Breadcrumb
The Role of Position Descriptions
A well-designed position description
- Ensures positions contribute to your organization's goals and programs.
- Establishes expectations, required skills, and screening steps (including costs), transportation realities, etc.
- Supports a climate of inclusivity, diversity, and equity.
- Aids with evaluation efforts to improve both services and future iterations of the position and description.
- Provides a reflection tool for students' learning and agency/program evaluation, and improvement purposes.
Position descriptions can
- Simplify aspects of a site supervisor's job: marketing, recruiting, screening, and training students.
- Assist in recruiting students with the right interests, skills, and availability, and match those individuals successfully with service positions.
- Clarify the student's responsibilities to everyone: site supervisors, other staff, and volunteers, thus reducing areas of potential conflict.
- Strengthen the screening process:
- Applicants can screen themselves and apply only for the positions in which they have an interest and skills.
- Facilitate the development of interview questions that match the needs of the organization and the skills needed for each position.
Things to Consider
- Will the position clearly support the work of the organizational staff and address a community need?
- Is the position meant to take advantage of certain skills of a student studying a certain major?
- Is the position open to people with varying experience and abilities?
- Will the program provide training?
- How does the site support a climate of inclusivity, equity, and diversity, and how will the student/position be expected to support these efforts?
- Analyze your employee hiring or volunteer/intern intake process. The "3 hiring practices that disadvantage Black students" article shares tips for addressing systemic challenges by modifying your qualified student search criteria.
- What requirements do students need to meet to begin serving? Background checks, TB tests, and other requirements can take time (and should be figured into the service hours commitment), and may be a financial burden on the student. Consider whether your agency can help mitigate these processes by paying for them, or allowing for exceptions for short-term positions.
- Transportation: consider listing bus routes or other transportation concerns for students needing to travel to and from your site from campus. Note that Cal Poly Humboldt students are not allowed to drive for your organization.
- Can the position accommodate a small team of students to accomplish the project goals?
Preparing the Position Description
- Try to take a look at the position from the perspective of the student and highlight aspects of the position that will most appeal to the students.
- Display benefits and learning opportunities prominently.
- Determine the length of the project and what best suits an Internship or Service Learning position
- Internship experiences typically require 60+ hours per semester, sometimes over two semesters.
- Service Learning experiences typically require 20-30 hours per semester.
- Develop the position within the semester timeframe:
- Fall: end of August through mid-December
- Spring: end of January through mid-May
- Summer: end of May/beginning of June through July.
- Consider episodic projects that allow different students to come and go from one semester to the next.