AI job descriptions: How to write them faster and avoid bias

The recent advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and tools like ChatGPT are revolutionizing how we all work. Businesses and employees increasingly use AI for process automation, communications, and more. As such, it’s unsurprising that many companies also adopt AI as part of their recruiting processes.

Artificial intelligence refers to machines and technical programs that mimic human cognitive functions such as problem-solving and learning. These programs can answer questions, conduct online research, write emails, and even create comprehensive job descriptions to help small business owners and employees save time.

If you hate writing job descriptions or need help knowing where to start, AI tools can help immensely. You can learn how to write a job description with AI and use AI models for your HR operations.

How to Use AI to Create Job Descriptions

If you’re looking to hire for an open role and need help building a job description, consider using AI to create your first draft.

AI Job Description Generators

There are several AI tools designed explicitly for writing job descriptions. If you’re looking for a basic free option, check out the AI-powered free job description generators from Workable, Grammarly, and GoHire.

These generators are incredibly simple to use, making them a good option for those who are new to using AI solutions. You can just enter the desired job title and then follow the prompts to provide additional information about the job responsibilities, required years of experience, or your company. Then, the program generates a job description with an overview of the role, requirements, and company.

Creating Job Descriptions With ChatGPT

Another popular option is to use generative AI programs such as ChatGPT to build your job description. ChatGPT is an artificial intelligence chatbot created by OpenAI. It’s a large language model that uses deep learning to understand and produce natural language (such as a job description that sounds clear and engaging to candidates). You can input a prompt, and it will generate a response.

You can ask ChatGPT to create a job description for you outright or go step-by-step by inputting prompts related to each section. For example, you may ask it to list the typical job duties for the role, then ask about the standard qualifications. You can also respond to the chatbot to request any necessary additions or adjustments.

The nice thing about creating job descriptions with ChatGPT is that you can give it specific or customized prompts to get a job description that better meets your needs. For example, if you wanted to create a performance-based job description focusing on KPIs over task descriptions, you could ask ChatGPT to list performance metrics based on the job title.

You can also give ChatGPT additional writing prompts to support the hiring process. It can help you generate a message to accompany the job posting when sharing the role on social media sites like LinkedIn. ChatGPT can also help you create email templates for candidate communications and generate relevant interview questions.

Benefits of Using AI to Write Job Descriptions

Find out why HR professionals have turned to AI to create job descriptions and how it can benefit your team.

Saving Time

Artificial intelligence can streamline the writing and research process to save time. Writing a job description from scratch can be lengthy, and many struggle to get started. AI tools can generate a basic job description draft. This allows HR staff or hiring managers to quickly edit and add details, saving them hours of research and writing.

Generating Customized Job Descriptions

Most HR professionals or team leaders pull from job description templates or review competitor job listings to understand what to include in their job descriptions. Still, AI can streamline the process further by giving you a more customized starting point to work. You can provide some quick information about the tasks, your company, and any job requirements to get a tailored job description rather than working with a generic template.

This is particularly helpful for job description sections, such as the company overview section, that can effectively be templatized. It’s also beneficial for more niche roles that may have few templates available or broader job titles that can vary significantly based on your industry. For example, when asking ChatGPT to create a sales representative job description, you may briefly describe your industry and the product or service they’d be selling to get a job description more specific to your needs.

Potential Drawbacks of Using AI to Write Job Descriptions

While AI is an excellent tool for building job descriptions, there are a few things to remember. As you’ll notice, the most significant drawbacks impact companies that use AI in place of a qualified HR professional rather than in addition to one.

The Language May Read As Unnatural or Flat

One of the businesses’ biggest pitfalls when using AI is sending the copy without proper editing. AI has come a long way in its natural language processing (NLP). However, some sentences can still come off stiff and unnatural, so always proofread and edit to ensure your AI job descriptions don’t feel explicitly AI-generated. Use AI job descriptions as a starting point rather than your AI-generated job description as a final draft. You’ll still want to look over the job description produced and edit or expand it as needed.

Job seekers will find your job listing more appealing if it shows personality and feels unique to your company. Your human resources team and hiring managers will know your company and its needs best. They should still put their touch on it and ensure the job listing fits the company’s employer brand and culture. Ultimately, AI is a tool to support HR teams, not to replace them. We still need the “human” part of human resources.

It Shouldn’t Be Trusted on Key Compliance Matters

While AI can be helpful for research, you shouldn’t trust it to assign employment statuses or fulfill compliance requirements. For example, employment classifications are typically listed in the job description but shouldn’t be determined by AI.

The Federal Labor Standards Act (FLSA) establishes extensive guidelines to determine whether a job qualifies as exempt from overtime pay. Independent contractor laws include specific standards focused on the work itself and the contractor’s practices. These criteria are used to determine their correct employment classification.

An AI program can help you research those guidelines or determine how roles with a specific job title are typically classified. Still, the computer system will know only some finer details about how that role will operate within your company. Small details significantly impact employment classification. Incorrect classifications can lead to hefty costs for businesses, making it crucial for employers to manually review requirements and determine employee classifications themselves.

Using AI To Match Candidates to Job Descriptions

AI-assisted tools aren’t just helpful for writing job descriptions; The tools can also screen candidates after you post your job description. In this job market, companies often receive a massive response to job postings, and it can be tricky to sort through all of those resumes or applications promptly.

The best candidate won’t be available in the job market long, so you want to save time sorting through resumes. AI-assisted screening analyzes your job description and applications to identify the best matches for your open role. This expedites the hiring process, allowing you to connect with top talent quickly.

In addition to added efficiency, using AI while screening candidates can help minimize bias in the screening process. Similar to blind resume screening, AI-based screening can help reduce the impact of implicit bias within the recruiting process if the right tools and methods are used to avoid introducing bias.

AI and Hiring Discrimination

Using AI while writing job descriptions and screening candidates can help minimize bias in the screening process. Like blind resume screening, AI-based screening can help reduce the impact of implicit bias within the recruiting process. Unconscious biases can influence the language we use when writing job descriptions. They can also shape our decisions when selecting candidates for further rounds of the hiring process.

Using an AI computer system should remove these human biases, but it doesn’t always work that way. AI models and machine learning algorithms may learn from biased data, causing them to favor some candidates incorrectly. The tools may also reference and learn from older documents and job description data. This causes them to use outdated language that may be non-inclusive or non-compliant. Solutions specifically designed for job description generation are less likely to perpetuate this issue.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission recently issued guidance to help its investigators and others assess the use of AI in employment selection. Employers are still responsible for discriminatory hiring practices caused by AI. Review job descriptions for any language that may come across as discriminatory (such as gendered language or terms like “able-bodied”). Ensure that any vendors you contract with for AI recruiting tools have tested their programs for possible discriminatory impact.