Is your business in a position to be hiring? If so, you need to make sure you make the right choice first time round. Incorrect hiring decisions can end up costing you tens of thousands, so it’s imperative that you take every precaution to get it right, and that begins with a job advert.
A lot of businesses make the mistake of assuming that job seekers will apply for a role regardless, but this isn’t the case. A lot of people seeking employment are becoming pickier, and large numbers won’t be desperate enough to apply to any old role. They pay great attention to job adverts, so it’s essential that yours is a good one. If not, you run the risk of deterring the best talent and having a vacant position for a long time.
is tricky, so we’ve put together some tips on how you can do it well.
Accurate Job Title
The first step to creating a good advert is getting the job title right. The last thing you want is for someone to apply and get the job, only for them to find out it’s not what they thought it was and quitting almost immediately. If the job is a junior position, make sure you label it as such. Ensure the position sounds professional and the title is self-explanatory, otherwise you run the risk of confusing people and they will simply gloss over your advert without reading more.
Comprehensive Job Description
Once you’ve reeled people in with the job title, it’s time for the job description to do the work. What is the purpose of a job description? Despite what you might think, it’s not to encourage a ton of applications, it’s to give a detailed insight as to what the job entails and to filter out the viable candidates from everyone else. In a job description, you should aim to be friendly but professional with an informative agenda. Start by introducing the role and your company, and then move on to the general role. It’s a good idea to list what the job will entail on a day to day basis. You can then list the qualities you expect each candidate to have, along with the required qualifications for the role.
Once you’ve explained what you need a candidate to do for you, you need to explain what your business can do for them. List the benefits you offer, such as working hours, holiday time, staff bonding nights and breakout facilities. Finally, provide more information about your company, such as when it was established and any major milestones.
Be careful not to turn the job description into a novel. Bullet points are a good choice when listing things, and using concise language is also a good idea to retain the attention of readers.
Transparency
Money and salaries are taboo at the best of times, but if there’s one time you should be open, it’s when you’re advertising a job. Many businesses don’t want their competitors to know what they’re paying their employees for fear of being outbid, but this could actually be costing you the best employees. People will need to take time out of their day to apply and attend an interview, and many will be bitterly disappointed if they do that only to find the pay is measly or not in line with their expectations.
Avoid this disappointment by being upfront about how much you’re willing to pay. You can even provide a bracket depending on experience if you don’t want to be too exact, but simply putting ‘competitive salary’ isn’t enough.
On top of wages, you’ll also want to be transparent about the location and the nature of the contract, be it temporary, part time or full time. Being honest will ensure you attract the most suitable applicants, greatly reducing the time spent by you filtering out countless CVs.
Summary
As long as you take these tips on board and actively respond to applicants, you should find your job advert is strong and gets the job done first time round.
