1. TITLE

A job title says a lot about what you’re looking for in a designer. Don’t get too clever here — Creative Ninja is just as unhelpful as Designer. Here are some of the most common positions that Google Ventures helps hire:

Product Designer, for a broad-thinking designer who understands business and product challenges. This person may have less visual design, research, or branding skill.

Visual Designer, to indicate you’ll be strongly judging visual design ability and less focused on other design skills (like interaction design, copywriting, etc).

UX Designer, which is shorthand for “User Experience Designer” and has become a common term for a broadly skilled designer who has some research experience and may have less visual design or branding ability.

If you’re hiring for very specific skills, or a very narrow role, you can communicate that with the job title. For example, Mobile Interface Designer will screen out folks who don’t have experience designing mobile apps. Marketing Designer indicates that visual design, branding, and advertising experience are critical.

You should also indicate seniority in the title. Director, Senior, and Junior are frequently used. Seniority sets salary expectations and expresses management requirements. Creative Director or Director of UX almost always indicates a leadership position that promises you’ll manage a design team either right away or in the near future. Use a title like Lead Designer if you wish to indicate seniority without managing a team.

2. CHALLENGE AND INSPIRATION

Designers love to be challenged. Start by throwing down the gauntlet — why will this job be an excellent challenge for the right designer? Why is this challenge unique to your business and this position? It’s OK to talk about your weaknesses here and how this person will fill an important gap in the team — “We need a design leader to help instill a design culture in our business and set a high bar for design in all of our products.”

Don’t assume everyone understands your company’s mission. You’ve challenged the designer, now inspire them to join you. For example, from an outside perspective you might be creating grammar software for students, but in the job description succinctly explain your bigger vision to improve education worldwide. Challenge the designer to join you on this important mission.

3. DAY-TO-DAY

What will a typical week look like for the designer who takes this position? This helps the potential applicant imagine herself in the role, so it’s equal parts inspiration and nuts-and-bolts description. For example:

Work directly with the CEO to shape ideas and create prototypes.

Create design guidelines for our products to ensure interface consistency across devices.

Own copywriting in our products — either yourself or working with a contractor you will manage.

Design beautiful, clear interfaces for our iOS and Android apps.

Illustrate intuitive iconography for our applications

Help instill a design culture in the company as a whole — we want everyone to value and understand the role of design.

Organize and conduct monthly user studies to validate product concepts.

4. MUST-HAVES (AND WHY)

Your requirements express the minimum qualifications for the job. If a candidate doesn’t satisfy these requirements, you won’t consider hiring them. There is a little bit of wiggle room here for strongly recommended but not necessarily required skills, but try to be concrete. Keep this list a short as possible. For example:

This is a senior role. You must have a minimum of 5 years’ experience designing interfaces for mobile devices.

You must work from our office in Seattle — we offer compensation for relocation if you do not currently live in our beautiful city.

You must have previous copywriting experience in a related field. Writing samples are required in your portfolio.

We work with government agencies so you must qualify for Security Clearance Level 2.

An academic degree in Human Computer Interaction, Computer Science, or similar field is strongly preferred for this position, though exceptions may be made.

5. NICE-TO-HAVES

Realistically, beyond the basic requirements, other criteria will inform the final hiring decision. Spell out your nice-to-haves so a candidate can explain why he’s a uniquely great fit for your role. For example:

Expert HTML and CSS knowledge would be excellent. Experience with JavaScript or jQuery would blow our minds. A deep understanding of Python may bring us to tears.

Experience conducting in-person user studies would be great. If you don’t already have experience with research, be ready to learn.

Knowledge of CAD tools and 3D printing, while not necessary, would be beneficial.

We’d prefer if you worked here in Boise, but we’re willing to entertain remote designers if you’re particularly amazing and you’re willing to commute one week per month.

An interest in marketing and managing social media would be an added bonus.

6. HOW TO APPLY

Instructions for applying should be very explicit. When I write a job description, I include an email address (no contact forms) and include the following instructions:

A link to your online portfolio, or PDF if necessary, is required. Applications without a portfolio will not be considered.

If parts of your portfolio involved group work, please explain your specific role in the project.

Briefly explain in your email why you are a particularly excellent candidate for this job and what parts of your portfolio are especially relevant.

We will respond to all emails within a few days to confirm receipt and we’ll follow up with you if we’d like to get more detail. Thank you!

7. BACKGROUND (Optional)

There are basic requirements that designers will want to check off with any job.

Does the job include standard (or above standard?) benefits and holidays?

Is this a stable job?

If your business is relatively unknown, this is your chance to establish your bonafides.

Are the founders experienced?

Are you well-financed or profitable?

Does your business have a history that establishes credibility?

Has the design team or product won accolades?

The end of the job description is an appropriate place to succinctly address these background issues.