How do you rewrite your job description?
My department just merged with another and I've been asked to write my new job description. How should I approach this?
I’ve done this a few times in my career. Not because of mergers, but because I have a habit of doing the job I want on top of the job I have. (I talked about this on a podcast earlier this year.)
Here’s what has worked for me.
1. Start with the musts.
These are the responsibilities that are core to your role today, filling a gap no one else can and most importantly, the things your supervisor would panic about if you stopped doing them.
Without these, your role changes won’t go anywhere.
2. Decide what you want to stop.
Before you add anything new, you have to make room.
What could stop altogether? What could be delegated or reassigned?
Be strategic here. Anything you want to give up needs to make more sense with someone else or it’ll rightfully get pushback.
📌 I did this in my job at Western. I wanted to stand up an entire digital recruitment strategy. At the time, there was very little digital outreach. But I couldn’t do that and keep coordinating travel. So, I trained my team to take over travel scheduling. It freed up my time and gave them meaningful growth they carried into their next roles.
3. Claim what you want to own.
Now look around. This is where you begin to stretch.
What responsibilities inside your department would you like to own? What is your leader doing that could be delegated? What projects have been sitting on the back burner that you could move forward?
📌 I did this in my job at Ologie. When our former research lead left, I realized I really cared about how we did research. My boss had too much on his plate and I could help him move key initiatives forward. So I formally raised my hand and we reshaped my role to keep some strategy work while also taking on leadership of research.
4. Create what doesn't exist.
This is the fun part.
These are the things that get you really excited. What are you really good at? What can only you contribute? What do you really, really want to improve?
You’ll know you’re focusing on the right new things if even just thinking about them gets you hyped up.
📌 I’ve done this at all my jobs, transforming my roles every time. But my favourite example is from my first job at Hella México. I was in finance and operations, but I noticed a big marketing problem. Our products were original German parts and we were losing badly to cheap knockoffs. I wanted to create demand from the end users (drivers and mechanics) so they’d ask for our brand and force wholesalers to stock us. To reach them, I built a blog, a newsletter, an online catalog, a YouTube channel (starring… me 😎), and a forum—way before brands on social were a thing. My initiatives thrived. And that work turned into short-term gigs helping Hella’s teams in South Africa and Atlanta.
Now write it down.
Use the style and format of your current job description so it feels familiar and grounded. If you get stuck on wording, ask people in your network or scan job postings for the kind of work you want to be doing.
As for the money...💰 Depending on your organization, you may or may not have much influence here. But if you can clearly show how this role expands beyond your previous responsibilities, you have a strong case for a salary adjustment. Don’t undersell yourself just to be agreeable. Salary builds on itself, and it’s surprisingly hard to catch up later. Starting low can follow you for years.
This post was originally sent as an email. Subscribe to my newsletter and get the newest questions and answers in your inbox.
