10 tips to improve your job ads instantly
No matter the role, the industry, the seniority etc., mastering the art of a well-written, engaging, informative and effective job advert that speaks to your target candidate is the key to starting your recruitment campaign off on the right foot.
It’s common, however, for job adverts to fall a little flat or miss out important information that’ll grab people’s attention and get them applying.
If you’re looking to make sure your job ads hit the mark, here are 10 quick things you can implement that will no doubt improve them and make a real impact on the responses you receive…
1. Make sure you fully understand the role
It sounds simple enough, but having a clear understanding of the vacancy will allow you to write clearly about what the role entails, the skills needed and application criteria.
If you’re not sure what the employee will be doing within your business, you’ll likely find yourself regurgitating sentences from the job description, which will lead to a muddled and confused advert.
2. Include salary and bonus information
Adding this information is a super quick way to improve your adverts – potential applicants love to see it when searching for jobs.
It’s worth doing as it gives applicants an idea of the level of the role which means that you’ll likely end up with a greater number of more relevant candidates.
3. Cut out the jargon an internal phrases
Think about the terminology you use as a team and whether they’re widely recognised.
If they’re not, remove it from the job ad. It’s no good confusing applicants at this stage with phrases that won’t make sense to people outside of your business.
4. Talk about your company culture
Go beyond just talking about what this person will be doing for you and paint a picture of what it’s like to be a part of the team day-to-day.
Talk about the culture, environment and what people like about working for you, as well as where the opportunities are for someone to add value to who you are as a business.
5. Be clear on the requirements
If there are a some absolute ‘must-haves’ or essential qualifications, get them in the advert clearly. Listing them is a great place to start.
Making these essential requirements clear and easy to understand and will increase the chance of attracting more suitable candidates for your vacancy.
6. Add extra information you think will be helpful
What are the working hours? Is the role full-time or part time? Will they required to work across different sites or fully remote etc?
This is information that will only take a couple of minutes to add in but will reduce the number of questions that you receive later on in the process.
7. Include a clear and obvious call-to-action
So, the applicant likes what they see, what now?
If there’s an ‘apply here’ button (or equivalent) on the page, try directing the applicant to this. Or, if this isn’t an option, be clear on how they can apply or get in contact to find out more.
Something as simple as ‘send your CV to xxx@yourcompany.com’ only takes a few seconds to add in and makes the process much clearer for candidates.
8. Make sure you read your job advert clearly
A simple spell check just won’t cut it. Read through what you’ve written to see if it all makes sense, reads well and hits all the points you wanted it to before posting.
Run it by others as well to make sure it includes all the information needed and flows nicely.
9. Compare against other adverts
If the role you’re hiring for is a fairly common one, why not check it against other job ads online?
It’s a good way to identify what you like and don’t like, what works well and how others are promoting both the role and themselves as a business.
10. Check if what you’re offering is competitive
As well as checking out the language and style of other job ads, it’s worth just double checking what you’re offering is competitive with others.
Keeping an eye on things like salaries, experience required and progression opportunities is a good way of making sure you remain an attractive option for potential applicants.
