# JD to assessment: working checklist

Companion to https://lunaprompts.com/blog/job-description-to-assessment-guide

LunaPrompts Editorial. Original illustrative exercise.

## Define the workflow

- Role or campaign:
- Owner:
- Decision this workflow should support:
- Candidate instructions and support route:

## Worked example: Turn a broad JD into a focused test

Take a backend opening whose first project involves maintaining an internal order API. Begin with three responsibilities: validate requests, read the right records, and handle failures clearly. These responsibilities suggest observable evidence more directly than a list of frameworks does.

A draft blueprint could contain an API validation repair, a SQL query over a small supplied dataset, and a follow-up about a failed dependency. For each task, write what the reviewer should be able to point to: a failing example that now passes, a query that returns the intended records, or a justified recovery choice.

Next, ask the engineering manager which requirements can be learned after joining. If a particular cloud service is only incidental, avoid making product-specific trivia the gate to a practical exercise. If SQL correctness is essential from the first week, give it explicit coverage.

Finally, pilot the draft. Record how long the environment takes to understand separately from the time spent solving the task. Have reviewers assess the same sample submission independently, then compare the evidence they used. A disagreement may reveal an unclear rubric or a genuinely important tradeoff. Resolve it before inviting the wider pool.

## Review checklist

- [ ] Responsibility: What the person will own
  Evidence or open question:
- [ ] Task: A bounded piece of representative work
  Evidence or open question:
- [ ] Evidence: What success or a gap looks like
  Evidence or open question:
- [ ] Calibration: Timing, instructions, and reviewer agreement
  Evidence or open question:

## Working session

Highlight three responsibilities in an open JD. For each, write one task and one observable review criterion. Remove any task that has no clear responsibility attached.

## Avoid this mistake

A generated assessment can inherit a confused job description. Before changing the questions, check whether the team agrees on the role.

## Record the next step

- Observed evidence:
- What remains uncertain:
- Person responsible:
- Next action and date:

Keep candidate examples anonymous when sharing this worksheet.