Writing a good job description is a critical piece of the hiring puzzle and finding the best performers for your organization. As a recruiter or hiring manager, you don’t time in your day to be wasted scanning various resumes of people who are unqualified for the position, or who didn’t fully understand the job requirements. A well-written position description enables you to weed out unqualified applicants and those who aren’t genuinely interested in becoming a member of your team. Taking the time up front to write a great posting before the resumes come flooding in will save you hours of time from not having to sort through mounds of unqualified applicants later. To help you write a good job description, we have included a Loan Officer job description sample below.
Loan Officer Job summary
You’ll be tasked with evaluating, denying, or authorizing loan application approval for businesses or individuals credit, real estate, or commercial loans. You will act as the primary liaison between our company and customers, and you will assist qualified applicants obtain loans. You will also advise approved applicants on payment methods and financial status of their loan. Additionally, you will verify and analyze loan application packages to determine eligibility, aid in disbursing funds, and discuss debt repayment options.
Loan Officer Job Responsibilities and Duties:
- Evaluate credit worthiness by processing loan documents and applications
- Determine all applicable metrics and set up debt payment plans
- Interview applicants to determine financial eligibility and feasibility of granting loans
- Communicate with clients to provide or request information
- Complete loan contract and counsel clients on restrictions and policies
- Justify approval or denial decisions and report on them
- Continually update working knowledge on types of loans and other financial products
- Create referral networks, cross-sell services and products to meet quotas, and suggest alternate channels
- Operate in compliance with regulations and laws and adhere to lending compliance guidelines
- Update and maintain all client account records
Loan Officer Skills and Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in finance, economics, or related field
- 3-5 years of progressive experience in loan operations
- Solid understanding of direct and indirect lending practices and products
- Customer satisfaction orientation and proficient sales competencies
- Ability to thrive in a goal-oriented environment
- Excellent interpersonal and communication skills
Company Profile
Since 1986, Nickleby Mortgage Company has been the leading privately held mortgage company in the Pacific Northwest. Our proven commitment to our customers and employees for more than forty years is evident across multiple markets. We combine the resources of large corporations with the accessibility of a small firm to create partnerships for lasting success and serve our customers’ needs. Our vision is to build on our decades of success by seeking new opportunities for growth while remaining true to our values and history.
Writing a Job Description Best Practices
- While the above is a great Loan Officer job description sample, there are circumstances when you won’t have an example to follow. We have listed some basic best practices for those instances, along with some helpful dos and don’ts to ensure that you write the posting correctly the first time, and save yourself the chore of sorting through stacks of unqualified candidates.
- Do provide specifics. You want to provide job seekers with details about the role, particularly how the position differs from others in the company.
- Don’t inflate requirements. Make a list of what you believe is necessary for success and then consider how many are absolute requirements.
- Don’t forget to include details of the day-to-day functions. Job seekers need to see the types of tasks that will fill their day. This is a priority for attracting the brightest and best performers.
- Do include information about your corporate culture. Clearly state policies, ethical standards, and values.
- Do send applicants a pre-interview letter describing your organization’s business. This can help screen job seekers who are not a good fit before investing valuable face-to-face time with them.
- Do determine a precise profile for the job. Identify specific skills, talents, and experiences required for success in the role.
- Don’t hire candidate simply because they may be willing to work for a lower salary. The cheapest labor can result in a very expensive mistake.
The Loan Officer job description sample above is a great example of a standout job description that can attract and retain the best performers for your organization. Investing in writing a good position description now turns into a solid return later when you add the freshest, brightest members to your team.
Loan Officer Job Responsibilities
Writing the job responsibilities is probably the toughest part of creating a great loan officer job description. If you want to attract the best people to apply for the position, it’s important to get this part of the posting right. Focus on developing a list of top duties that are essential to the job’s success and your company’s operation. Don’t simply summarize every task the position requires; limit your list to the top 6-8 duties that are central to it.
Once you’ve come up with a good list of loan officer job responsibilities in your head, position them in their order of importance. You should also focus on making the list easy to read and organize the details using bullets. Applicants can get a clearer understanding of their role if you use strong action verbs to begin each bullet of your list of duties in the loan officer job description.
Here are some example responsibilities for this job:
- Evaluate applications from consumers seeking loans by checking their credit-worthiness and reviewing the details of the loan amount
- Educate customers about the loan products and review the benefits of each type of loan with clients
- Assess the terms of each approved loan and determine if the agreement follows all required industry standards
- Check credentials from each loan applicant and verify information such as credit score, income, employment and financial worth
Loan Officer Job Specifications
Your loan officer job description can be even more help finding the right person if you fine-tune the skills and qualifications section. You should start by brainstorming some possible qualities a potential job applicant should possess. In some cases, you can refer to the company’s current workforce or review standards for your industry. Jobseekers typically want to know about the education, experience, certifications and other details required for the position.
Most postings for a loan officer job description should also have two separate lists of qualifications, required and preferred. Your company or the management team may already have an idea about what traits are absolutely necessary for success in this role. It’s also important to stress some preferred qualities that could help push the top candidates closer to applying.
Putting effort into this part of the job description can help give you a better pool of applicants and fewer resumes from people who aren’t a good fit. Instead of having too many unqualified or overqualified candidates, you’ll have more who are well matched to the job posting.
Here are some example loan officer job specifications to help with writing the job description:
- Bachelor’s degree in business, finance or a closely related field
- One or more years of experience in sales or the customer service field
- Certification as a loan officer
- Excellent attention to detail and an ability to communicate effectively