shared reference for the person hiring, the team manager, and anyone involved in the selection process.

The following checklist is a practical guide, not a mandatory legal template. Adapt it to the actual needs of the role and the rules that apply in your territory.

1. Confirm the hiring need

Before describing the profile, clarify why the role is needed and what it will contribute to the team. This helps distinguish an ongoing need from a one-off task or a function that could be reorganized.

• What business or team need will the new hire address?
• Is this a new role, a replacement, or a change in the organization?
• What results or responsibilities would no longer be covered if no one were hired?
• Who will be directly responsible for the person, and which teams or contacts will they work with?
• Which aspects of the work might change soon, such as tools, processes, or workload?

2. Describe the actual work

A useful description is not limited to the job title. It should reflect the work itself and the role’s place within the organization. It is advisable to check the information with the team manager and, where possible, with people who are closely familiar with the tasks.

• Does the job title represent the role in an understandable way?
• Is its main purpose defined in one or two sentences?
• Are main duties distinguished from secondary tasks?
• Are the role’s responsibilities and degree of autonomy clear?
• Is it clear who the person reports to and coordinates with?
• Are the working conditions relevant to the vacancy specified, such as working hours, work arrangement, or location, where applicable?
• Does the description avoid assigning duties that are not part of the actual need?

3. Separate essential requirements from desirable ones

Not everything that would be useful in a candidate needs to become an entry requirement. Distinguishing what is necessary to do the job from the outset from what can be learned or would offer added value helps keep the profile focused.

• Is each essential requirement tied to a specific duty of the role?
• Have requirements needed from the outset been distinguished from those that can be developed through training or support?
• Are the requested qualifications, certifications, or years of experience relevant to the duties described?
• Have generic requirements or preferences with no clear connection to the work been avoided?
• Have technical skills—for example, proficiency with a necessary tool—been distinguished from transferable skills, such as organization or communication?
• Is the expected level for each skill defined in proportion to the role?

4. Turn skills into observable evidence

To assess candidates more consistently, describe what evidence would help evaluate each criterion. Instead of relying only on general impressions, the team can use interview questions, work-related exercises, or examples of experience, provided they are appropriate for the role.

The examples are indicative: not all roles require the same criteria or assessment method. Decide in advance what you will look for and apply comparable criteria to candidates. Avoid confusing personal rapport with the ability to do the job.

5. Review the role profile before publishing

A final review helps ensure that the job advertisement and assessment are based on a consistent description. The profile can be brief; what matters is that it is clear to those who will use it and reflects the reality of the role.

• Are the duties, responsibilities, and requirements connected to one another?
• Can the selection criteria be explained and assessed using evidence related to the work?
• Do everyone involved in the selection process understand the requirements in the same way?
• Will the advertisement clearly describe the relevant tasks and conditions without promising anything that has not been confirmed?
• Have the conditions and requirements been reviewed in accordance with applicable regulations?
• Is someone responsible for updating the profile if the duties or context change?

From the checklist to the job advertisement

Once the answers have been agreed, prepare a role profile that brings together the title, purpose, main duties, responsibilities, working relationships, required skills, and relevant conditions. Then write the job advertisement based on it and keep the assessment criteria to guide interviews or selection exercises.

The profile does not have to be a rigid document: it should be reviewed when the work changes. Its value lies in providing a shared, practical framework for explaining the role and assessing candidates more consistently, not in imposing universal requirements on every company.