When researching for this blog, I thought I’d look up some examples on LinkedIn to see who’s doing job advertisements well. And while I might be pickier than the average employer just looking to fill the positions they’re hiring for, most of the postings I came across were lazily done (sorry!) at best. The body of the postings were always uninspiring. The duties were vague and uninteresting. And most often than not, the postings had no deadline or had a deadline that had already passed. I often found myself glossing over the majority of them, not really interested enough to learn more about the company or the position at hand. It’s not exactly a good place to start when looking for examples of how to craft the perfect job advertisement.
I mean, wouldn’t you want your first impression on soon-to-be new employees to be a good one—one that inspires them to work for you and show off all they have to offer?
The problem is, I think, most folks think that this is easier than it actually is. And as such, their job postings don’t actually meaningfully engage with their audiences.
So, what should your job ad include? And how can you make your job ad stand out to the right audiences to find the perfect candidate?
Let’s start with the basics.
How to Craft the Perfect Job Ad
Not to be confused with a job description itself, a job advertisement is the posting employers use to attract external and internal applicants.
The job ad as a whole usually includes:
- A job overview: here, you can offer keywords someone might look up on LinkedIn for this kind of job (i.e., “social media management” or “copywriting”)
- Key responsibilities: this usually includes specifics about technology used, the main clientele or roles of people you’d be working alongside or for, and tasks that you might be expected to do on a regular basis. And crucially, these, as well as the job overview and qualifications, should all place the candidate in the position (i.e., “you will work closely with the marketing coordinator to…”, “you will have experience using HubSpot and Slack…”, etc.)
- Qualifications: these include both mandatory and preferred qualifications, just make sure to establish which is which. For example, maybe being bilingual is preferred but having a degree or equivalent diploma in graphic design is a must. Make these clear and relevant. There’s no point excluding certain candidates if the qualifications aren’t directly related to the work
- What distinguishes your organization from any other: this should be specific and unique to your organization. For these specifics, ask yourself and your team members: why should someone apply to your organization over your competitors? Do you offer anything that sets you apart from others that adds to your work culture?
With the above stated, it’s important to remember that this is often not enough to make a job posting stand out among the many competing postings out there. You’ll need to make your posting stand out with effective and equitable practices that start with the very first step in the hiring cycle.
What Makes a Job Ad Perfect
Okay, maybe the title is misleading (but good for SEO!); there is formula for a perfect job advertisement. But there are ways you can ensure your ads are fair, engaging, and appealing to the right candidates. These are three of our favourite tips for doing so.
1. An accurate salary range
Salary ranges are a must in creating an eye-catching and fair posting. This is so candidates don’t lowball their salary ranges and accept a position out of desperation. This often disempowers employees and may make them feel you don’t value them as much as you might a higher paid employee.
So, maintain salary transparency from the very first step of your hiring cycle. Make your budget allocation clear in your posting and explain what might get the candidate a higher or lower salary within this range.
2. Meaningful and industry-specific keywords
It’s not enough these days to use generic terms for specific tools or techniques in a trade. Wherever possible, use specific keywords and phrases that are meaningful to those in the industry and might be searching for positions with those keywords. This will also decrease the number of applicants who are not actually ready for the position, since specification will narrow down your pool to only include exactly the candidates who best suit the position at hand.
But remember to not over do it. If your posting is too long, most applicants will glance over the entire body of text and will miss key phrases or words that are crucial to the position. This means they’ll apply even if they’re not a good match.
3. A deadline for applying
It may require a bit more upkeep, but making sure your job postings are up-to-date are crucial. Applicants want to think this position is in high demand and don’t want to feel like they’re being chosen only out of desperation.
Keep your postings fresh and make sure the deadline for the posting is not too far in the future but gives applicants enough time to tailor their cover letters and resumes to your position. Then, when the date of the deadline arrives, take the posting down immediately, whether you’ve hired someone or not.
You can always post the job ad again so it looks fresh and up-to-date. But keeping the same posting up with an expired deadline often reads as forgotten about.
Make Your Job Postings Count
Posting job advertisements can be a very labor intensive and pricy chore. It’s why most are done poorly or at least not as mindfully as candidates deserve them to be.
So, where you can, invest in tools that can make posting job ads and filtering applicants faster and more effective for you than doing so manually.
We don’t recommend the “easy apply” option on LinkedIn. This is because most job seekers will simply use this to apply to countless postings without serious consideration. As such, fewer candidates will be tailoring their resume to the position at hand, and thus, fewer candidates will seem as suitable for the position as they actually are.
Instead, make your job postings thorough and engaging. Asking for a cover letter, for example, will encourage candidates to more closely look at what transferrable skills they have from previous experiences that make them a good fit.
As well, invite candidates to take Packfinder, Workwolf’s free soft skills assessment, to make your organization stand out among others—that is, you of all others are offering them a valuable resource with insights into their career trajectory.
Ready to learn more about all the solutions Workwolf can offer you? Click here to book a one-on-one demo of the platform with a Workwolf expert!
