1.1Define the need & the job description
The essentials in 30 seconds
- Three green lights: proven workload, skill missing internally, validated budget — without them, you hire a problem, not a solution.
- Job description: missions (verbs, % of time), required vs desired skills, conditions (location, range displayed) — it filters and commits.
- Three-way validation: manager (field need), HR (scale, market), management (budget) before any posting.
Running case — Amira, HR officer in an SME in Algiers, must hire
Amira, HR officer in a trading SME in Algiers, receives an urgent request: «we need someone fast in sales». Instead of posting right away, she proves the need (structural overtime, skill missing internally, validated budget), writes the job description of an inside sales B2B rep with the manager, then validates it three ways. This hire starts well because it starts with the need.
This same case returns in the lesson, the diagram, the script and the 48h challenge — and continues in 1.2, 1.3, 1.4 and 1.5.
1. Need before position
Good hiring starts with needs analysis, conducted with the manager: is the workload proven (structural overtime?) and is the skill truly missing internally? Is the budget (salary, charges, onboarding) validated? Without these three green lights, you hire a problem, not a solution.
The alternative comes first: internal move, temp, reorganization. Amira refuses to post «fast»: she first proves the position is needed and affordable.
2. The job description, the hiring contract
The job description describes the position: title, missions (action verbs, % of time), required vs desired skills, reporting line and team, conditions (location, remote work, salary range), growth. When precise, it filters (fewer off-target applications) and commits (candidates know where they are going).
It provides the objective criteria reused for the ad, screening and the interview. Validated by three voices (manager, HR, management), it becomes the shared reference: hiring launched by a single voice gets challenged on arrival.
🔎 Concrete example — A description that really filters
Amira's description for the B2B inside sales rep.
Inside sales B2B — Algiers + part-time remote — range displayed.
Missions: 60 % prospecting, 30 % follow-up, 10 % trade shows.
Required: 2 years B2B, CRM kept | Desired: English.
Growth: key accounts within 2 years.
→ targeted applications instead of hundreds off-topic.Result: screening starts at the description, through required vs desired.
Reflex: range displayed = transparency that attracts.
Section vocabulary
- Needs analysis
- Preliminary scoping: reason for the position (replacement, new position, workload peak), missions, must-have vs nice-to-have skills.
Simple example: Amira checks structural overtime, missing skill, validated budget.
What it is not: posting «fast» because a team complains of overload.
Reflex: three green lights (workload, skill, budget) before writing anything.
- Job description
- Document describing a position: title, missions, activities, required skills, conditions and profile.
Simple example: Amira's inside sales description, validated three ways.
What it is not: the ad itself — which follows from it, but does not replace it.
Reflex: every ad, screening and interview refers back to it.
- Required vs desired skills
- The distinction between what is essential from day one and what can be acquired on the job (training, upskilling).
Simple example: 2 years B2B and CRM kept required; English desired.
What it is not: 15 requirements all «mandatory» that discourage everyone.
Reflex: for each requirement: needed day 1, or trainable?
- Target profile
- The set of expected characteristics: experience, education, skills, qualities.
Simple example: The profile attached to Amira's description to frame the search.
What it is not: personal traits unrelated to the position.
Reflex: profile = what the position requires, nothing else.
- Objective criterion
- A measurable, job-related element used to assess without arbitrariness or discrimination.
Simple example: «2 years of B2B sales with CRM kept» rather than «dynamic».
What it is not: «young», «versatile» or any filter unrelated to the position.
Reflex: every criterion must be checkable against job-related evidence.
In practice — Define the need and write the description
- With the manager, clarify the reason for hiring (replacement, new position, workload peak) and the expected missions.
- Distinguish must-have skills from nice-to-have ones (which can be acquired on the job).
- Write the description: title, missions, activities, skills, conditions, profile.
- Validate through the three voices (manager, HR, management) before any posting.
Ready-to-say script — frame the manager's request (1 min)
«Before posting, we prove the need together: proven workload, skill unavailable internally, validated budget. Then I write the description — missions, required vs desired, conditions — and we validate it three ways. Five minutes of scoping saves us weeks of failed hiring.»
Say to the manager who wants «someone fast»: scoping protects everyone.
Copy-paste template — job description
TITLE: _______________ | LOCATION / REMOTE: _______________
REASON (replacement / new / peak): _______________
MISSIONS (verbs + % of time): _______________
REQUIRED (4-5 max, day 1): _______________
DESIRED (trainable): _______________
CONDITIONS (range, benefits): _______________
VALIDATION (manager / HR / management): _______________Small business / tight budget
With no HR team: the owner plays all three voices in writing — need, description and budget validated on one page before posting.
Algiers SME
Amira fits the description to local reality: sales channels (phone, field), real mobility, range validated with management.
New position
First prove lasting workload (not a peak): test temp or reorganization before opening a permanent contract.
Urgent replacement
Even in a hurry, Amira keeps the trio: proven need, written description, three-way validation — otherwise the replacement fails like the predecessor.
✓ Best practices
- Get the three green lights (workload, skill, budget) before posting.
- Display the range and conditions: transparency attracts.
- Separate required from desired to widen the pool.
✗ Common pitfalls
- Hiring on impulse, with no proven need.
- Writing a vague description («versatile, dynamic»).
- Hiding the salary and losing the good candidates.
Key takeaways
- Good hiring starts with needs analysis, conducted with the manager.
- Distinguish the essential (day 1) from the desirable (trainable).
- The job description is the pivotal tool: it filters and commits.
- It provides objective criteria to assess without gut feeling or discrimination.
48h challenge — apply tomorrow
Take 1 real hiring need and write its 7-line description (template above): missions, required vs desired, conditions. Have it validated by the three voices.
- I can name the three green lights of the need without hesitating.
- I can separate required from desired on a real description.
- I had 1 description validated by the three voices.
Frequently asked questions
Why not write the job ad directly with no job description?
Because skipping scoping almost always leads to botched hiring: vague or generic ad, unsuitable candidates, and everyone (HR, manager, candidates) with a different idea of the position. The description forces the right questions upfront — what do we need, which skills are non-negotiable — then guarantees consistency across the ad, screening, the interview and objective-setting.
How to avoid the «five-legged sheep»?
By ranking: separate the essential (without which the position cannot be held) from the desirable or trainable. A description stacking 15 «mandatory» requirements discourages the good ones and makes hiring impossible. For each requirement, ask whether it is needed from day one or trainable. Prioritize 4 to 5 genuinely critical key skills.
Amira's manager wants «someone fast». What is her first reflex as HR officer?