Municipal job posting checklist for your community's website

A municipal job posting checklist should cover the vacancy details, the application process and what happens when the opening closes. Before publishing, check that applicants can find the required materials, submit through the correct route and tell whether their application arrived.

If posting jobs is one more task on your desk, start with the approved hiring notice. The website work is making those instructions usable, then keeping them current for as long as the opening is advertised.

What belongs on a municipal job posting checklist?

Review the public page and the application together. A complete description cannot compensate for a broken Apply button or a deadline that differs from the one in the hiring system.

Have the hiring manager or HR contact approve the wording. This is a website publishing checklist; it does not determine your hiring policies or which employment notices your jurisdiction requires.

Can applicants tell what they need before they start?

List required materials next to the application link. Someone preparing a resume should be able to see whether they also need a separate employment form, a cover letter or a copy of a license.

Midland's employment page (opens in a new tab) makes an important distinction: each opening requires an official application, and a resume alone is insufficient. It also tells applicants that some positions require certifications or licenses. Those are Midland's instructions, but the publishing lesson applies elsewhere: spell out what counts as a complete application for this particular opening.

If the form accepts attachments, show the permitted file formats and size limits before the upload step. If applicants must answer supplemental questions, let them review the questions before they commit to a long form. Grand Rapids explains that its job details include a preview of supplemental questions (opens in a new tab).

Put the phone number or email address for application help beside these instructions. Name the office that handles those questions.

Does the Apply link lead to the right opening?

Give every opening a clear page title and a direct route from the jobs page. Use the same job title in the notice and application so applicants know they have reached the right place.

Keep general job descriptions separate from current vacancies. A description explains a role; it does not tell someone whether you are hiring for it today. Use separate headings for current openings and job descriptions.

When applications happen on another website, explain that handoff before the link. Test the destination while signed out of staff accounts. An administrative preview link can work for you and fail for everyone else.

Open the listing on a phone and follow the application route using a keyboard as well. Check that instructions remain readable and that links and fields can be reached. Our guide to accessible municipal online forms covers the form checks in more detail; a quick walkthrough does not replace an accessibility review.

How do you know applications are arriving?

Arrange a test application with the staff who receive submissions. Use a test environment or an agreed test record, and avoid putting real applicant information into a practice submission.

Check both ends. The applicant should receive a clear success message, while the staff recipient should be able to open the application and any attachments. If the process promises an email receipt, confirm that it arrives and identifies the opening.

W3C's form guidance (opens in a new tab) calls for feedback after submission, including understandable error messages and confirmation of success. Test a missing required field too. The message should identify what needs fixing without making the applicant guess.

Agree on who checks incoming applications and who covers an absence. A working form does not settle that staffing question. The municipal form routing checklist can help your office assign responsibility.

Who closes the posting and updates other job boards?

Assign the closing task when you publish. For a fixed deadline, confirm when the website stops accepting applications. For an opening listed as open until filled, arrange regular checks with the hiring contact so the public page reflects the position's current status.

Keep a short record of where you shared the vacancy. The Michigan Association of Municipal Clerks' job board (opens in a new tab) asks members to provide a posting or link and the duration it should remain online. Association listings, department pages and social posts can each need attention when the deadline changes.

If the deadline is extended, update the application system and the public notice together, then notify the other publishers. When the opening closes, remove it from the active jobs list and clearly mark any retained public page as closed.

Muniway's Jobs tool supports online applications, automatic closing dates and email alerts for new openings. Automatic closing handles the website deadline; staff still need to update any copies shared elsewhere.

Keep the checked posting with your publishing notes. For the next vacancy, your staff can reuse the page structure and application checks, then confirm the new requirements and deadline with the hiring contact.