Providing text instructions at the beginning of a form or set of fields that describes the necessary input

A business networking site allows users to post descriptions of jobs they have held. The form to gather the information includes fields for the company name, job title, from and to dates, and job description. At the top of the form are the following instructions:

• Enter requested information about the position you wish to add to your profile. Dates should be entered in mm/dd/yyyy format."

A corporate directory allows users to customize information such as telephone number and job responsibilities by editing their profile. At the top of the form are the following instructions:

• You can modify the information in any field. When you select Finish, your changes will be saved and you will have the opportunity to publish your profile. Should you decide that you don't want to keep your changes, select the Cancel button.
• You cannot edit the information that is displayed as system text in your profile (i.e., not contained in a field). This information has been obtained from an corporate human resources information. If you find something is incorrect or out of date that you cannot edit, select the help icon next to the information to find out how to correct it.
• Phone numbers may contain numbers and dashes (-) only.
• Required fields are marked with an asterisk (*) and must be filled in to complete the form.