Hey there! You’re listening to The JD Fix—the show that helps you clean up messy job descriptions and turn them into hiring super tools. I’m your host, Heather Fenty.
Today’s episode is about something that quietly drives recruiting teams nuts...
Approval. Purgatory.
You know what I’m talking about. The JD’s been written. Everyone’s looked at it. But somehow… it’s still not live.
Let’s unpack why that happens—and how to break out of the cycle.
“The Mystery of the Missing JD”
Last week, I talked to a recruiter at a large healthcare org—let’s call her Jess.
Jess told me they wrote a JD for a critical nursing leadership role. She sent it to the hiring manager. The hiring manager added a few things. Legal had feedback. Then comp wanted to review the title.
And then… nothing.
The req didn’t go live for 17 days.
When I asked Jess what caused the delay, she said:
“Honestly? I’m not even sure. I think we were all waiting for someone else to say ‘go.’”
That’s approval purgatory. And it’s happening everywhere.
What’s Really Going On?
Job descriptions get stuck not because people are lazy—but because your workflow isn’t clear.
And when the process isn’t clear, JDs just… stall.
While everyone assumes someone else is moving it forward.
3 Reasons Your JDs Get Stuck
1. No Clear Ownership
Who approves the JD? If your team doesn’t have a documented process, it’s easy for things to get lost.
Recruiters send it. Hiring managers tweak it. Legal might glance at it. But no one owns the “green light.”
2. Too Many Reviewers
In some orgs, every JD goes through 4+ people. But not all roles need that many eyes.
When you over-engineer your workflow, you slow everything down—and worse, no one feels urgency because everyone’s waiting on everyone else.
3. Tools That Don’t Talk to Each Other
One version lives in Word. Another in Google Docs. The “final” is somewhere in SharePoint…
but someone else left comments in Greenhouse.
When tools aren’t synced, people lose track—and the JD just sits there.
A Quick Fix You Can Use Today
Here’s what I recommend: Build a simple JD Approval Checklist.
This isn’t fancy—it’s clarity. Just write down your steps:
✅ Recruiter drafts
✅ Hiring manager reviews
✅ Legal/comp signs off (if needed)
✅ JD goes live
Assign one owner per step. Add timelines if you can.
Need a template to get started?
I made a free, downloadable PDF you can customize with your team.
👉 Click here to download the JD Approval Checklist
Wrap-Up + What’s Next
If you’re dealing with approval delays, start by asking:
✨ Who owns each step?
✨ Who really needs to review it?
✨ And where does the JD actually live?
Cleaning that up can shave days off your time-to-post.
🎧 And—next week’s episode is going to hit another all-too-familiar pain point:
“Why Does My Hiring Manager Keep Rewriting the JD… After It Was Finalized?”
Ugh, I know.
We’ll talk about setting healthy boundaries, building trust, and still keeping things moving.
And if today’s episode hit home, send it to a teammate who's been there.
Until next time—
I’m Heather Fenty.
Go get those JDs unstuck.
And as always… happy hiring!
