It makes no difference how many channels you employ to spread the word about your job offer. Unless you have a powerful job advert, applications may not be as rainy as you wish for them to be. An engaging and attractive job advert is, indeed, the keystone of your recruitment process. And little does it matter how attractive your salary and benefits are when the job advert isn’t well-crafted!
In other words, if you can’t communicate to candidates because your role is worth applying for, then you are not getting top talents and high achievers!
In this guide, we have put together 5 tips to help you craft an exciting job advert – one that impresses great candidates, whilst also making sure you receive only relevant and well-informed applications.
Without further ado, let’s dive into it!
Make it Short!
14 seconds.
That’s how much time you have to persuade an average job seeker to apply for the position. That’s how much candidates spend on reviewing a job description…
You have probably heard that humans have a short attention span. That’s why people prefer shorter videos to long content, and that’s why your job adverts MUST be short.
When it comes to good job adverts, remember that ‘less is more’... Nobody wants to read a novel to understand what the job posting is about! But don’t forget about clarity!
Shorter job posts acquire 8.4% more applications per view than average. This means that short job adverts attract more candidates and encourage them to apply.
Focus on What Matters
14 seconds is a small period to make candidates decide that they want to apply. So, how do we do that?
First, you need to understand what information candidates prioritize when they’re reading your post. Let’s explore what job seekers really care about.
According to a Linkedin study, most candidates (61%) consider details about compensation to be the most important. Many companies do not include salary details in their job adverts, but we think you should!
And here is why…
According to SHRM, most candidates, especially top talents, will request information about salary in the first message for an employer. So why not cut out the middleman and include it in the job posting? It will save your time and satisfy candidates!
Of course, compensation details are not the only piece of information candidates are interested in. There are other important details to mention in job adverts. Make sure to include specific qualifications needed for the job, talk about what the day-to-day responsibilities look like, and why they will give jobseekers a true insight of purpose in their work… etc.
Highlight the Company's Culture
People consider compensation to be essential. But work culture and values are important to people too. According to a LinkedIn study, 28% of candidates want to learn about your company culture in the job advertisement.
Yet, we do not recommend putting information about the company’s values and culture in the first paragraph of the job advert, per se. First, describe details like competencies, required skills, duties, and responsibilities. Only after that should you speak about the company’s culture.
When doing so, make sure that you mention specific examples to illustrate the company’s values.
For instance, if you say that your organization cares about environmental issues, describe what steps the company has already taken to support green policies. If you have a waste management system at the office, mention that! If your building uses solar panels for heating or lighting, let the candidates know about that!
Make it Engaging!
Now that we know how much time candidates spend reviewing job adverts and what information they want to know, let’s talk about how to attract and engage them.
Tone of Voice
In most cases, the problem with job adverts is the way they are written.
Your job advert should be friendly and inviting, with an appropriate level of humor - if that is relevant, of course. And this starts with the tone.
The most important aspect of the tone is to make sure it’s relevant and organic. For example, if you’re writing a job advert for a graphic or web designer at a quirky agency, stretch the boundaries and include a bit of personality into the copy.
Make it Easy to Read
As you remember, most candidates will only spend a couple of seconds reviewing your job advertisement. So, make it easy to read! Avoid complicated sentences and long paragraphs. Highlight important information and use bullet points to make it easy for a jobseeker to digest information.
If your job advertisement is complicated, extensive, unscannable, and hard to read… most job seekers will ignore it. And you certainly don’t want them to do so. But that’s not all. They might still apply, but in most cases, applications won’t be relevant.
So, you will spend a lot of time reviewing them and, in the end, you won’t be able to find the perfect candidate.
Conclusion
Of course, there is no ready-to-go formula for creating a compelling and powerful job advertisement. But what we’ve spoken about above are the building blocks of a good job advert – hopefully, it gives you a solid starting point from which to start writing your own.
So, what are you waiting for?
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