As a veterinarian, the job descriptions do not vary that much, and I am not actually sure of the last time that I even saw a job description for any veterinarian job that I have had since graduation! However, I have been involved in hiring decisions where there is a Job Description that has not been updated for several years, and hiring personnel have to search around for the document on someone’s computer. It is my understanding that Job Descriptions are not often updated and frequently one’s actual task list and expectations may be different from what is on their job description, especially for entry level type positions.
Even though I do not have a job description (or at least I have not seen one), there are definitely some aspects of my current job that I was not expecting. These include a very extensive personal development plan that requires a significant time commitment to complete, and being ultimately responsible for all aspects of every single employee’s job and client interactions on a daily basis because there is no-one with greater authority than me at my hospital. These are minor issues for me in the grand scheme, and would not have affected my decision to take the position.
I have little exposure to other industries or fields of employment, however I feel that it is probably not unusual for jobs with higher turnover and less highly skilled/trained employees to have much more discrepancy between their job description and actual job tasks, whereas this might be less of an issue with positions requiring more highly skilled persons.
3 responses to “Job Descriptions”
Hi Kristy. In my career experiences as a hiring manager I also encountered out-dated job descriptions when hiring to back-fill individuals who had moved on. And I agree with you, my sense is that this is a fairly common issue in many organizations- and likely increases as a challenge based on employee size and length of time in business.
Hi Kirsty, your post was quite interesting. The section that stood out to me that I want to highlight was the part about the job descriptions not being updated and that the tasks/responsibilities can differ from that description. I know that this resonates with a lot of people including myself because they feel hung out to dry when they start the new position. I liked the part about your own experiences, I also went through some similar challenges for my most recent job.
Hey Kirsty,
I really enjoyed reading your blog post and I totally agree with you that higher skilled jobs seem to have less discrepancy between jobs. I feel like for a lot of jobs, there are duties that are not listed on the job description and that is something that we have to expect. Great post!