Would you apply for a job if the advert didn’t accurately describe the role, the company and the responsibilities of the position? Of course not! A compelling job ad is vital to attracting the right candidates for your clients’ business and as a recruiter one of the key skills to grab their attention is advert writing.
It’s important to put yourself in your reader’s shoes. Think about what they need to know to make an informed decision about the advertised role, and understand your market so it interests the right people, before they hit that all important ‘Apply’ button.
Break it down
Think like your candidates and you will be able to provide key information including:
The day-to-day responsibilities
Once your candidate has finished reading the advert they should have a good understanding of what a normal day will look like, what they will be accountable for and the type of tasks that come with the role. These can be written in bullet format so the reader can easily differentiate between each topic.
Be more creative to grab your reader’s attention. For example; ‘It’s 9am and you enter the office, grab a coffee, say hi to your colleagues and get behind your desk. Your day begins with a team get-together to discuss the goals for the week, followed by a meeting to prepare a client presentation for an external pitch next week.’
A description of the company
Clearly define the type of company that is hiring, describe what sectors the company is in and their goals, as well as the company culture and environment.
If available, include more details such as how many people work at the company, and in the immediate team and include a quote from an existing employee. This will give the position real credibility and make it all the more human.
The required skill set
Of course, the reader needs to determine whether they are suitable for the role. In the advert describe the ‘nice-to-haves’ but also the skills that are ‘must-haves’ to give the candidate the opportunity to decide whether or not it's the right career move for them.
It is really important to write in a supportive manner instead of a demanding tone, in order to make the reader feel relaxed. After all, they need to make sure this life-changing decision is the right one and they will be respected in their new job. This can be achieved by detailing what will be expected of the candidate and how that will impact the company performance.
The offer
Although we know the salary is not the be-all-and-end-all factor to a job, giving a salary indication is necessary to highlight the level of the role. Secondary benefits such as coaching and training opportunities, gym memberships and health insurance can add to the wow factor of the advert.
Call to action
What should the applicant do next? It goes without saying that each advert should end with how you would like that person to proceed, to ensure you find the best talent.
Last but not least: keywords
There is zero point writing a job advert if no one can find it. Using keywords in your ad is essential for search engine optimization (SEO), and to ensure the highest possible ranking in Google. The most important keyword in a job advert is the job title and this should be very generic.
For example, if you are looking for a junior account manager in London, the title of the job advert should be ‘account manager’ and this job title must be repeated four to five times throughout the advert.
The information to demonstrate that it is a junior role and the company is located in London can be written in the main body of the advert but should not be put in the title. In order for SEO to be effective the title must be as generic as possible.
To find more tips about attracting a larger pool of candidates, and how to support the pipeline of diverse candidates, click here.