A job specification is concerned with a list of a job’s “human requirements,” the requisite education, skills, personality, etc. It states minimum acceptable qualifications and is used to select employees who have the essential qualifications.
Job specifications list the knowledge, skills, and abilities an individual needs to perform a job satisfactorily.
Knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) include education, experience, work skill requirements, personal abilities, and mental and physical requirements.
Job specifications for a data entry operator might include a required educational level, a certain number of months of experience, a typing ability of 60 words per minute, a high degree of visual concentration, and working under time pressure.
It is important to note that accurate job specifications identify what knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) a person needs to do the job, not necessarily what qualifications the current employee possesses.
Job Specification Definition
Having developed the job description, job specifications should be prepared. It is of utmost importance to determine the characteristics of a suitable person who will do the job effectively and efficiently.
Based on the information acquired through job analysis, the job specification identifies the knowledge and skills needed to do the job effectively.
It is a statement that details the physical makeup, education, training, intelligence, aptitudes, and other relevant specifications required to perform the job satisfactorily.
Some of these attributes are measured through tests like intelligence tests, aptitude tests, and others.
Examples include SAT, GMAT, and TOEFL for admission for graduate studies in USA universities. Job specification can consist of a minimum desirable score for selection in such tests.
A person specification is used to match the right person for the job. It describes the desirable personal attributes of the job holder. The specification should specify the person:
- Skills on the job,
- Knowledge of and for the job,
- Length of experience for the job,
- Attitude for the job,
- Degree of education,
- A desirable amount of previous experience in similar work and specific skills required,
- Preferences,
- Presentability,
A job description and specification are prepared from the information collected through job analysis. The difference between a job description and a job specification is simple.
The job description explained the duties to be performed.
A job description is a written statement that defines the duties, relationships, and results expected of anyone in the job. It is an overall view of what is to be done with the job.
A job specification is what requirements are necessary to perform the task.
Job specifications are more specific and in-depth. A job specification analyzes the kind of person that an organization hires to do the job. That is to say, it lists the qualifications of a job incumbent.
What Should a Job Specification Include?
A job specification includes the following information:
- The technical, organizational, communicative, and creative skills and abilities employers expect from an ideal candidate,
- Any specific qualifications or education required for the role,
- The level of experience needed in other similar organizations or equivalent roles,
- The kind of personality that would fit in with the team and with the organization’s ethos,
- Character traits that are likely to help them to do the job effectively,
- Any preferred achievements.
