Job advertisements are an often overlooked opportunity to sell your organization to prospective candidates. You list out the responsibilities, requirements for the opening and maybe a few company-wide benefits, then you expect the best talent on the market to apply to that opening. Something seems a bit off about that, no?
Remember, these are ads! Ads are intended to sell something and with job postings, you’re selling your company and the open opportunity. Use the tips below to write an engaging job advertisement that will convert job views into applicants.
Tell them who you are
Give a brief background on your organization. Explain what the company does and what kind of environment and culture the office has. You want potential hires to be passionate about the organization and fit in well with the team.
Lose the drab tone
There are formal job descriptions needed for measuring performance and outlining clear expectations and then there are job ads that cover the basics and encourage applications. You need both, but you should keep the formal description for the HR file rather than job boards. Spice up the description using interesting adjectives and colorful language. Just be careful not to cross over from interesting into weird so you don’t turn off potential candidates.
Speak to your ideal hire directly
Do you know who your ideal hire is? Just as you may define your customer persona or buyer’s profile, you should do the same with prospective employees. Define their education and experience along with their interests, passions and motivators. Then use that information to speak to and engage with them using your job ad.
Define how the role fits in with the department and organization
People want to know how they fit into the bigger picture and they want to feel important. Show prospective hires how they’re role impacts and interacts with other departments within the company. This is also a good time to lay out the department’s structure.
What’s fun about the role
While designing electrical plans or selling industrial components may not be inherently fun for some people, there are still aspects of the opportunity that are exciting. Showcase those benefits. Perhaps work travel comes with an entertainment budget or this position leads a team strategy meeting on Thursdays. Find elements of the role that are unique to your org and be excited about them. Share that excitement in your job ad.
Offer challenges instead of rewards
Instead of slapping on the corporate benefits and outlining the tiered bonus structure, offer challenges and unique business scenarios that the candidate will get to work through. In today’s gamification culture, people love to beat the next best challenge. Many find it fun to think through and solve business problems.
Follow these tips for writing an engaging job advertisement and you’ll have candidates rushing to apply to your openings in no time.
