Writing an effective job advert is not rocket science, but get it wrong and you won’t attract the best candidates or, worse, you might not attract any at all. So how do you pen a compelling ad that will have candidates swarming around it like wasps at a BBQ? Here’s our top 8 tips to help you attract great candidates, and more of them.
1. Grab the candidate’s attention
To help your advert stand out from the 40,000 (odd) job ads that get posted on a job board like Reed or CV Library every week, you need to grab potential applicants’ attention. And fast. A good way to do this is to ask a bold question, or by making a strong statement about the vacancy and your company. (For example: “Get your dream sales job at Hiring Hub…” or “Want an IT role that will challenge and excite you? Help us alter an industry at Hiring Hub and build the world’s best online recruitment marketplace.”)
2. Don’t waffle (save that for breakfast)
No one has time to read War and Peace these days. So don’t expect them to. As well as the time constraints, it’s a fact that the majority of people viewing your advert will do so through the five-inch screen of their mobile phone. So make it digestible for those on the move. You know, snappy. Layout the facts in an informative, concise way (bulleted lists of the core responsibilities and key skills required work well). And hold the waffles. Thanks.
3. Don’t be humble. Sell yourself and the opportunity
The competition for top talent is fierce. To attract the best candidates it isn’t enough to simply say “vacancy here” you need to give them a reason to work for you. So sell the opportunity… whether it’s a fantastic office, brilliant culture, flexible working, awesome money, career progression, award-winning products, fantastic CSR policy. Whatever your USP, make sure a job seeker knows it. Give them the impetus to apply. Now is not the time to be humble. Sell. Sell. Sell.
4. Describe your dream candidate
Be clear about what your ideal candidate looks like. Paint the picture by explaining their key skills, experience, and outlook. After all: if you don’t ask, you don’t get. So tell the world what you’re looking for, aim high, and see if the universe delivers. It’s surprising how often it does if you’re clear about what you want (and realistic).
5. Give them a task
A quick way to filter out the right candidate – and those that really want to explore the opportunity – is to give them a small task to undertake upon submitting their CV. In addition to a covering letter, ask them to complete a puzzle or write a short 100-word analysis on a subject related to the vacancy. Everyone loves a puzzle, and this truly filters out the time wasters and tyre kickers, acting as your first filter for an applicant shortlist.
6. Be honest
Tell potential candidates exactly what the job you’re offering entails. Including what they’ll be responsible for and who they’ll report to. A bullet pointed list is fine. But remember rule two. No waffle.
7. Job title (keep it simple)
It’s important that you get this bang on. Get it wrong, and the worst will happen – no one will apply. Actually, worse than that. No one will even read your ad. That’s how badly it’ll go down. But forget fancy job titles, that’s not what does the trick. If it’s a sales job, please, call it a sales job, even if internally you call it something different. (Remember that job listings online are found via a candidate’s key term searches. Candidates search for things like “sales jobs in Manchester” not “new business executive” or whatever you call it back at base.)
8. Amplify distribution
To ensure you get a good response, job seekers need to SEE your advert. There are a couple of ways you can do this: pay to post it on job boards, share it on social media, upload it to your company’s careers page, announce it on LinkedIn, etc. You can even use a service like Advertise a Job to amplify your advertising (they post your advert across all the major job boards to make sure candidates can find it wherever they look).
But what if it fails?
If you do everything right and you still don’t get the right calibre of candidates applying you may want to consider using a recruitment agency to headhunt passive (read “off market”) candidates. The job of a recruiter is to find candidates that aren’t looking for a job, sell them your opportunity and bring them (enlightened) to the hiring table. Recruiters are more expensive than advertising – a typical recruitment agency fee is 15% of the candidate’s starting salary – but they are effective and if you don’t hire, well, you don’t pay anything.
Naturally, if you are looking to use a recruitment agency, you should give Hiring Hub a whirl. An online recruitment agency marketplace, it’s super simple and proven to fill jobs quickly (20 days on average). You simply upload your vacancy, and for clarity set a fee you’d be willing to pay a recruitment agency if you hire their candidate. Agencies will request to work on your job (although your contact details are anonymous so you don’t have to worry about getting bombarded), and those agencies you approve will submit their best candidates. Hire one, and you pay the fee you originally set. Don’t hire, pay nothing as Hiring Hub’s marketplace is free to use.
If you want to learn more about Hiring Hub Visit our website.
