[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"detail-sidebar-cat-1-en-105":3,"doc-seo-260201-105":53,"doc-detail-260201-en":127},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",[7,14,19,24,29,34,39,44,49],{"id":8,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":11,"show_sort_weight":12,"slug":13},11,1,"Template","Presentations",90,"presentations",{"id":15,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":16,"show_sort_weight":17,"slug":18},12,"Resumes",80,"resumes",{"id":20,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":21,"show_sort_weight":22,"slug":23},14,"Invoices",70,"invoices",{"id":25,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":26,"show_sort_weight":27,"slug":28},15,"Posters",60,"posters",{"id":30,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":31,"show_sort_weight":32,"slug":33},16,"Social Media",50,"social-media",{"id":35,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":36,"show_sort_weight":37,"slug":38},17,"Forms",40,"forms",{"id":40,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":41,"show_sort_weight":42,"slug":43},18,"Letters",30,"letters",{"id":45,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":46,"show_sort_weight":47,"slug":48},21,"Paper Templates",5,"papers-templates",{"id":50,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":51,"show_sort_weight":4,"slug":52},158,"General","general-158",{"code":4,"msg":54,"data":55},"ok",{"site_id":56,"language":57,"slug":58,"title":59,"keywords":60,"description":61,"schema_data":62,"social_meta":120,"head_meta":122,"extra_data":124,"updated_unix":126},105,"en","writing-cybersecurity-job-descriptions-for-the-greatest-impact-briefing","Writing Cybersecurity Job Descriptions for the Greatest Impact - Briefing","","This briefing explains how to craft effective cybersecurity job descriptions aligned to job opportunity announcements and position descriptions, emphasizing clear articulation of major duties, responsibilities, and regular tasks. It defines key concepts such as competencies—measurable knowledge, skills, abilities, behaviors, and other characteristics—and clarifies major versus minor duties to support accurate qualification requirements. It also guides hiring decisions, including where to start, how to evaluate skills gaps, and how job descriptions improve candidate quality and strategic workforce planning.",{"@graph":63,"@context":119},[64,80,102],{"@type":65,"itemListElement":66},"BreadcrumbList",[67,71,74,77],{"item":68,"name":69,"@type":70,"position":9},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":72,"name":10,"@type":70,"position":73},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/",2,{"item":75,"name":11,"@type":70,"position":76},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/presentations/",3,{"item":78,"name":59,"@type":70,"position":79},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/writing-cybersecurity-job-descriptions-for-the-greatest-impact-briefing/260201/",4,{"url":78,"name":59,"@type":81,"image":82,"author":87,"headline":59,"publisher":90,"fileFormat":93,"inLanguage":57,"description":61,"dateModified":94,"datePublished":95,"encodingFormat":93,"isAccessibleForFree":96,"interactionStatistic":97},"DigitalDocument",{"url":83,"@type":84,"width":85,"height":86},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/writing-cybersecurity-job-descriptions-for-the-greatest-impact-briefing/260201.png","ImageObject",442,249,{"name":88,"@type":89},"Theodore","Person",{"url":68,"name":91,"@type":92},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-11-03","2026-09-13",true,{"@type":98,"interactionType":99,"userInteractionCount":101},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":100},"ViewAction",13,{"@type":103,"mainEntity":104},"FAQPage",[105,111,115],{"name":106,"@type":107,"acceptedAnswer":108},"How should major and minor duties be distinguished in a cybersecurity job description?","Question",{"text":109,"@type":110},"Major duties represent the primary reason the position exists and typically govern qualification requirements. Minor duties occupy a smaller portion of time, are not the primary purpose, and do not determine qualification requirements.","Answer",{"name":112,"@type":107,"acceptedAnswer":113},"What are competencies and how do they relate to job descriptions?",{"text":114,"@type":110},"Competencies are measurable patterns of knowledge, skills, abilities (KSAs), behaviors, and other characteristics needed to perform successfully. They describe how to perform job tasks effectively, not just what the tasks are.",{"name":116,"@type":107,"acceptedAnswer":117},"Why is a job description important for both hiring accuracy and workforce planning?",{"text":118,"@type":110},"A well-written job description improves accuracy in the job opportunity announcement, communicates intent to job candidates, and supports better candidate quality. Strategically, it enables proactive workforce planning by showing what future skillsets are needed and what current gaps cannot be met through retraining alone.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":78,"og:type":121,"og:title":59,"og:site_name":91,"og:description":61},"article",{"robots":123,"canonical":78},"index,follow",{"doc_id":125,"site_id":56},260201,1791742674,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":128},{"doc_id":125,"user_id":129,"nickname":88,"user_avatar":130,"doc_module":9,"category_id":8,"category_name":11,"doc_title":59,"doc_description":61,"doc_content":131,"file_id":132,"file_url":133,"file_type":134,"file_size":135,"view_count":101,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":9,"is_downloadable":9,"audit_status":9,"page_count":136,"language":137,"language_code":57,"site_id":56,"html_lang":57,"table_of_contents":138,"faqs":139,"seo_title":140,"seo_description":61,"update_tm":141,"read_time":142,"preview_page_count":4},7971461740886,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_3d24733baf745e90a7e4bdd5f77d97b2","Writing Cybersecurity Job Descriptions for the Greatest  \nImpact  \nKeith T. Hall  \nU.S. Department of Homeland Security  \nWelcome  \nWriting Cybersecurity Job Descriptions for the Greatest Impact  \nDisclaimers and Caveats  \n• Content Not Officially Adopted. The content of this briefing is mine personally and does not reflect any position or policy of the United States Government (USG) or of the Department of Homeland Security.  \n• Note on Terminology. Will use USG terminology in this brief (but generally translatable towards Private Sector equivalents)  \n• Job Description Usage . For the purposes of this presentation only, the Job Description for the Position Description (PD) is used synonymously with the Job Opportunity Announcement (JOA) . Although there are potential differences, it is not material to the concepts presented today.  \nKey Definitions and Concepts (1 of 2)  \n• What do you want the person to do?  \n• Major Duties and Responsibilities. “A statement of the important, regular, and recurring duties and responsibilities assigned to the position” SOURCE: [https://www.opm.gov/policy-data](https://www.opm.gov/policy-data)oversight/classification-qualifications/classifying-general-schedule-positions/classifierhandbook. pdf  \n• Major vs. Minor Duties. “Major duties are those that represent the primary reason for the position's existence, and which govern the qualification requirements. Typically, they occupy most of the employee's time. Minor duties generally occupy a small portion of time, are not the primary purpose for which the position was established, and do not determine qualification requirements” SOURCE: [https://www.opm.gov/policy-data](https://www.opm.gov/policy-data)oversight/classification-qualifications/classifying-general-schedule-positions/positionclassificationintro. pdf  \n• Tasks .“Activities an employee performs on a regular basis in order to carry out the functions of the job.” SOURCE: [https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/assessment-and-selection/job-analysis/job_analysis_presentation.pdf](https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/assessment-and-selection/job-analysis/job_analysis_presentation.pdf)  \nKey Definitions and Concepts (2 of 2)  \n• What do you want to see on resumes that qualifies them to do this work?  \n• Competency.“Competency is a measurable pattern of knowledge, skills, abilities (KSAs), behaviors, and other characteristics that an individual needs to perform work roles or occupational functions successfully. Competencies specify the ‘how’ of performing job tasks, or what the person needs to do the job successfully.” SOURCE: [https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/assessment-and](https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/assessment-and)selection/competencies/ [https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/assessment-and-selection/competencies/](https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/assessment-and-selection/competencies/)  \no Behaviors – “the way in which one acts or conducts oneself, especially toward others”  \no Knowledge – “facts, information, and skills acquired by a person through experience or education; the theoretical or practical understanding of a subject”  \no Abilities – “possession of the means or skill to do something”  \no Skills – “the ability to do something well; expertise”  \nWhere to start?  \nI want to hire  \nsomeone..  \n6  \nWhy Start Here?  \n• “What’s the problem?– I’ll just put out my old announcement until I get the right candidate..”  \n• Did the position require a skill not listed on the announcement?  \n• How much end-to-end time or resources will be wasted running through the responses?  \n• “I don’t have to hire anyone, I just need to outsource the work..”  \n• Don’t you still need to articulate your requirements into the contract?  \n• Is this a Mission Critical Function (MCF) or Inherently Governmental Function (IGF)? If so, should it be outsourced?  \n• “I keep reading about the cyberskills gap, but I don’t see how it’s any different from non-cyber positions?”","cbCais1t9yOF9jKp","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCais1t9yOF9jKp","pdf",894272,26,"English","# Welcome\n# Disclaimers and Caveats\n## Content not officially adopted\n## Note on terminology\n## Job description usage\n# Key Definitions and Concepts\n## What do you want the person to do?\n## Major vs. Minor Duties\n## Tasks\n## What do you want to see on resumes?\n## Competency\n# Where to start?\n## I want to hire someone\n## Why start here\n# Why is a Job Description So Important?\n## Tactical reason\n## Strategic reason\n# About Job Description Alignment","[{\"question\":\"How should major and minor duties be distinguished in a cybersecurity job description?\",\"answer\":\"Major duties represent the primary reason the position exists and typically govern qualification requirements. Minor duties occupy a smaller portion of time, are not the primary purpose, and do not determine qualification requirements.\"},{\"question\":\"What are competencies and how do they relate to job descriptions?\",\"answer\":\"Competencies are measurable patterns of knowledge, skills, abilities (KSAs), behaviors, and other characteristics needed to perform successfully. They describe how to perform job tasks effectively, not just what the tasks are.\"},{\"question\":\"Why is a job description important for both hiring accuracy and workforce planning?\",\"answer\":\"A well-written job description improves accuracy in the job opportunity announcement, communicates intent to job candidates, and supports better candidate quality. Strategically, it enables proactive workforce planning by showing what future skillsets are needed and what current gaps cannot be met through retraining alone.\"}]","Writing Cybersecurity Job Descriptions for the Greatest Impact - Briefing | PDF",1789340178,9]