Analysis of job positions in recruitment

13 of March, 2025

Finding the right person for each position is one of the most important missions of the Human Resources team, a key choice for the company. How can you be sure of making the right choice? It’s almost impossible, but resources like job analysis make things easier.

What is job analysis

We understand job analysis as the study of a job to understand the activities and responsibilities it involves. In other words, an investigation of the vacant position on offer.

With this, the organization aims to set the appropriate criteria for choosing the professional who best fits the vacancy.

The analysis and description of job positions is the starting point of HR. Based on this analysis, we can establish career plans and a complete company organization chart.

It also identifies the aspects of the worker that need improvement. Emphasize their training, or establish minimum requirements.

Another of the advantages of job analysis is that we determine the conditions under which their tasks will be carried out. What type of contract will be offered, its duration, salary, schedule…

The key to job analysis is to prioritize the figure, not the employee himself. Instead of creating a position that adapts to the worker, this must adapt to the vacancy. If the worker has the right competencies and skills, he will be able to perform the function.

Example of job analysis

To better understand this concept, let’s see a job analysis example. It’s a process we’ll do in five easy steps. Imagine you have a bar, and you need to hire a bartender. The job analysis example would be as follows:

• Define tasks. What the worker does, how they do it, for what purpose, and why. Delivering orders with the tray to satisfy the customer, picking up dishes and glasses to keep the space clean…
• Responsibilities and functions. Deliver orders, customer service, cleaning the bar.
• KSAOs (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics). Knowledge of bar protocols, languages if we are in a tourist area, previous experience, specific training…
• Job competencies. Attention to customers or people skills are always welcome. But it will also need emotional intelligence to handle customer criticisms or moments of tension.
• Define competencies. We will define them according to the specificities of each business.

This is just a simple job analysis example. But you can apply it for any profile, from production operator to executive. As we have said, the key is to think about the vacancy, not the worker.

Types of analysis

One of the most interesting aspects of job analysis is its versatility. On one hand, we have many sources of information.

Interviews and focus groups are one of the most common. Knowing the opinion of the workers or their managers.

We can also get very important information through interviews with employees. Observation and performance evaluation inform us about skills.

We can use old job offers as a starting point. Or observe what actions lead us to success (critical incident). With this, we can make 4 types of job analysis:

1. Task-based. It’s the primitive model. It aims to establish or define tasks, duties, and responsibilities linked to the offered vacancy.
2. Competency-based. Instead of focusing on tasks, it focuses on the skills needed to perform them. What behaviors a person needs to fill the position.
3. Strengths-based. It’s a model associated with new HR techniques. It seeks the behaviors and actions that workers like the most.
4. Personality-based. It aims to identify the personality necessary to fit the vacancy. The traits that best fit. For example, that a salesperson is extroverted.

Having a human resources software like Sesame HR helps us in this process. For example, you can apply a checklist to the candidate, based on the job analysis.

What is the use of job analysis

The only thing left to know is why the implementation of job analysis and description is needed. The main reason is none other than to select the right profile for each vacancy. In this way, the company has a more precise idea of the requirements that the workers must meet.

Beyond recruitment and selection, job analysis facilitates workforce planning. It’s also an element to consider in career planning. Or in the administration of compensations and the design of the organization’s salary scale.

It can be a significant factor in the employer-worker relationship. Or even in the relationships among employees and work climate. To some extent, it influences the management of safety risks.

Considering aspects like health, hygiene, and safety at work. And also in the management of work performance.

In this sense, it’s important to differentiate job analysis from performance evaluation. These are two concepts often confused. Job analysis helps us to design the road map for the candidate. Know what characteristics they must have. Develop their employee journey.

On the other hand, performance evaluation tells us whether the selected person fits the vacancy. What is their performance like, where they excel and what they can (or should) improve.

Want to learn more about job analysis? Discover all its secrets on the Sesame HR blog, and learn how to get the most out of it.

Cristina Martin

People and Talent Director | LinkedIn | | Web | +post

Professional with over 20 years of extensive experience in various areas of Human Resources (Recruitment, Training, Occupational Risk Prevention, and Personnel Management). Experience in the Management Department: Broad understanding of the company and HR.

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