Writing an effective job advert to attract the best candidates to your jobs is a very important part of using any job site. A simple rule as you are going through the process is to think about your target audience - ie. think what would you like to know about a job for you to apply for it. What would attract you to the job you are advertising.
In simple terms the idea with writing an effective job advert (as with a lot of advertising) is to first get the attention of the person, generate enough interest for them to read your advert and then from this get them to do an action - in this case hopefully apply.
Getting Attention
This is the "job" of the job title and the first few lines of your job description.
A catchy headline will make your advert stand out. Most jobs boards including Creativepool has hundreds of jobs on them - all vying for the attention of candidates, making yours a little bit more descriptive than "Digital Designer" will help to get your advert noticed.
The lead paragraph should back up the job title eg. "Are you a Web Designer with a Difference?" "Then we have a challenging an exciting role in the heart of Central London for one of the best Digital Agencies around" is an example of something that will encourage people to read more about your advert.
Generate Interest
Generating interest is done by thoughtful and informative copy.
Tell the user what they want to know as quickly as possible. Keep your copy tight and brief - in the age of information we are all constantly bombarded by way too much copy; short, sharp and to the point information is the quickest and most effective way to get your point across.
Build interest in the job opportunity and the company by describing the details of the job and the job requirements. Tell the candidate what s/he will be doing on a daily basis and the challenges they will face. Explain what it is like to work for your company and why the candidate should want to work there. Your job is to make talented job seekers interested in this job opportunity and in your company by showing them how this job will both benefit and challenge them.
However make sure you just put in the facts - don't be tempted to make a job sound better than it is and make sure you get across the benefits of working for your organisation. You need to get a good balance between being informative about the job and making it enticing.
When adding the requirements for the job is is best to only put in the experience and skills that are an absolute must have. Don't scare away talented candidates by creating a "wish list" of job requirements that is a mile long. Listing too many "must have" skills is a mistake that recruiters often make. If your company can teach skills then you may not want to put this in as a required - learning new skills is a great way to attract new employees - being able to learn new things in a job is a excellent motivator.
Getting Applications
There are standard bits of information that quality candidates will want to see in every job advert. These can also act as a checklist for when you are writing the ad. Highlighting good points of this standard information is the final clincher that will get applications.
From our research in the jobs that are on Creativepool, by far the most powerful factor for increasing response rates is including a rate of pay. Even if the rate is not anything special - you will save your time and the candidates time by including what the job pays.
Some examples of benefits that will bring in more applications include:
- A salary or rate of pay that is higher than industry standards.
- On the job training
- A planned pay rise evaluation schedule
- A company car or other company type benefits
- Medical insurance
- Flexible work schedule
- Performance bonuses (more vacation, money, prizes, etc.
- Opportunities for promotion
- Opportunities to telecommute
- A great working environment
Call to Action
For those of you who have ever worked in DM (Direct Marketing) you will be well aware of the classic sales technique of including a call to action. Adding something that forces the issue and adds some immediacy to the process will help in generating interest.
Simple examples include:
- Apply now!
- Don't miss this once in lifetime opportunity and apply now!
- Take charge of your career and apply now!
- Great jobs like this don't come around that often, so make sure you apply now!
- Get your CV through to us today!
- Applications close XX Jan - so get your CV to us quick!
Other Bits
Using a job board has one massive advantage over traditional forms of advertising - once the job is up and in place you do have the option of being able to tweak and change the copy 24 hours a day 7 days a week. With Creativepool you can edit the job as many times as you want within your 28 days. If you see that your advert is not bringing in the response then tweak it. Change the requirements in the copy, change the headline, update any benefits, make changes to the salary and see if that helps. Add in any new information as it comes to hand.
With Creativepool make sure that you have specified the most applicable location. If your job is in Central London - put Central London. The way our system works is that this will ensure that everyone who has signed up for Central London, Greater London, South East and All UK Jobs will be emailed the job.
The same is also true for our job titles. You can choose multiple job titles to ensure that your job goes out to as many candidates as possible. If you have a Graphic Design Job - you may want to choose any or all of the following if you think that they are applicable: Graphic Designer, Branding Designer, Packaging Designer, Creative Artworker..
So what next?
If the above has helped you to write your next advert and are keen on using online recruitment then take a look at your job packages page which has a full listing of prices and combinations of packages.
