How to Write Job Requirements (Must-Have vs. Nice-to-Have)

Required vs. preferred: the split that actually matters

A required qualification is something a candidate genuinely cannot do the job without. A preferred qualification is something that would help, that you'd be glad to see, but that a strong hire could reasonably lack and still succeed. Almost every requirements section we've reviewed blurs this line, and blurring it is the whole problem.

The test we use: if a candidate who's missing this item could still do the job well in their first 90 days with reasonable onboarding, it's preferred, not required. If missing it means the role genuinely can't be performed — a specific license, a legal certification, availability for a fixed shift — it's required. Most "5+ years of experience" lines fail this test. Most licensing requirements pass it.

How over-listing requirements shrinks your applicant pool

Candidates read requirements lists as a pass/fail gate, not a wishlist, even when employers intend the opposite. Every additional line item is a chance for a genuinely qualified person to self-eliminate before ever clicking apply — and research on this pattern consistently points the same direction.

According to LinkedIn Talent Solutions research, candidates weigh how closely they match a listed requirements set heavily when deciding whether to apply at all — meaning a longer, stricter-reading list doesn't just filter after the fact, it suppresses who applies in the first place. The filtering happens before you ever see a resume.

This effect lands unevenly. Research summarized by Harvard Business Review has repeatedly found that women and candidates from underrepresented groups are statistically less likely to apply unless they meet nearly every listed requirement, while other candidates apply even when they meet only a portion. An inflated requirements list doesn't just shrink your pool — it shrinks it unevenly, quietly narrowing who even considers the role before you've made a single decision.

That asymmetry is the part employers most often miss. It's not that a long list filters too hard across the board — it's that it filters selectively, in a direction most employers wouldn't choose on purpose if they saw it happening in real time.

Degree requirements vs. skills requirements

A blanket degree requirement is one of the most common inflated line items we see, and one of the easiest to fix. Ask what the degree is actually a proxy for — usually a specific skill, a baseline of writing ability, or familiarity with certain concepts — and consider listing that instead.

• If the role needs a licensed professional (nursing, accounting, engineering with a legal stamp requirement), keep the credential. It's genuinely required, not a proxy.
• If the role needs strong written communication, say that directly rather than requiring a degree as a stand-in for it — plenty of capable writers don't hold one.
• If the degree requirement exists mostly out of habit ("we've always asked for a bachelor's"), that's the clearest sign it's not a real requirement at all.
• Consider an explicit "or equivalent experience" clause next to any degree line — it costs nothing and reopens the role to candidates who built the same capability a different way.

None of this means degrees never matter. It means treating a degree as a genuine requirement should be a deliberate decision tied to what the role needs, not a default carried over from a previous posting.

Writing the two lists: a template

Once you've sorted must-have from nice-to-have honestly, writing the section is straightforward — the hard part is the sorting, not the wording.

Must-have (required)

• List 3–5 items maximum. If you have more than five genuine must-haves, double-check each one against the 90-day test above.
• State each as a concrete capability or credential, not a vague trait: "Current CDL Class A license," not "reliable and hardworking."
• Order by how disqualifying each item is — the most non-negotiable item first.

Nice-to-have (preferred)

• Label it clearly as "preferred" or "nice to have" — don't let it blend visually into the required list above it.
• Keep it to 2–4 items. A long preferred list still reads as pressure to a careful applicant, even with the label.
• Use this section for things that would genuinely differentiate a candidate, not filler that restates the required list in softer language.

This two-list structure is one piece of the broader job description template we recommend across every section, not just requirements — the same logic of "required means required" applies to responsibilities and benefits too.

The "strict filters save screening time" myth

Real screening time savings come from ranking and scoring applicants after they apply, not from scaring off the pool before they do. That's a sorting problem, not a filtering-at-the-door problem — and it's exactly what automated ranking is built to solve instead.

Where this fits in the rest of your job description

Requirements don't exist in isolation from the rest of the post. A tight, honest requirements list paired with a vague responsibilities section still underperforms, and the reverse is also true — get both right together for the biggest gain.

If you're building the requirements section as part of a full rewrite, start from our job description template for the surrounding structure, and check writing inclusive, bias-free job descriptions for how wording choices in this exact section can unintentionally read as exclusionary even when the underlying requirement itself is legitimate.

Frequently asked questions

Glossary

Must-have qualification

A requirement a candidate genuinely cannot perform the role without, such as a legal license or fixed physical capability.

Nice-to-have qualification

A preferred but non-essential qualification that would help a candidate succeed but isn't disqualifying if absent.

Requirements inflation

The pattern of listing preferences as requirements, which narrows the applicant pool without improving candidate quality.

Self-selection (applicant)

The tendency of candidates to decide not to apply based on how closely they match a listed requirements set, occurring before any employer screening happens.

Degree-as-proxy requirement

A degree requirement used as a stand-in for a specific skill the role actually needs, rather than a genuine credential requirement.