How to Decode What a Job Description Really Means (and Prepare Smarter)
When you’re applying for a new role, reading the job description carefully can give you a serious edge - not just in tailoring your CV, but in preparing for interviews with confidence. Most candidates skim the bullet points and move on. The best candidates decode them - to understand what the role really involves day to day, and what the company is truly looking for. And then - adjust their stories to reflect skills that are really needed.
Step 1: Read Beyond the Buzzwords
Job descriptions often sound generic - “strategic mindset,” “cross-functional collaboration,” “fast-paced environment.” Instead of taking those at face value, ask yourself: What would this actually mean on a typical Tuesday?
Think of the daily tasks that might sit behind those phrases:
“Strategic mindset” → building reports, prioritizing projects, making trade-offs.
“Cross-functional collaboration” → aligning with product, sales, and operations.
“Fast-paced environment” → managing competing deadlines without losing accuracy, being pragmatic in generating insights
By translating vague buzzwords into real actions, you start to see what success in that role really looks like.
Step 2: Map Out Workflows, KPIs, and Challenges
Once you have an idea of the daily tasks, go a layer deeper - what processes or results drive this role?
What are the workflows or recurring projects?
How might your performance be measured?
What challenges would you likely face in this organization’s context?
For example, a “Growth Operations Manager” at a startup might spend the day automating reports and building processes from scratch, while the same title at a global company might focus on optimizing existing workflows. Understanding this difference is key to preparing relevant examples.
Step 3: Use ChatGPT to Help You Decode Faster
If you’re not sure where to start, tools like ChatGPT can help you break a job description into concrete insights. Try using a structured prompt like this:
“This is a job description from [Company Name]. Could you dissect it into daily activities I would actually be doing, the likely KPIs for this role, and the challenges I might face in this company’s environment?”
This can give you a solid first draft of what the role really entails - and you can refine it further with your own experience and research.
Step 4: Tailor Your Stories to Match the Role
Now that you understand what the job truly involves, prepare your interview stories around those themes.
If the role emphasizes cross-functional collaboration, pick examples where you aligned diverse teams.
If data-driven decisions are key, choose stories where you used analysis to drive results.
If process improvement is central, highlight how you optimized or automated something.
💡 Pro tip: Don’t forget the how. Avoid vague lines like “I drove strategic decisions with key data insights.” Go deeper - Which decision? What insight? Show how your action created real impact. That’s what turns a story from generic to memorable.
The goal is to make your stories feel like a perfect fit for the day-to-day realities of that role - not generic achievements.
Step 5: Turn Understanding into Confidence
When you walk into the interview knowing what the role actually demands, your answers sound sharper and more authentic. You won’t just be listing skills - you’ll be demonstrating readiness.
And that’s what truly impresses hiring managers.
Ready to Try It Yourself?
Don’t just read job descriptions - dissect them.
Download my free Job Description Dissection Template to help you break any role into real daily tasks, KPIs, and challenges.
It’s a practical way to uncover what companies truly look for - and prepare interview stories that stand out.
