Writing job ads for job sites You’ve typed up your job specification; you’ve decided on a recruitment process; you’ve even found the job site you want to use to advertise your job. Now all you’ve got to do is write the job ad.

Alas, this is where many employers let themselves down. Writing job ads for job sites is very different to writing them for newspapers. Knowing how job sites work and how job seekers use them will help you write an effective job ad. 

How job sites work

On a typical job site there can be tens of thousands of jobs. Job seekers do not trawl through all these jobs in the hope of stumbling upon their dream job. Instead, they search the site using keywords to find only the jobs they are interested in.

For example, a candidate might search a job site using the keywords “Administration Assistant, London, Media sector, £24,000.” The job site search engine will then find all the job ads in its database that contain these keywords and return them in a list. Jobs ads that contain all keywords will be at the top of the list, with those having fewer keywords coming next. The job seeker gets only those jobs they are interested in. 

Choosing keywords 

How do you choose the right keywords so that job seekers find your job? Actually, it is pretty straight-forward. Think like a job seeker and try to use those terms they will use when looking for a job. There's not that many you have to worry about: position title, job location, salary and/or industry sector are the most common. But you can also think about including professional qualifications, programming languages, software packages, languages etc. Here are a few tips on the important keywords: 

Position Title

Use commonly-used position titles. If your vacancy is for someone to help with administrative tasks, call it an “Administrative Assistant." A job seeker looking for that kind of job will more likely search for an “administrative assistant” than an “office all-rounder” or a “departmental support person.” (For more information on this topic see our article: Choosing the right job title for your job vacancy)

Location

Include a location. To make sure that people looking for adminstative jobs in London find your adminstative job in London, put “London” in the job description.

Salary

Include a salary! If there is one thing above all others that employers do wrong in the job ad, it's not including a salary. (For more information on this topic see our article: Don't want to put a salary on your job ad?)

There are many good reasons companies don’t want to include a salary in their job ads, but it will damage your response. Anecdotal evidence suggests that response to ads with no salaries is 50% lower than those that include them.

There's another consideration with salaries. A salary can also give a job seeker an indication of the level of the job and whether it is suitable for them. Including a salary allows candidates to pre-select themselves, thus reducing work for you later.

If you don’t want to be specific about a salary you can indicate a salary range. Put “£20,000 to £25,000” or “up to £25,000” or “circa £23,000.” But be sure to put something.

Sector

Many people work and choose to work in a particular industry sector. Being specific about an industry sector will allow more relevant and suitably-skilled candidates to find your job.

Qualifications, skills etc. 

In many professions, qualifications are used to search for jobs. In accounting, for example, it's ACA, ACCA, CIMA. In IT, programming languages are often important; in design, it can be software packages. Try to think of how candidates will search for your job and pepper your ad with keywords so that they will find it.

Putting it all together: the job description

In the job description you bring it all together. You should tell the candidate exactly what they will be expected to do, what duties and responsibilities they will have and also who they will report to. Be clear about what educational requirements, qualifications, skills, aptitudes and previous work experience are necessary to do the job ―as well as those that you consider desirable. Outline the challenges of the job but also what the job may lead to.

Remember to tell candidates how to apply. You can ask candidates to mail a covering letter and CV but nowadays people prefer to apply by email or online. Providing a telephone contact for potential candidates can often be beneficial in screening candidates, but do be aware that you may be inundated with enquiries. Having said that, when advertising for more senior roles it is often advisable to allow a potential candidate to speak to someone about the job.

Keep your ad concise. Long job ads are generally off-putting. Aim for an absolute maximum job description of 400 words. In reality, you should be able to cover everything in far less. Use bullet points for the important points. Use active language rather than passive. For inspiration search job sites for well-written jobs similar to yours.

Remember to sell the job. There’s a big difference between someone finding your job ad and actually applying for it. Talk about your company. Candidates choose a company as much as they choose the job. If you are a successful, growing business, with huge potential in an exciting market then say it.

It might be seem a bit over the top but you are competing for the best people with hundreds of other companies offering the same job at the same salary. Why should someone choose you rather than another? Talk about benefits like cars, pensions, health care, bonuses, gym memberships as these can be extremely attractive to candidates. Paid-for training is also an important issue for many. Oh, and in case we forget, remember to include a salary.

Watch the response

Watch your response. Most job sites advertise jobs for between a week and 60 days. Keep a close eye on response, especially in the first important week. If you are unhappy, then make some changes to the ad.

Finally, to give you an idea of a good and bad job ad here are two real ones we found (details have been changed to protect the identities of the companies.)

Example 1:

“Good office all rounder wanted for small company.”

Yes, that’s it. That’s all they wrote. Would anybody apply for that?

Example 2:

“Administrative Assistant wanted for a young dynamic and friendly media company. Based in exclusive offices in London’s West End, duties will include office administration, diary scheduling, telephone answering, client visits and attending industry-networking events. Excellent organization skills and the ability to work to tight deadlines essential. Must be familiar with MS EXCEL and knowledge of POWERPOINT an advantage. Answering to the Managing Director, the role has the potential to develop into Office Manager for the right person. Starting salary of £23,000 with BUPA and gym membership and annual bonus that can amount to £1,000.

 

Which one would you apply for? It's quite clear that the more effort you put into your vacancy advertisement the better the pay off for you. If you want to find the best person for the vacancy in your company, you're going to have to write the best vacancy ad.

Article updated: May 2008

Photo: © Dewitt | Dreamstime.com

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