Clear job statements are the backbone of any effective Jobs to Be Done (JTBD) approach. They help teams stay focused on what the customer is genuinely trying to accomplish, not just the solutions they use today. But for job statements to be useful – in product development, market research, and insight interpretation – they must follow a consistent format that eliminates ambiguity.

The Standard JTBD Format

Most JTBD experts agree on a core structure for job statements that looks like this:

“When [situation], I want to [motivation], so I can [expected outcome].”

This simple sentence prompts you to tie each customer need to a real-life context, which is critical for interpreting behavior and opportunity.

Here's a breakdown of each part:

• When [context]: This refers to the situation or trigger that prompts the job to begin. Example: “When I start a new fitness routine...”
• I want to [motivation]: This reveals what the customer is actively trying to do. Example: “...I want to track my workouts easily...”
• So I can [outcome]: This explains why the job matters – what the customer hopes to achieve. Example: “...so I can stay motivated and see my progress.”

Put together, this results in a full job statement: “When I start a new fitness routine, I want to track my workouts easily so I can stay motivated and see my progress.”

Why Structure Matters

Using a defined format helps eliminate personal bias and keeps the focus on the customer’s needs rather than predetermined solutions. It also makes it easier for your teams – researchers, designers, marketers, and decision-makers alike – to align around actionable insights.

And when used consistently, this JTBD format also makes it easier to compare and categorize multiple job statements derived from qualitative or quantitative market research, creating a strong foundation for pattern recognition and strategic clustering.

Tips for Crafting Better Job Statements

If you're new to writing job statements for research, try these practical approaches:

• Start by listening: Use actual customer interviews or observations to build the statements based on what people say and do.
• Keep language plain: Use your customer’s own words where possible, and avoid internal jargon.
• Check clarity: If someone outside your team read this statement, would they understand the job being described?
• Keep it goal-oriented: Make sure the focus is on the outcome the customer wants, not the tools they currently use.

Writing a job statement might seem simple, but crafting one that’s truly actionable takes practice and precision. When done right, it becomes a tool that cuts through complexity and lights a path to meaningful innovation.

Knowing the right format is step one. But truly effective job statements require more than just filling in the blanks – they require context, clarity, and strategic thinking. In this section, we’ll explore best practices for JTBD job statements, and call out common mistakes to avoid. Whether you're leading JTBD research or interpreting consumer insights, these tips will help you avoid the noise and focus on what really matters: defining your customer’s needs with precision.

What to Do When Writing Job Statements

Here are some proven best practices for creating impactful, research-ready job statements that can guide meaningful action:

• Do capture the customer’s voice: Use expressions and language found directly in interviews or survey feedback. This keeps the job grounded in reality.
• Do stay solution-agnostic: Focus on the job they’re trying to do, not the means they’re using to do it. For example, “organize my week easily” says more than “use a calendar app.”
• Do highlight the emotional drivers: Many jobs have emotional undertones. Capture outcomes that tie to confidence, reassurance, or peace of mind.
• Do validate across customers: Ask yourself whether this job statement holds true across your audience, or at least a key customer segment.
• Do keep it tightly scoped: Avoid combining too many goals into one job statement. Instead, write one job per core objective.

Common Mistakes to Watch For

New to writing JTBD job statements? You’re not alone – and it’s easy to fall into some early traps. Here’s what to avoid:

• Don’t describe behaviors instead of motivations: Saying “I check the app every morning” is about a habit. “I want to feel informed without effort” gets closer to the job.
• Don’t include brand-specific tools or solutions: Listing “use Excel” or “buy from Amazon” limits your view of what the customer actually needs.
• Don’t make it too vague: A job like “be productive” lacks context. Ask when, how, and why to unlock specificity.
• Don’t make assumptions: Let the research shape the job. JTBD works best when statements are rooted in real consumer insights, not internal hypotheses.
• Don’t conflate multiple jobs in one: Each job statement should reflect a single goal. Bundling leads to strategic confusion.

Keep Your End Goal in Mind

The ultimate goal of writing job statements in JTBD is to identify clear, actionable insights that drive business innovation. By staying true to the customer’s experience and resisting the urge to jump to solutions, you can create statements that reveal untapped opportunities – the kind worth pursuing.

At SIVO Insights, we help teams cut through the noise and zero in on the jobs customers are truly trying to accomplish in their lives. Whether you're designing a product, developing messaging, or sharpening your strategy, the quality of your job statements can be the difference between guessing and knowing. And in today’s fast-moving markets, that difference matters.

One of the most effective ways to learn how to write great job statements in the Jobs to Be Done (JTBD) framework is to look at real examples. Understanding the difference between a strong versus weak job statement can help you avoid common pitfalls and craft statements that lead to more actionable insights.

