Top tips for online recruitment success: Good Job Copy

I blogged  previously about research we conducted with job boards asking them what were the most important things employers could do to make a success of their advertising. It turned out that the number one thing that job boarders thought recruiters could do to make a success of online recruitment was have a clear job title.

Well, the second most important thing a recruiter can do to ensure success on job boards, according to the job boarders themselves, continues in the same line: Good Job Copy. Yep, job boarders from generalist and specialist sites are unanimous in saying that good copy will help you to job board success.

Clearly, good copy covers a range of things but there are two elements which stand out: Firstly, it means writing a compelling job ad. Many employers make the mistake of simply posting a job specification on a website. A job specification isn’t enough. It’s supposed to be a job ad. An advertisement. You are, effectively, selling something: the job, your company, the opportunity, the career options, the industry sector, the location — or all of these things. A job specification simply lists facts. It’s not selling anything. Be sure to sell the candidate something.

Secondly, check the copy. You’d be amazed how many recruiters simply cut and paste job ads onto websites without checking them. There are errors and snippets of HTML code left in. The best way to be sure is to print out the job ad and check it the old-fashioned way on a piece of paper with a pencil. That being said, be sure to check your links too.

Of course, it doesn’t end there but you can find out more about this subject by reading our article: Writing Job Ads for Job Boards in the Vacancy Advertising Section in the Recruiter Zone.