A role spec is a sales document — sometimes accurate, sometimes aspirational. Your job before the first call is to separate what must be true from what might be negotiable, and to notice where the wording is vague on the things that will hurt you later (ownership, hours, on-call, travel).
Scope: one throat to choke
Look for who owns delivery end-to-end. If the spec lists ten technologies and “liaison with multiple vendors” with no team structure, ask yourself whether you are being hired to execute or to absorb ambiguity. Good specs name outcomes; fuzzy ones list activities. Note questions you will ask on the call to pin that down.
Pace and ways of working
Words like “fast-paced” or “agile” tell you little unless paired with cadence: releases, ceremonies, stakeholder access. If the document emphasises speed but is silent on backlog control or product ownership, flag it. Your rate should reflect not just skill but friction.
Red flags in plain sight
- “Must be flexible” without boundaries on hours or location.
- Multiple competing priorities with no priority order.
- Inside IR35 language that does not match how you contract.
None of these are automatic noes — they are prompts to qualify hard in the first conversation so you spend your attention where it earns a return.