A well-written job statement clearly identifies what the customer is trying to achieve, expressed in their own terms, without jumping straight into solutions. On the flip side, poorly-written statements are often too vague, contain assumptions, or hint at specific products or features rather than actual needs.

What a Well-Written Job Statement Looks Like

Good JTBD statements are:

• Outcome-focused – They describe what users want to accomplish, not the tool they might use.
• Neutral and solution-free – They express needs without guessing the product.
• Specific and measurable – You can observe or measure whether the job is being done.

Example: “When managing multiple client meetings, I want to easily coordinate available time slots so I can avoid overlapping appointments.”

This statement identifies the core job – coordinating meetings – and the desired outcome – avoiding overlaps. It doesn’t assume a calendar app, software feature, or specific technology. That opens up broader innovation opportunities.

Poorly-Written Job Statement Example

Example: “I want a better calendar that sends automatic reminders to my phone.”

This may seem useful, but it jumps to a solution. It doesn’t explain what the person is struggling with or trying to accomplish. It’s hard to innovate beyond the idea of reminder notifications if the focus is only on features instead of customer needs.

Another common misstep is being too broad or vague:

Example: “I want to be more productive.”

Productivity means different things to different people. What do they actually want to get done? Without clarity, this job statement is open to misinterpretation and doesn’t offer a specific insight to guide strategy.

To recap, strong job statements align with the JTBD format by clarifying the customer’s goal, the situation when that goal arises, and why it matters – all without predetermining a solution. This opens the door to real product development opportunities driven by validated needs.

Clear, actionable job statements are the foundation of strong JTBD research – and by extension, more effective product development and business innovation. They serve as reliable guides that help researchers, marketers, and product teams not only understand customer needs but also act on them confidently.

Turning Noise Into Actionable Insights

Consumer insights can be noisy – people express problems in different ways, often tied to emotions, behavior, or preferences. When job statements are poorly constructed, this rich data becomes difficult to translate into action.

Well-written job statements distill the complexity of behavior into concise, universal needs. This helps market researchers surface meaningful patterns and gives stakeholders a shared language to solve customer problems. Whether you’re working on qualitative research or sifting through survey data, strong job statements bring clarity.

Enabling Strategic Product Development

When job statements are specific and outcome-oriented, they guide product teams toward solutions that genuinely matter to users. Instead of chasing features or following the market, clear job statements ground decision-making in actual customer needs. This results in:

• Better product-market fit
• Reduced risk of feature bloat
• More effective prioritization of resources

Job statements are particularly valuable during early development and innovation phases. They ensure you're solving the right problems before building solutions, which can save time and cost downstream.

Strengthening Cross-Team Alignment

When marketing, design, and development teams all work from the same well-crafted job statement, communication becomes easier. Everyone has a clearer understanding of who they’re serving, what they’re solving, and why it matters. This alignment is key for scaling strategies or creating experiences that resonate deeply with customers.

In short, clear job statements are one of the most powerful tools in modern market research. They bridge the gap between data and action, allowing your business to define customer needs using JTBD in a practical and impactful way.

Once you've gathered job statements from your JTBD research, the next step is decoding them into meaningful strategy. A job statement on its own is only the beginning – how you interpret and apply it can shape the success of your marketing, product innovation, and business decisions.

Look Beyond the Words

Customers may not always articulate their needs perfectly. It’s important to look at job statements not just at face value, but also in context. What’s the situation behind the job? What’s frustrating or risky for the customer? Asking “why” behind the job helps uncover deeper emotional or functional triggers that guide behavior.

For example, a job statement like “I want to quickly review my team’s performance metrics before meetings” also signals a need for confidence, visibility, and time efficiency – all of which can be woven into product messaging or dashboard design.

Segment and Prioritize Jobs

Not all jobs are equal. Some are more urgent, frequent, or underserved than others. Through quantitative follow-up or expert facilitation, assess which job statements are:

• Most common across your customer base
• Highly important to the customer
• Poorly satisfied by existing solutions

This prioritization makes your strategy more focused. You can build journeys, features, or campaigns around the jobs with the highest potential impact.

Translate Jobs Into Solution Areas

When it’s time to ideate, strong job statements point the way. Use them to guide brainstorming sessions or innovation sprints. Instead of asking “what should we build?” you ask “how might we help our users complete this job better or faster?”

This shift invites more human-centered design and reduces the risk of building based on assumptions. It also ensures your entire cross-functional team stays anchored to real customer needs.

Continuously Validate and Iterate

Finally, no job statement is static. As markets shift and behaviors evolve, customer jobs may change too. Revisiting your JTBD research regularly ensures your strategy stays aligned with emerging needs.

JTBD is not just a framework – it’s a mindset. Using job statements effectively means keeping curiosity alive, listening closely, and connecting insights to action at every phase of your growth journey. From SIVO’s perspective, the clearest strategies always start with a deep understanding of people – and their jobs to be done.