Job descriptions (JD) are some of my favorite works of fiction. You see, a JD is created and then used to advertise for a position, as a lens to sift through resumes or internal candidate applications and a guide for interviewer to understand what the job entails and use it to ask questions of the interviewee to determine their suitability and for the interviewee to prepare and ask their own questions
BUT
The JD is out of date almost as soon as it is written (especially if it takes more than a week to write) and they are not updated frequently enough. To circumvent this the last line of the JD generally includes the phrase "other duties as necessary"
As an interviewee it is crucial that you ask "what are the things someone in this role does that aren't in the JD - the "other duties as necessary?" because there you will find the wiggle room to grow and develop the role to suit your unique blend of skills and experience and catch any red flags about things you don't want to do
In every role I've applied for I've asked this question and it has helped me get a better read on the organization - allowing me to walk away or double down on my application. Try it and see!
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