How to get job seekers to read your job ad

One of the most important aspects to online recruitment and job board success is getting candidates to read your jobs. But how do you get job seekers to read your ad over the thousands of others out there?

The first words of your job ad

The first 25 to 50 words (depending on the job board) of your job ad are very important because, apart from the job title, these are often the only thing job seekers see of your job ad in the job board search results.

When job seekers search for jobs they usually search by job title, location and salary. Most job board search engines return matching jobs as a list of results. However, they don’t give the whole job; they only show the first 25 to 50 words of the job ad.

How job boards create this text can differ. Some job boards pull the first 25 to 50 words of text from the job ad you’ve written. Others allow you to create a specific piece of text for this section. But whatever way the job board or recruitment website creates this text, the important thing is to make it as attractive to job seekers as possible.

First impressions matter

Making this intro text attractive and interesting will make relevant quality job seekers want to go on to read more about your job ad and, hopefully, apply for it. Let’s look at some examples we’ve created to see what makes a good intro text.

Example 1:

“Our client is looking for a temporary office administrator for 3 months.”

In Example 1, there isn’t much to it really, is there? Yes, it’s a temp role but the intro text simply repeats the job title. Considering the little effort that went into the writing of the job ad, it is unlikely that a quality candidate will put much effort into the application. It’s simply not attractive.

Example 2:

“Executive Assistant/PA ? Contracts – LONDON- £25,000 ? £27,000 – Executive Assistant/ PA – ContractsLondon w8 £25,000 – £27,000 Plus Benefits including 25 Days’ Holiday, Annual Bonus Scheme, Private Healthcare, Pension Scheme, Life Ins…”

In Example 2 the rogue and erroneous question marks and the formulaic job information are tell-tale signs of an automated job posting process from a recruitment agency. It’s simply not an attractive job ad to read. Sure, some candidates may apply for it but good ones will look for more interesting and well crafted job ads.

Example 3: 

“We are a small, young and vibrant media company based in the heart of the West End who are urgently looking for a top-notch executive assistant to support our Managing Director in his day to day activities…”

In Example 3 we have an example of a good job ad intro. Firstly, the ad highlights that the company is hiring for itself. This is really important as this immediately distinguishes this job from the thousands of recruitment agency job ads on job boards: job seekers really like to apply for real jobs from real companies.

Secondly, ‘small, young and vibrant’ gives candidates an idea of the work demands and culture of the company. Many people don’t like working for small companies as they struggle to come to terms with the all-hands-to-the-pumps approach needed by staff in small companies; other people love small companies for precisely the this reason. Effectively, then, this job ad is already beginning to screen out unsuitable candidates.

Thirdly, the job ad mentions the industry sector early. This is always a good idea as people often like to work — and feel more confident — in sectors they are familiar with or have experience with. Also, the job ad gets its industry sector “keyword” in early and will be good for optimisation on the job board.

Fourthly, the specific location can be very important —especially in places like London. Some Londoners, rather like their cabbies, will not go south of the river. However, wherever your job is based be sure to be clear about the location as people do often choose jobs depending on exactly where they are.

Fifthly, with ‘top-notch executive assistant’ the job ad gets the job title “keyword” in the intro text. But it also subtly signals the kind of person this company is looking for: people who consider themselves top-notch. This company is clearly looking for an experienced, confident and utterly capable person to join them.

More generally, example 3 also illustrates how much pertinent information you can pack into the intro text. It also shows what a recruiter can do with the intro text and how they can make a significant difference as to whether quality candidates go on to look at the full job ad or not.

Get the job ad right, right away!

With the success of online recruitment being largely down to whether or not quality candidate actually find your job, the best thing you can do to make sure they actually find it is to write good intro text. Get the job ad right, right away.

Next steps? Check out these other guides and articles:

• A job description is not a job ad
• Avoiding discrimination in job ads
• Choosing the right job title for your job ad
• Salary and salary ranges on job ads
• Selling the SME company to top talent
• Top job advertising tips from job boards
• Writing job ads for job sites