This article is for HR professionals.
What is the difference between a Job and a Position?
- A job is a more general concept: It's a template describing a specifically defined type of work within a company. It outlines the tasks, responsibilities, and competencies needed to perform the work. In practice, it's more commonly used in larger companies as a template for job descriptions, required employee qualifications, compensation, and working conditions.
- A Position refers to a specific position within the company's organizational structure that is filled by an employee (or is a vacant position ready to be filled). Therefore, it is a unique place in the organizational structure that is (or will be) connected to a specific individual.
Note: In common practice in small and medium-sized businesses, these two terms are often used interchangeably and sometimes not differentiated. Also “Role” is often used interchangeably with “job” in business-speak, but in formal HR it’s safer to use job for general and position for specific seats.
Which Term to Use? Our Recommendation
- For general requirements, onboarding templates, PPE needs: Use "Job"
- For assigned employee tracking, actual issued items, completed onboarding: Use "Position"