Smb Job Post Builder

Job Post Builder

When to use

Use this when you're ready to hire and want a complete, consistent packet instead of piecing it together. It produces the job post, the interview structure that keeps evaluations fair, and an offer-letter template.

Not for: screening candidates, scheduling interviews, or giving employment-law advice. It builds the documents; the owner (and counsel) reviews, posts, and sends.

Method

1. Gather the role basics from the owner: title, responsibilities, must-have vs nice-to-have skills, location or remote, and pay range. Decision point: if the pay range or must-haves are missing, ask before drafting.
2. Draft an inclusive job post — role summary, responsibilities, qualifications, what you offer, and a clear application step. Avoid biased or exclusionary language ("rockstar," "young," "native English").
3. Build a structured interview guide: consistent questions mapped to each competency, with a 1-5 scoring rubric and behavioral anchors per level.
4. Draft an offer-letter template with placeholders for name, title, compensation, start date, and contingencies — flagged as requiring legal review before use.
5. Present all three for owner review. Nothing is posted or sent to a candidate; the owner approves and distributes.

Example

Role: Bookkeeper, hybrid, $52-60k. Job post leads with the outcome ("keep our books accurate and close each month on time") and lists must-haves (2+ yrs QuickBooks) vs nice-to-haves (payroll). Interview guide maps "reconciliation" to a question with anchors: 1 = can't explain a reconciliation, 3 = describes the process, 5 = walks through catching a real discrepancy. Offer template carries a "have counsel review" note on the at-will and contingency clauses.

Pitfalls

• Biased language. Terms like "rockstar," age cues, or "native speaker" narrow and expose you legally — keep it inclusive.
• Unstructured interviews. Different questions per candidate make comparison impossible; use the same rubric for all.
• Rubric with no anchors. "Rate 1-5" without behavioral definitions just relabels gut feel.
• Sending an offer without legal review. The template is a draft; counsel reviews before any offer goes out.

Output format

Job Post (ready to publish):
  Summary | Responsibilities | Qualifications | What we offer | How to apply

Interview Guide:
  Per competency: question
  | Score | Behavioral anchor |
  |  1-5  | ...               |

Offer Letter Template:
  <placeholders: {name} {title} {comp} {start} {contingencies}>
  Note: have counsel review before use.

"Review and approve before posting or sending to any candidate."

Reference

Job-post structure that converts

Order matters — candidates skim. Lead with the outcome, not the company boilerplate.

1. Title — plain and searchable ("Bookkeeper," not "Finance Ninja"). Include level if relevant.
2. One-line hook — the outcome this person owns ("Keep our books accurate and close every month on time").
3. Role summary — 2-3 sentences: what they do, who they work with, why it matters.
4. Responsibilities — 5-7 bullets, verb-first, concrete.
5. Must-have vs nice-to-have — separate them explicitly; long must-have lists shrink and skew your applicant pool.
6. Compensation — post the range. Pay transparency is legally required in a growing number of jurisdictions and materially raises application rates; a missing range is the top reason strong candidates skip.
7. What you offer — benefits, flexibility, growth, culture in specifics not clichés.
8. Logistics — location/remote, hours, employment type, start.
9. Clear application step — exactly what to send and what happens next.

Inclusive-language checklist (screen every draft)

• Cut coded/exclusionary terms: "rockstar," "ninja," "guru," "young," "energetic," "digital native," "native English speaker," "aggressive," "dominant."
• Watch gender-coded skew: masculine-coded ("competitive," "dominant," "fearless") vs feminine-coded ("supportive," "collaborative"); balance toward neutral.
• Replace "must have a degree" with the actual competency unless a credential is genuinely required — degree inflation shrinks qualified pools.
• Add an equal-opportunity line and, where relevant, an accommodations note.
• State requirements as capabilities ("can reconcile multi-account books"), not proxies ("5+ years").

Structured interview rubric (1-5, with behavioral anchors)

Ask every candidate the same competency-mapped questions and score against fixed anchors — structured interviews predict job performance far better than unstructured chats and shrink bias. For each core competency, write one behavioral question ("Tell me about a time you caught a reconciliation error") and score:

Score independently right after each interview (before discussion, to avoid anchoring), then compare totals across candidates on the same scale. Weight competencies by importance if some matter more. Include a "would you hire on this evidence?" yes/no alongside the number.

Interview stages (small-business default)

1. Screen (15-20 min) — must-haves, comp/logistics fit, motivation.
2. Skills / working session (45-60 min) — a realistic sample task (a mock reconciliation, a sample sales call, a short editing test). Sample work predicts performance better than hypotheticals; keep it short and paid if substantial.
3. Values / behavioral (30-45 min) — the structured rubric above.
4. Reference checks — 2-3, verify claims and ask "would you rehire?"

Offer-letter template (placeholders — counsel reviews before sending)

Dear {name},
We're pleased to offer you the position of {title} at {company}, reporting to {manager}.
Start date: {start_date}
Compensation: {salary/hourly}, paid {frequency}
Employment type: {full-time/part-time}, {at-will status per jurisdiction}
Benefits: {benefits summary}
Contingencies: {background check / references / eligibility to work / other}
This offer is valid until {expiry_date}.
Please sign below to accept.

Flag for legal review: at-will/termination language, non-compete/non-solicit (unenforceable or restricted in many places), IP-assignment, classification (employee vs contractor, exempt vs non-exempt), and any jurisdiction-specific required disclosures. Never send an offer, verbal or written, without owner sign-off and counsel review of these clauses.

Compliance flags to surface (not advice — prompts for counsel)

Worker classification (misclassifying an employee as a contractor carries penalties), minimum-wage/overtime rules, EEO/anti-discrimination obligations, required pay-range disclosure, I-9/work-eligibility verification, and accommodation duties. When any of these are in play, note them for the owner and counsel rather than resolving them yourself.