Hello everyone, in the previous topic we will discuss how to Identify the Most Important Skills for Jobs and Internships. Today in this topic, we will introduce you to a new term that is job analysis, and its components– job description and job specification. Then we will understand a concept that is coming up these days: competency-based job analysis and its application, and an example of how a job description is written for competency.

Make sure you pay good attention to the topic since this will become the base for a lot of discussions that we will have in the future, so the first question is what job analysis is. 

What is Job Analysis?

Job analysis is the systematic process of gathering, documenting, and analyzing data about the job. It produces two sets of data or components which are as follows-

1. Job Description (JD) – About the job
2. Job Specification (JS) – About the person

So we can say that Job Analysis (JA) = Job Description (JD) + Job Specification (JS). One tells about the characteristics of the job that is the roles and responsibilities, working conditions e.t.c. and in other sets of data, we get other characteristics of the relevant person who should be doing the job. Such as good communication skills, No. of years of experience e.t.c.

What is a Job Description or JD?

The component which talks about what the job entails is called the Job description.

Job Description (JD): Gives a list of what the job entails. Job Description contains items such as:-

• Job Title
• Grade/Category/Scale
• Department/Branch
• Pay Scale
• Job Summary – Essence of the Job/Key Functions & Activities
• Job Location
• Day-to-Day Responsibilities and Duties
• Working Hours/Days
• Machines, Tools, Software, and Equipment Used
• Working Conditions or Hazards
• Relationship: Report to? Supervises? Work with? Extremally work with?

The job description contains items such as the job title. Example– Android developer or Marketing executive or a grade or scale or category of the job such as is it an entry-level profile or a senior level profile. Sometimes companies of internal creating such as grade ‘A‘, ‘B‘, or ‘C‘ in the IT sector.

Then there is the department or branch for example– Is it role in the Marketing department or in the Technology department or in the HR department then It has the payscale or a job summary which includes the essence of the job for key functions and activities involved.

It also has details about the job location, responsibilities, duties, working hours in days, machines, tools, software or equipment used in the job and working conditions and hazards, especially in factories and mines, and other details like how to report or who will supervise the project team members or one will work with us.

What is a Job Specification or JS?

The other component that talks about the kind of person required for the job are termed Job specification. Job specifications define the knowledge, skills, abilities, and attitude that are required to perform that job.

Job Specification (JS): Gives a component that talks about the kind of person required for the job. Job Specification contains items such as:-

• Knowledge/Education
• Skills/Experience
• Physical Characteristics
• Personality Traits

The job specification contains items such as the knowledge or education required for the job, skills or experience required, and physical characteristics as some jobs require people to be above a particular height or weight. Such as searches for an Air hostess in some airlines a minimum weight is required while a bodybuilder is required for the job of security.

But it also includes some personality traits acquired in the job of a student counselor that may require empathy and soft-spoken skills.

Now in this topic, we will look into the documenting and analyzing part of it. So coming back to the definition of job analysis, we can say that job analysis is equal to a job description plus a job specification.

Now if I talk in the practical sense job description and job specification combined are commonly referred to as job description or JD while JS or job specification is not a commonly used term.

Annual mostly your Oracle recruiters use the term JD for both these things so don’t get confused. now let’s look at an example: Job Description or JD:-

Technical Support Associate 0-2 Years Pune Not Disclosed by Recruiter Apply Now Clicking apply will take you to the company’s website ______________________________________________________________ Job Description Who you are As a Technical Support Associate, you will be responsible to solve client issues in an effective and timely manner as prescribed Service Legal Agreement (SLA). If you thrive in a dynamic, collaborative workplace, XYZ company provides an environment where challenged and inspired every single day. And if you relish the freedom to bring creative, thoughtful solutions to a table, there’s no limit to what you can accomplish here. Join us and Do your Best Work Ever. What will you do • Be part of a team of technical experts, motivated by a desire to facilitate customers and be responsible for providing voice support to XYZ Internal End Users and External Commercial Account End Users across North America, EMEA, and Asia-Pacific. • Handle complex customer scenarios, document solutions, and effectively providing dependable and timely resolution to all product-related technical issues experimented by customers. • Provide remote infrastructure support delivery and perform problem cause analysis. • Collaborate with fellow support colleagues and other internal organizations to provide superior customer service. • Act as a customer advocate by working directly with customers on high-priority issues to deliver timely resolution and capture customer feedback to influence process/product improvements. • Anticipate customer needs and effectively address concerns related to their issues or resolution. • Provide direct technical assistance to customers via phone, email, and chart. You will come with… • The ability to effectively handle difficult customer interactions and challenging customer problems without the need for supervisory intervention; maintains poise and professionalism even with very difficult and demanding customers. How we’ll help you grow: • You’ll have access to all the technical and management training courses to grow your expertise. • You’ll learn directly from expert developers in the field; our team leads love to mentor. • You have the opportunity to work in many different areas to determine what really excites you. Required Technical and Professional Expertise • Minimum 0 to 2 years of experience in Technical Support roles. • Ensure that urgent customer issues are resolved in the most timely and effective manner possible. • Experience working well in a fast-paced environment and demonstrating the ability to handle various tasks or projects with changing priorities. • Utilize available time efficiently in order to achieve effective and efficient results. • Demonstrate the ability to assemble a complete and accurate problem/symptom description of related issues. • Proven knowledge of successfully solving problems and narrowing down reported issues, identifying the root causes, and finding creative solutions to effectively address customer concerns. • Knowledge of commercially standard software, software applications, and major desktop operating systems. Preferred Technical and Professional Expertise • Awareness of basic networking concepts and technologies. • Identify basic hardware parts and be aware of basic hardware concepts. • User-level familiarity with at least one e-mail client- Outlook, Notes e.t.c. • Questioning/Probing skills, as relevant to the issues and level of the caller. • See opportunities and implement process improvements. • Ability to meet a set of defined account agent productivity measurements. • Willingness to work in rotation shifts. Other Details • Salary: Not Disclosed by Recruiter • Industry: IT-Software / Software Services • Functional Area: ITES, BPO, KPO, LPO, Customer Services, Operations. • Role Category: Voice • Role: Associate/Senior Associate- (Technical) • Employment Type: Full Time, Permanent Keyskills Service Level Customer Service Networking Technical Support Calling Voice Support Remote Infrastructure Infrastructure Support IT Infrastructure Support Services Desired Candidate Profile • Doctorate- Doctorate not required. Company Profile XYZ Pvt. Limited XYZ has been present in India since 1992. XYZ India’s solutions and services span all major industries including financial services, healthcare, government, automotive, telecommunications, and education, among others. As a trusted partner with wide-ranging service capabilities, XYZ helps clients transform and succeed in challenging circumstances. XYZ has been expanding its footprint in India and has a presence in over 200 cities and towns across the country- either directly or through its strong business partner network. XYZ India has clearly established itself as one of the leaders in the Indian Information Technology (IT) Industry- and continues to transform itself to align with global markets and geographies to grow this leadership position. Widely recognized as an employee of choice, XYZ holds numerous awards for its industry-leading employment practices and policies. The diversity and breadth of the entire XYZ portfolio of research, consulting, solutions, services, systems, and software, uniquely distinguishes XYZ India from other companies in the industry. To know more about business units at XYZ India, click on the “About us” link above. View Contact Details

