How To Create Job Postings That Attract The Best Candidates

Rethink the way you write job ads

When you’re hiring, you may think that posting to a job board is a waste of time, so you either don’t do it, or you slap up a quick description of the job without really thinking about it. Big mistake. Why?

You can be selling the greatest car, the most beautiful beach house, the rarest purebred puppy—but if you don’t let people know the opportunity is there, you’re going to miss out on far more interested buyers than you would if you just networked. You need to sell your opportunity, and you need to make sure the right people know about it.

Write It Right

Remember, a job posting is a marketing advertisement designed to attract people. It is not supposed to be a barrier to entry. Here’s how to attract the right people

• Write your post to attract strong candidates, not to weed out weaker ones.
• Emphasize what the person will be learning and doing, and what he or she could become if successful.
• Think like a marketing person—understand why a great candidate would want this job, then attract them with a compelling title, an engaging opening line and an exciting career story.
• Remember, it’s an ad, not a job description. Sell your company by including some sense of your culture and mission, your benefits, and why it's a great place to work.

One last thing: Make the important information easy to find. Especially if your job posting is on the long side, use subheads and/or bullet points. Divide it into clearly labeled sections, so people can clearly see the job responsibilities, the qualifications, and the application process.

Improve Your Odds

One problem you may have had with past job postings is that not enough of the right people apply. The job title you’re using might be the problem. Don’t necessarily use your internal title for the job. Use the most common title for that type of position. Poke around on the job boards and LinkedIn to see what titles your competitors are using, or what titles are held by the type of people you’re hoping will apply.

If you’re hoping to avoid getting too many applicants without the right qualifications, use your ad as a screening tool, to a certain extent. If it's an absolute must that applicants have the right to work in this country, make sure to include that in the ad. Or you can include a very specific instruction, somewhere in the middle of the copy, along the lines of “Only applicants who use [this word] in the subject line will be considered.” It will help you filter out the people who haven't read the ad carefully.

And once you’ve hired, if you’re looking for payroll, employee benefits or HR solutions to help run your business more easily, don’t hesitate to call Complete Payroll Processing.