A great job ad will deliver key information with clarity and enthusiasm. More than just describing the job, you want to get candidates excited about the opportunity. Ambiguous, poorly-worded, incomplete ads will only yield candidates who don’t have the right skills, so it’s worth spending time getting it right. We’ve put together a few tips to help you attract qualified candidates by showing them an exciting job proposition.
Clear headline
Start with a simple headline. Normally it’s best to go with the job title itself as this is what jobseekers will be searching for.
If the job title is obscure or does not describe the job function, use a strapline to clear up any ambiguity, or, better still, consider changing the job title to something better known.
Simple language
Make sure your job ad is easy to read. Use simple language that your reader will understand and keep sentences short - more than fifteen words and candidates will struggle to pick out the information they need. One great tip is to go back through your first draft replacing commas and ‘and’s with full-stops.
Presenting the information as bullet points and breaking it down into bite-sized paragraphs will also help. If a candidate is confronted with a dense page of words it’s likely they won’t bother to read it.
Lastly, get the reader involved straight away by addressing them directly. Refer to them as ‘you’ and use the second person (‘you’, ‘your’, ‘yours’, etc.) when describing requirements and expectations. This is a technique copywriters use to make communications feel more personal, but it will also help candidates visualise themselves in the role.
What to include
One of the benefits of advertising on a site like totaljobs is that we give you plenty of space to include all the information a candidate needs, so make sure you include the following:
Salary – Always include a salary or, at the very least, a salary range. Totaljobs lets you specify a range that won’t be published to jobseekers but that will be taken into account when they’re filtering their job search by desired salary.
Location – Be as detailed as you can. We always recommend you include a postcode as jobseekers looking for local opportunities will see the best postcode matches listed first.
And then there's our latest innovation that allows candidates to view job results on a map. Provide a postcode and you'll get twice as many applications thanks to this feature!
Skills – When listing out the required skills, state whether they are essential or desired and at what level of competency: basic, intermediate or advanced, for example.
Daily duties – Give jobseekers a good sense of what their day might entail. It may seem obvious but it’s the details that will set your ad apart, in addition to preparing jobseekers for an interview of course.
Benefits – A good set of benefits will persuade candidates to consider a salary slightly lower than their expectations. If the job comes with access to a company car, gym membership or generous holiday, say so.
Uniqueness – Stress what is unique. If you can emphasise what makes your job and organisation special, not only will your pitch be stronger but you’re more likely to appeal to candidates who will fit the company culture.
Screening questions – If you want to eliminate unsuitable candidates because they lack basic requirements like work permits, then include screening questions. These are customisable questions that appear before a candidate can finish submitting an application.
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