How to write an effective job ad?

Have you ever seen a job offer without the company name, salary range and spelling mistakes and considered rightfully that it must be the lowest-paid mundane work or a dodgy scam? While writing a job, there are mistakes, like the aforementioned and many more, to look out for. To find out more, read our article and learn how not to scare off a candidate and write an effective job ad.

Effective job ad – table of contents:

1. Company profile
2. Creative job title
3. Detailed job description
4. Pay scales
5. Conditions of employment
6. A simple message
7. Quality, not quantity
8. Check out our video about how to write an effective job ad

Company profile

One of the gravest job ad flows is not giving the name of the company. Such action can effectively scare away the candidate who may assume that the company has e.g. bad reputation on the market, therefore it keeps its name secret.

In addition to the name, it is also worthwhile to provide a brief background with basics– how many years it has been operating on the market, in which countries, what it does, what products or services it offers, what distinguishes it on the market.

Familiarize the candidate with the brand before they apply for your offer – this way they can assess at the outset if that industry is their field of interest. For the recruiter in turn, it’s a time-saver not to spend hours reviewing applications and pre-interviewing people who will drop out of the hiring process later on anyway, when they suddenly find out who they’re supposed to be working for.

Creative job title

Start the ad with a job title that will stand out among others and attract the potential candidate. The name should be relevant to the duties of the position and relate to experience (e.g. junior, senior, specialist, trainee). Make it sound interesting – e.g. instead of “marketing department employee” narrow down the scope of duties and specify the required experience. For example, use “Social Media Ninja”, “Marketing Specialist”, “Senior PR Manager”, “Junior Content Specialist”. A creative name that immediately defines the position will encourage the candidate to click on the ad and read the offer.

Detailed job description

Another important aspect is to include a description of the position and the duties that the newly hired employee has. It is good to cooperate with the hiring manager or even a longstanding customer to determine what qualities, skills and experience the candidate should have.

The job description and the related responsibilities will make the candidates aware of whether they match the profile of the position and what they will be expected to know and undertake. This will help to avoid unpleasant surprises in the form of a quick resignation of a new employee who did not have a full picture of the position or the duties presented during the recruitment process as it didn’t match the actual scope of his work.

Pay scales

More and more offers contain pay spreads – this procedure saves the time of the recruiter because people with excessive financial expectations simply will not send applications for a given offer. The range should be maximally attractive for the candidate but at the same time realistic from the point of view of the company and its financial capabilities. Before setting them, research and compare the spreads of competition. This will enable you to match yours to the current standards in the labor market.

Conditions of employment

In addition to the salary range, the offer should contain other details about the terms and conditions of employment, such as the type of contract, information about the mode of work (remote, stationary or hybrid) or details of workplace amenities and benefits offered by the employer.

A simple message

The notice should follow plain, friendly and understandable language. Coherence and clarity are crucial, opt for bullet points – long, uniform texts may scare away a potential candidate.

Quality, not quantity

The success of an advert that follows the abovementioned points is measured by the quality of applications. Providing details about the position, salary matched to experience and skills, information about terms and conditions of employment, together with a welcoming and professionally friendly pitch will attract the most suitable candidates. Those that wouldn’t be a gain for a company are screened out at the outset, This increases the chances of hiring a great employee and saves the recruiter time. Now You know how to write an effective job ad. The next step is to choose the appropriate channels for reaching candidates, which you can read about here.

Execution

Remember – it doesn’t end after creating or posting a job ad. It’s good to monitor all your published job ads, effectively gather and manage candidate contact details and keep an eye on the whole recruiting process by making it as much efficient as possible. The good news is there are dedicated tools for that.

Check out our video about how to write an effective job ad:

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