Recruitment Adverts that work
The advert we post to attract new talent is not only a recruitment tool to fill a particular vacancy, it's also an opportunity to provide insight into your organisation and to showcase the oh-so-important employer branding we spoke about recently. Your tone of voice is massively important, and this can of course depend loosely on the role being advertised and also the type of organisation advertising it. In general, this in itself can give a candidate an idea of the culture without them even considering the details of the role, who is needed, and what they will bring are all vital contents.
We often see hundreds of applications for just one role, but according to the latest recruitment statistics only 2% of applicants are invited for an interview with an average of 6 people interviewed per role. So, how can you make your job ads reflect your business, attract the skills you need, and avoid receiving lots of unsuitable candidates?
Our top tips for a successful job advertising campaign are….
✅ Use an accurate job title
Avoid using internal speech for your job titles. We don’t usually like ‘generic’ options but sometimes this can benefit you more when candidates are searching and also make it very clear what the job is! 'Event wizards' sounds cool - but candidates don’t know what that means.
📝 Give a description of your company and role
Don’t just talk about your area of business, include things of interest like employer awards, state-of-the-art facilities, and perks of the job. Try hard to paint an attractive but honest picture. In today’s market, satisfaction plays a huge part in decision-making.
🗒️ Clearly list duties and responsibilities
Don’t just copy the job description as this is probably going to be too sterile and take too long to read. Make it conversational and personal. Bullet points are absolutely fine to include, especially for entry-level positions. Be wordy with your branding, but to the point with your requirements.
🧠 List the skills and qualifications
Be clear on the skills you require. It’s a good idea to outline your requirements early on, such as minimum experience in years, but be careful to understand the role - we’ve all seen jobs that ask for more experience than the age of the product…
⏰ State the job location and working hours
With flexibility and remote working at the forefront of a lot of employer decisions, get this into your ad early even if it’s not guaranteed or an option, it’s best to say early.
💷 Give some insight into salary and benefits
We believe in always listing a salary or ideally a salary range. When looking for a new job it’s usually, the role, salary and location that matter everything else is noise at first - but needed to make a final decision. The market is constantly asking for salary information - it only takes a few scrolls on LinkedIn to read about missing salary details - so plan ahead and protect your brand reputation.
📧 Give contact information
Make it clear how to apply. Asking for an email is perfectly acceptable, and so is asking for an application form to be completed. All we ask is that the process doesn’t require the applicant to fill out the same information twice. The easier the process, the faster (and more frequent) the applications will arrive. We also recommend an option which allows applicants to submit a CV alongside application forms to show their creativity and personality in their brand.
Adverts are often live for a very short space of time in our current market, so getting it right early in the recruitment process is vital!
PS. We can’t blame entry-level candidates for applying to be an Events Director, but if your applications are full of unexpected responses - these tips are for you!
