How to conduct a job analysis for hiring: OPM's steps, rating scales and a worksheet
On this page
- What is a job analysis, and what is it not?
- Why does a job analysis matter for hiring?
- Which sources should a job analysis use?
- How do you conduct a job analysis, step by step?
- Job analysis worksheet
- Worked example: one task list, five raters
- How do you turn the results into a job description and interview?
- How long does it take, and when should you redo it?
- Common mistakes
- Questions people ask
To conduct a job analysis for hiring, gather what is already written about the job, list the tasks it involves, have people who know the job rate each task and each competency for importance, link every competency to the tasks it supports, and then build the job description, interview questions and assessments only from what survived. The US Office of Personnel Management (OPM) sets this out as six steps, and the federal Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures say a validity study "should be based upon a review of information about the job" that includes a job analysis (29 CFR 1607.14, as of October 2026).
Several of our pages assume a job analysis already exists: the candidate success profile, the interview question bank and the structured interview. This page is the method itself, with OPM's rating scales and cut-offs, a worksheet, and the regulatory text that explains why it is worth doing.
What is a job analysis, and what is it not?
OPM's job analysis training deck defines it as "a systematic examination of the tasks performed in a job and the competencies required to perform them", and adds a line worth repeating to every hiring manager: "A job analysis is NOT an evaluation of the person currently performing the job." The Uniform Guidelines define it more tersely as "a detailed statement of work behaviors and other information relevant to the job" (29 CFR 1607.16(K)).
Two terms carry the whole method:
- Task: in OPM's words, an activity an employee performs regularly to carry out the functions of the job. "Reconciles vendor invoices against purchase orders" is a task.
- Competency: OPM's definition is "a measurable pattern of knowledge, skills, abilities, behaviors, and other characteristics" a person needs to perform the work. Many hiring teams call these KSAOs. "Knowledge of three-way matching" is a competency.
A job description lists duties and requirements for candidates to read. A job analysis is the evidence behind it: who said each task matters, how often it happens, and which competencies it needs.
Why does a job analysis matter for hiring?
- Interviews are selection procedures. The Uniform Guidelines' definition of a selection procedure runs from paper-and-pencil tests "through informal or casual interviews and unscored application forms" (1607.16(Q)). If an interview question or test screens out a protected group disproportionately, the employer needs to show it is job-related, and a job analysis is where that showing starts. The four-fifths rule is the usual first check for adverse impact.
- It decides which kind of evidence you can use. For content validity, section 1607.14(C)(2) asks for "an analysis of the important work behavior(s) required for successful performance and their relative importance". Section 1607.14(C)(1) also says content validity is not appropriate for tests of traits such as "intelligence, aptitude, personality, commonsense, judgment, leadership, and spatial ability", or for knowledge and skills "an employee will be expected to learn on the job".
- It supports essential functions under the ADA. The ADA regulation lists, among the evidence of whether a function is essential, the employer's judgment, "written job descriptions prepared before advertising or interviewing applicants for the job", and "the amount of time spent on the job performing the function" (29 CFR 1630.2(n)(3)). Frequency and importance ratings from a job analysis speak directly to those points.
- It makes interviews sharper. Questions written from rated tasks probe what the job actually needs, which is the first of the structure components in a structured interview.
This is general information as of October 2026, not legal advice.
Which sources should a job analysis use?
| Source | What it gives you | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Existing job descriptions and job ads | A first task list | Copied boilerplate, wish lists, outdated duties |
| Incumbents (people doing the job now) | What really happens day to day, and how often | Rating their own tasks as all "extremely important" |
| First-level supervisors | What separates good from barely acceptable work | Describing the job they want, not the one that exists |
| Work records (tickets, logs, production reports, calendars) | Frequency evidence that does not depend on memory | Only covers work that leaves a record |
| Observation (OPM calls it a desk audit) | Tasks people forget to mention | One day may not be typical |
| O*NET OnLine | Task statements, work activities, work context, knowledge, abilities and work styles for each occupation, from the US Department of Labor's Employment and Training Administration (site updated October 6, 2026) | National occupation, not your role; cut what does not apply |
| Critical incidents | Specific examples of especially effective and ineffective performance | Needs a facilitator to keep examples concrete |
The critical incident technique comes from John Flanagan's 1954 paper in Psychological Bulletin. In practice, ask each subject matter expert (SME) for two or three moments when someone in the role did something that made a real difference, good or bad: the situation, what the person did, and what happened. Those stories become task statements, behavioral interview questions and scoring anchors.
