3 Steps to Creating a Compelling Job Ad

Your employers are investing a lot of money to find the right candidates and your job board does its part by offering the right features and tools to help in the hunt. But if you really want to help your employers to find success, then you need to give them practical advice on creating a job ad that works. Instead of a wall of text that has the information candidates are looking for hidden, it is time to show your employers how to give candidates exactly what they need to make their job hunting decisions.

SEE ALSO: 4 Ways Employers Use Job Boards for Brand Management

1. Write A Focused Headline

According to FireFish Software, the anatomy of a great employment ad starts with a compelling headline. When Internet users are browsing through news stories and other content, it is the headlines that catch their attention. The same goes for employment ads and capturing the attention of job candidates. A focused headline that gives the candidate a reason to read the ad is going to be much more effective than a generic headline used primarily as a placeholder.

2. Talk About The Company

Quandidate.com tells us that trying to include a complete history of the company that is packed with industry keywords is a sure way to turn off candidates and decrease results. While you want to talk about your company in your job ad, you need to look at it from the perspective of the candidate you are trying to attract for this particular job.

Does the candidate care that your company was started by a founder in 1812 who had eight cents in his pocket, or is the candidate more interested in the strategic advances the company has made in the candidate’s field of work over the past couple of decades? The candidate cares about the company information that directly affects the position they are applying for, and the future growth of the company. If the candidate wants any more information on the company, they can look it up on your website.

3. Include a Salary Range

The short answer to the salary question when it comes to job advertisements is that the salary should be included to help pique the interest of qualified candidates. There are many obvious drawbacks to posting the precise salary in a job advertisement, with the chief issue being that it limits your ability to negotiate a salary with a candidate based on their qualifications and experience. The best approach is to post a salary range and then indicate that the final salary is negotiable.

A good job ad includes a headline to grab the candidate’s interest, and then enough information to convince the candidate to submit a resume. If you offer too much information, then you run the risk of having candidates browse past your ad because it looks too involved. If you don’t include enough information, then you will have a difficult time getting qualified people to apply. Experiment with different formats and different types of information and you will eventually find the combination that works.

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