Johanna Rothman [http://www.jrothman.com/weblog/htpblogger.html] had a good series on making a job attractive [http://www.jrothman.com/weblog/labels/attractive%20job.html].

Johanna's #1: Create an opportunity.

To me, a bad job description would not live up to this basic principle. Also, it would show a lack of imagination and would be pested with arrogance, buzzwords or other BS.

The biggest problem are probably overly demanding requirements that are not paralleled by the opportunity the job provides. IMHO, experience levels are most often overrated. But also more than 5 bullet points of required skills are a reason for me to stop reading immediately.

"Excellent written and verbal communications skills." I wouldn't even know what that means. Probably something different to a lot of people. And, how can I measure it?

Then, there is temporary contracts. Why, oh, why must a 3-month contract be advertised on a job board? Can't they just open yellow pages, call any IT body shop and get over it?

Any finally, "local candidates" only. This is just another word for "no relocation [or other benefits]" or, basically, "we don't give a ...". I'm not saying they should hire internationally. But thinking that an abundance of passionate, skilled and available "Superman" candidates just waits outside of Smallville, Kansas for any job is borderline ridiculous.

All this reveals an overall trend of managers preferring short-term fixes over sustainable solutions based on potential and growth.

Create an opportunity. It's simple as that.

There are tons of things that hr managers do poorly when it comes to crafting a job description. Many of these (misspelling, no focus, no marketing, no proper discussion of next steps) soft balls are described above.

But to me, the biggest error is when a job description doesn't include language related to an employment screening - even though, after an applicant applies, they are then subject to a screen. This is clearly duplicitous.

Some of these issues are discussed at http://www.freeemploymentscreening.com

<a href="http://www.freeemploymentscreening.com">Employment Screening</a>