How do you conduct a job analysis, step by step?
- Collect information about the job. OPM's step 1 lists position descriptions and classification standards, SME input, performance standards and occupational studies. Add the work records and the O*NET entry for the nearest occupation.
- Write task statements. OPM's formula is "Perform What? + to Whom? or What? + to produce What? or Why? How?", with the example "Sort + incoming mail + into groups for distribution". Its listed pitfalls: unnecessary words, double-barreled items (split them), overly specific items, vague adjectives such as "excellent" or "timely", and acronyms. Aim for one action per statement.
- Rate the tasks. OPM's example scales rate each task twice, from 0 to 5:
- Frequency: 0 Not performed, 1 Every few months to yearly, 2 Every few weeks to monthly, 3 Every few days to weekly, 4 Every few hours to daily, 5 Many times each hour to hourly.
- Importance: 0 Not performed, 1 Not important, 2 Somewhat important, 3 Important, 4 Very important, 5 Extremely important.
- Write and rate the competencies. OPM's example scales: importance from 1 (Not important) to 5 (Extremely important); needed at entry from 1 (Needed the first day) through 2 (within the first 3 months), 3 (within 4 to 6 months) to 4 (after the first 6 months); and distinguishing value from 1 (Not valuable) to 5 (Extremely valuable), meaning how well the competency separates superior from barely acceptable performance. OPM's recommended cut-offs: importance 3.0 or above and needed at entry 2.0 or below make a competency critical; distinguishing value of 3.0 or above helps decide which critical competencies to assess.
- Link tasks and competencies. SMEs rate how important each competency is for each task. OPM: eliminate tasks not linked to at least one competency, and competencies not linked to at least one task. This is the step that removes "strategic thinker" from a data entry job.
- Choose what to screen for. OPM's step 6 picks selective and quality ranking factors; outside government, this is the must-have list. A must-have should be a critical competency needed at entry. A competency rated as learned after six months belongs in onboarding, not in the screen.
- Document and date it. OPM advises dating the results and keeping them in a file for the position. Record who rated, when, the scales, the averages and the cut-offs.
Job analysis worksheet
Copy this into a spreadsheet, one row per item. OPM's deck prefers a spreadsheet so averages and cut-offs are easy to apply.
JOB ANALYSIS WORKSHEET: [Job title] Date: [ ] Analyst: [ ]
SMEs (name, role, time in job): 1.[ ] 2.[ ] 3.[ ] 4.[ ] 5.[ ]
Sources reviewed: [JD v.?] [O*NET code] [records] [observation date]
A. TASKS Freq avg (0-5) Imp avg (0-5) % "not performed" Critical?
T1 [verb + object + purpose] [ ] [ ] [ ] [Y/N]
T2 ...
B. COMPETENCIES Imp avg (1-5) Entry avg (1-4) Dist. value (1-5) Critical?
C1 [knowledge/skill/ability] [ ] [ ] [ ] [Y/N]
C2 ...
