How to Write a Job Description That Attracts the Right Candidate

Most legal support job ads read almost identically to one another: a duty list, a software list, a generic line about "a fast-paced environment." That similarity is exactly why strong candidates skim past so many of them, or apply without genuine interest and turn out to be the wrong fit. A job description is a firm's first real signal to a candidate about what working there is actually like, and most firms undersell it badly.

Lead with the role, not the requirements

Candidates decide whether to keep reading within the first few lines. Open with what makes the firm a great place to work, including the benefits, flexibility, culture and career progression you can offer. A job description that starts with a list of what the firm needs, before saying anything about the role itself or what you can offer the candidate, can feel very one sided. The strongest candidates often have options, so give them a reason to choose you.

Separate must-haves from nice-to-haves

A long, undifferentiated requirements list quietly filters out strong candidates who would have grown into the gaps within weeks. Keep essential requirements genuinely short, and move everything else into a clearly separate "nice to have" section. If a requirement isn't truly essential from day one, it shouldn't sit in the same list as the ones that are.

Describe what success looks like, not just the duties

Rather than listing tasks, describe what a strong six-month mark in the role actually looks like. Experienced legal support candidates respond to knowing how they'll be measured and what they're working toward, not just what they'll be doing on a given Tuesday. It also tends to attract candidates who are motivated by outcomes, which is usually who firms actually want.

Name the firm's actual working reality

Hybrid arrangements, team size, partner-to-support ratio, and which systems the role actually uses: vague language on any of these reads as something being avoided, and legal support candidates in particular have often been burned before by a role that undersold its real workload. Specificity here doesn't shrink your applicant pool; it filters out mismatches before either side wastes time on an interview.

Write for the candidate, not the internal job description

A job ad should not simply be a shortened version of the firm's position description. Internal documents are often written for process and compliance, whereas an advert needs to engage someone who may not be actively looking to move. Keep the language clear, relevant and easy to read, and focus on the information that will actually help a candidate decide whether the opportunity is worth exploring.