How to Upgrade Your Job Ad

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Scott Lepisto
08/23/2021

It’s hardly a secret that the job market of 2021 is a tight one. Many employers are competing for talent in ways they never have before. As a result of the changing labor market, you’ll want to consider carefully how to craft a job advertisement that stands out.

Here are a few suggestions that can expand and improve your pool of applicants:

Consider the Tone of Your Ad

What are the personality traits you’re seeking in your employees? Regardless of the content of your ad, make sure that it’s written in a way that will appeal not just to the employee you want, but the person you want. Doing so can help build a connection between the candidate and the company from day one.

You might consider creating a candidate persona, including the ideal experience levels, motivations, interests, professional goals, skills, and personality traits of your ideal candidate. Then, you can write your ad with this individual in mind. This document can also help you assess candidates after they’ve applied.

>>The Need for HR Talent is Greater than Ever

No matter what kind of candidate you’re looking for, try to use supportive language. Ads that highlight what the candidate needs to do in the role and how the organization will help them do it tend to attract more and better applicants than those that focus on the demands of the position

Make Your Ad Skimmable

Simple, short sentences can make your advertisement much more appealing to the eye. The more quickly and easily that a candidate can understand the job being advertised, the more likely that they are to read on, and eventually apply. Including headers and lists can also help potential applicants digest the ad more quickly and easily. You might also want to put certain keywords in bold. Consider including visuals or a video to make your ad even more accessible.

State the Salary

Expect the quality of your candidates to improve quickly once you tell them just how much they can stand to make in this role. This question is bound to come up sooner or later. Including this information in the ad itself can help entice candidates who might not otherwise have applied. If you have excellent benefits, make sure to include those as well.

Whittle Down the Job Qualifications

This might sound counterintuitive, but, for some positions, don’t worry too much about the qualifications. Pare down the requirements to the bare minimum in order to ensure you are not deterring sufficiently qualified applicants, who have the motivation and personality traits necessary to succeed. Oftentimes, a candidate needs only 60% of the total job qualifications as a new hire. The rest of the skills required are ones that can be learned on the job or are above-and-beyond skills. Make sure you attract those applicants who will be the best performers in the long run by not including excessive requirements.

Flexibility

If you are willing to accept candidates who can work remotely, make sure to include this information in the ad. You’ll stand to gain many more applicants. If you’re open to offering employees flexible schedules, say so. Including this information can make positions much more attractive and help you recruit talented employees who might not otherwise apply.

Conclusion

Sometimes, a small change, like including a salary or the option to work remotely, can make a big difference in expanding your pool of applicants. Make sure you include some of these tweaks to increase the number of exceptional applications you receive.