C. LINKAGE (importance of competency for task, 1-5)
T1 T2 T3 T4
C1 [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
C2 [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Unlinked tasks dropped: [ ] Unlinked competencies dropped: [ ]
D. OUTPUTS
Essential functions for the JD: [critical tasks]
Must-haves for screening: [critical competencies needed at entry]
Interview competencies (structured questions): [ ]
Work sample or test: [ ] Train after hire: [entry rating 3-4]
E. CRITICAL INCIDENTS (situation / action / result / effective or not)
1. [ ]Worked example: one task list, five raters
Example with invented ratings: accounts payable specialist, five SMEs (two supervisors, three incumbents)
| Task | Frequency avg | Importance avg | Result under OPM cut-offs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Matches invoices to purchase orders and receiving records before payment | 4.6 | 4.8 | Critical |
| Resolves price and quantity discrepancies with vendors by email or phone | 3.4 | 4.0 | Critical |
| Prepares the weekly payment run for approval | 3.0 | 4.4 | Critical |
| Updates vendor tax forms on file | 1.8 | 3.6 | Not critical: frequency below 3.0 |
| Presents AP metrics to the finance leadership team | 3 of 5 rated "not performed" | n/a | Dropped |
The fourth task is important but rare, so it stays in the job description as a duty without becoming a screening criterion. The fifth came from an old job ad; most of the people who do the job have never done it.
From the critical tasks, the critical competencies in this example would be knowledge of three-way matching, written and spoken vendor communication, and accuracy with numeric data, each linked to at least one task. Those become the interview competencies; a short invoice-matching exercise becomes the work sample, which is the kind of test section 1607.14(C)(4) describes when it says the closer a procedure is to a work sample, the stronger the case for content validity.
How do you turn the results into a job description and interview?
- Job description: lead with the critical tasks as essential functions, in plain language. Put the rare-but-important tasks under other duties. Our guide to a job description that screens covers the wording, and job description vs. job posting explains which document goes where.
- Interview: write one or two structured questions per critical competency, and use the critical incidents as the "strong answer" and "weak answer" anchors. Interview Signal builds its question guide from the job description you paste, so a description rewritten from the job analysis carries through to the questions it suggests.
- Assessments: pick a method that fits each competency; see types of pre-employment assessments. For several competencies at once, an assessment center uses exercises built from the same task list.
- Selection decisions: once the screen is built from the analysis, the selection ratio tells you how much difference a valid assessment can make for this job.
How long does it take, and when should you redo it?
A full analysis with a rating survey suits jobs you hire into often or that carry legal risk. For a one-off role, a short version still beats none: one session with two or three SMEs to write and rate tasks, a second to rate competencies and link them, and the worksheet filled in afterwards.
On timing, OPM's deck says it depends on how new the position is and how current the last analysis is, and that jobs whose requirements change often (it names information technology) should be reviewed at least annually so selection tools stay valid. Redo it whenever the work changes: new systems, a reorganized team, or a role that absorbed another's duties.
Common mistakes
| Mistake | What goes wrong | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| One rater, usually the hiring manager | The analysis describes one person's ideal | Several SMEs, including current incumbents |
| Rating the current employee instead of the job | Their strengths become requirements | Rate tasks and competencies, never people |
| Competencies with no linked task | Screening for traits the job never uses | Linkage step; drop unlinked items |
| Screening for skills learned on the job | Rejecting people the job would have trained | Use the needed-at-entry scale |
| Never dated or filed | No evidence when a decision is questioned | Date it, keep it with the requisition |
Questions people ask
What are the steps of a job analysis for hiring?
The US Office of Personnel Management describes six: collect information about the job, list the tasks, have subject matter experts rate the tasks to find the critical ones, have them rate the competencies to find the critical ones, link each competency to the tasks it supports, and choose which competencies to screen for. Then document the results with a date.
Is a job analysis legally required before hiring?
No federal law requires every private employer to run one before every hire. The Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures (29 CFR 1607.14) say a validity study should be based on a review of job information that includes a job analysis, which matters most when a selection procedure has adverse impact. A dated job analysis is also useful evidence of which job functions are essential under the ADA. This is general information, not legal advice.
Who should take part in a job analysis?
People with real knowledge of the job: OPM's materials name first-level supervisors and superior incumbents as typical subject matter experts. Use several raters rather than one, include people who do the work today, and keep the analysis about the job, not about the person currently in it.
Can I use O*NET instead of doing my own job analysis?
Use O*NET as a starting list, not a replacement. O*NET OnLine, sponsored by the US Department of Labor, lists tasks, work activities, work context, knowledge, abilities and work styles for each occupation, but it describes the occupation nationally. Your own subject matter experts still need to cut what is not true of your role and rate what is left.