5 Ways to Get People Excited About Your Job Adverts

The purpose of a job advert is to entice relevant candidates into applying for the vacant position, but with so many other companies advertising online on the various job boards it is an extremely competitive marketplace. For example before writing this blog I searched for ‘Marketing Manager’ in Leeds and it produced 2,094 results. So how do you make sure that it is your advert that will capture the right people’s attention over and above the rest?

Put yourself in their shoes
To make a job advert exciting it doesn’t have to promise riches beyond their wildest dreams or excitement and adventure, it just has to speak directly to the audience it is intended for. They need to read the ad, immediately decide that ‘This job is for me’ so much so that they are eager to get the application to you ASAP.

Therefore in order to ‘sell’ the role you need to put yourself in the readers’ shoes. What are the unique selling points (USPs) of your organisation and the vacancy that will push the intended audience’s buttons? It may be a nice working environment, good perks, regular travel or the challenge of the work itself, but whatever they are they must feature prominently in the advert. Saying what the job is and then stating the responsibilities and the experience and skills required simply isn’t enough.

Be relevant
The purpose of a job advert is to attract the relevant people not as many people as possible. It is much better to receive 3 applications from suitable candidates than 100 applicants who don’t fit the criteria. It is staggering therefore how many companies omit key facts such as salary and location which will help an individual determine whether they should apply or not.

In terms of salary, job title isn’t much of an indicator and therefore salary needs to be stated. For example the responsibilities of a Marketing Manager can differ greatly from one company to another. In my Indeed search mentioned in the introduction salaries ranged from £30,000 to £55,000. If the salary has yet to be specified then a least provide a range (e.g. £30,000 to £35,000 depending on experience). It won’t stop all irrelevant applications but it will at least get candidates to think twice about applying if the salary range is way above or below what they currently earn.

This is also the same with location. Even if your organisation is in a remote location where it is difficult to attract talent by not putting the location in the advert won’t increase your chances. An applicant will know how far they are willing to commute and if they are willing to relocate. Luring them to an interview under false pretences will not land you a suitable candidate. If it is genuinely a national role and location isn’t a factor then state this in the job advert.

Different channels
There are many different channels to advertise online especially since the rise of social media, but because of the variety of platforms it is no longer a matter of ‘one-size-fits-all’ when constructing a job advert. Therefore it is important to tweak your job advert for each of the channelling you are using. For example when tweeting a job, you need to think about how you can you best summarise a vacancy in 140 characters and which hashtags to use to get the most exposure. Also ‘a picture is worth a 1000 words so attached a picture to your Tweet which demonstrates the USPs of the role or your company is extremely beneficial.

Clear call to action
In order to attract as many relevant candidates as possible it is important that there are no barriers during the application process, so have a clear ‘call to action’ regarding how you want them to apply. Do you want them to submit an online application or email someone directly? Do you want them to provide any supporting documents (a cover letter, a portfolio, a video interview)? Who should they contact if they have any queries? If it isn’t clear what an interested party needs to do next or there is a problem with the technology (a broken link, a form that won’t submit) then you will lose them at the first hurdle.

It is also beneficial to publish the dates of the interviews. This way candidates can already start thinking about what arrangements they need to make if they are successful or prompt them to call if they need to make alternative arrangements.

Think outside the box
If you really want to get in front of a particular target audience and stand out from the crowd (and possibly if cost isn’t a factor) then you can really think far outside the box. For example Google placed an advert on a billboard in San Francisco which simply said ‘{first 10 digits prime found in consecutive digits of e}.com’ to appeal specifically to maths savvy candidates.

Think about where your target audience may be and how you can get their attention. For example Park Square in Leeds is associated with solicitors. If you wanted to hire an internal solicitor then you may want to advertise in bars and eateries surrounding Park Square to attract the most relevant candidates.

 This blog was written for the Newman Stewart website. Newman Stewart is a UK based Executive Search and Management Selection company with specialised divisions in Quality, Engineering and Sales & Marketing.

Sign up to our monthly e-newsletter here.