Now by looking at the above job description or JD we can clear about all the things such as: how many days of prior experience are required with the title of the profile which is technical support associate the experience required is 0 to 2 years the location is in Pune and the remuneration is not disclosed by the recruiter this is all part of JD.

As you must be understood that we have the job description in detail the first section here was who you are these details about the kind of person the recruiter is looking for here it says as a technical support associate you will be responsible to solve client issues in an effective and timely manner. That goes on to tell the candidate will gain out from this experience.

It says that if you are found one who thrives in a dynamic collaborative workplace XYZ Company provides an environment where one is challenged and inspired every day and if you release the freedom of being creative and thoughtful solutions to the table, then there is no limit to what you can accomplish in the role.

In this company, the first paragraph tells the candidate about the qualities that are required and how it will be an exciting and learning opportunity if a candidate joins the company.

This next section is on what you will do as the title of this section gives the details of the job. you can go ahead and read the section again this gives details about the job and hence it is part of JD and not JS.

The next section is on the desired qualities. So it says you will come with the ability to effectively handle difficult customer interactions and challenging customer problems without the need for supervisory intervention. Also, the candidate will maintain poise and professionalism even with very difficult and demanding customers.

This section talks about the skills of the candidate right. So we know it is part of this section is on how the company will help you grow. It talks about the benefits that this will have for the candidate. It says you have access to all the technical and management training courses to grow your expertise. Another such point that you can read about in this section is the game part of JD.

Next, there is the section on requires technical and professional expertise which is a must for the rule and this section is prefer technical professional expertise which is a good to have qualities and will definitely give the candidate an edge over others. Both these actions talk about the skills and experiences of the candidate and hence it is part of JS or Job Specification.

Aliens you in this section on jobs with effect details such as the salary which is not disclosed here the industry which is it software for software services the functional area of the industry. The role category is the exact profile that is given to you as an Associate or Senior Associate and the Employment type is full-time and permanent. You must be understood by now this is part of JD or Job Description.

Now then there is this section on key skills this is like the keywords for the skills required. This makes it easy for the candidate to filter Job descriptions or JDs of different jobs in different companies. That may be relevant to them the candidate can look at the section and then go ahead and read the complete Job description or JD and the key skills are part of the Job specification or JS.

Then there is this section on desired candidate profile and it says the doctorate is not required. Again this is part of the job specification or JS. Since it talks about the education required by the candidate.

Next is the company profile which tells about the company what it does not stick to it works in infection. So I hope you have an overall idea of all these things. Now on what is written in a JD or job description, you can follow any sequence with try to give complete clarity so that later on when the candidate reads it there is no confusion in his or her mind. Try to make it interesting and write what they would be gaining from this.

With this we come to the end of this video we have learned a lot of new things here, we understood what job analysis means we also know that by doing the job analysis one can write the JD and JS.

We also know what constitutes the job description and what comes in the job specification also we know that both these are commonly referred to as JD or Job Description then we have looked at an example of a job description in detail I hope you have understood it.

Or if not I recommend you to go back and read the article once More to be clear with the concepts only once the basics are clear and the rest of the topics will get much simpler to understand. 

So, that is all for today guys see you in our next blog. If you like our article please don’t forget to share it with others & follow our Instagram page for your daily dose of Motivation, and if you want jobs & internships updates or more articles like this you can follow our Linkedin page too.

Thank You,

Regards

Grooming Urban

Also Read What is Human Resource Management (HRM) The Functions of HRM, SCAMPER Technique, & Challenges in the Role of HR Manpower Planning, Its importance, types, steps & factors involved in forecasting manpower requirements. Attrition Rate and Retention Rate Identify the Most Important Skills for Jobs and Internships

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