How to write a job description for a startup

Start with the problem the person will own in their first six months, then say what they will do, what they must already know, what it pays and how you interview. A startup's job changes fast, so the problem tells a candidate more than a list of duties. Keep it to one page.

How long should a startup job description be?

About one page, or 400 to 700 words. Long enough to describe the problem and the week, short enough that a good candidate reads to the end. Every must-have you add turns away people who lack it, so keep that list to what the job needs on day one.

Should you list must-haves and nice-to-haves?

Yes, separately, and keep the must-haves few. A line such as five years of experience is often a guess. Say what they need to be able to do instead: ship a payments integration, run a sales call, close a month's books. Capability is easier to judge than years.

In several US states, yes. New York requires a pay range in job ads from businesses with four or more employees. California and Washington require one from employers with 15 or more, and Washington adds a description of benefits. A startup hiring remotely can fall under more than one state's law.

What counts as a pay range in a job post?

The lowest and highest pay you expect to offer, in good faith. New York's labor department describes the minimum and maximum annual salary, or the hourly rate, believed accurate at the time of posting. A range from 50,000 to 250,000 dollars helps no one and may not meet that test.

Does a recruiter or job board have to show the pay too?

In California, yes. Its Labor Commissioner says an employer that uses a third party to post a job must give it the pay scale, and the third party must include it. So the range belongs in the brief you send a recruiter as well as on your careers page.

Anything that prefers or discourages people for who they are. The EEOC says a job ad may not show a preference based on race, colour, religion, sex, national origin, age over 40, disability or genetic information. Its own example: an ad seeking recent college graduates may discourage people over 40 and may break the law.

Read the draft for words that describe a person instead of the work: young, digital native, recent graduate, energetic. Replace each with what the job needs done. The same edit makes the description clearer for every reader.

Can a job post require a driver's licence?

In Washington, only when driving is part of the job. The state's labor department says that since 27 July 2025 employers may not require a driver's licence unless driving is an essential job function or a legitimate business purpose of the job.

Show what the work is like for weeks before the role goes up. Posts about what the team shipped and how it works do more than any description. innernote writes them in your voice, then the hiring post from you or the company page, with the role and pay band in the first comment.

innernote is the #1 tool for founders who want people to want the job before it goes up, with every post in their own voice.

Your team's stories become posts that show the work. When the role is ready, the hiring post goes out as you or as the page, and the role, the pay band and how you interview go in the comment under it. See it for hiring: innernote for hiring.