The best recruitment advertisements are eye-catching, concise and engaging. So start by branding your advertisement to catch your ideal candidate’s eye. Craft your language and layout purposefully, and only include the most important details to keep them engaged and enthusiastic about applying.

Marketing and employer branding

For the majority of candidates, online advertisements are a given. But in today’s information age, it can be hard to stand out from the crowd!

Start by personalising your advertisement by branding it with an attractive header and your logo. Do you have a careers video? Video is taking over as one of the biggest recruitment marketing trends. So feature your careers video if you have one.

Talent is becoming more and more scarce. Because people are understandably cautious when moving jobs, you need to have a very good employee value proposition. Have you crafted an authentic employee value proposition that showcases what makes your organisation unique? If it’s passive candidates you’re targeting, you’re asking them to leave their secure job to work for you. So what can you offer them in return?

Language

Keep your advertisement concise and to the point. On that note, don’t make the mistake of using the header, “previous experience”. Experience, by its very definition, has already happened, so the correct term would be simply “experience”. It’s like saying a square block or a round circle. It’s unnecessary!

Avoid using big, confusing words; it adds to candidates’ reading time and can come across as a bit pretentious.

In your advertisement, ensure you speak directly to your target candidate. Simply mentioning “the successful candidate” puts doubt in their minds from the outset. Personalising your approach, using words like “you” and “your” will help the reader visualise themselves in your role.

Layout

If you use a headline, make sure it’s short and makes sense. Don’t put it in just for the sake of having a headline; it should be relevant to the role you are advertising!

It might be a good idea to start with a job title, but ensure you use one that is known to the public and not only internally.

A little tip – don’t “shout” your job title by using CAPITAL LETTERS. Studies have shown that people respond more positively to lower- or sentence case grammar.

Information

It’s always handy to include where the job will be based, especially when advertising online or in a national paper.

Research also reveals that advertisements that include a salary range receive 30% more responses than those that don’t. (Tip: if the salary for your role is not yet confirmed or depends on the experience of the applicant, simply set a wide range, e.g. $60 000 – $80 0000.)

Now that you have the candidate’s interest, win them over by including a sentence or two that flags the most important information about the job. When writing copy for an online job board, try to repeat the job title at least once in your first paragraph.

State what the candidate will be accountable for in their role, but remember to steer clear of internal jargon. Avoid using abbreviations, as this hinders how frequently your advertisement is picked up in online searches.

Now that your potential candidate knows what they’ll do on a day-to-day basis, how about telling them what you need from them? I always suggest keeping this part short and focusing on the most important aspects – education, experience and knowledge. Stay away from soft skills – leave this for the interview phase. (Everyone thinks they have a sense of humour and can communicate well!)

Lastly, don’t make your application paragraph bigger than the rest of your advertisement.

Include the closing date, and the application form or your email address. Ensure your inbox is cleared and working.

Screening questions provide extraordinarily valuable insights into your talent pool, but only ask the most important questions to keep the application process simple. Consider submitting a test to ensure the application portal (or your email) is working, and you are not doubling up on the information you are requesting.

Recruitment advertising is a marketing process. So start with your branding to catch potential candidates’ eyes, personalise your advertisement, and build excitement. Use concise, personal language and only include the most important information relevant to the role. Streamline the application process to make it simple and straightforward for your candidates to apply.

Do you use any of these strategies when crafting a great recruitment advertisement? Let us know in the comments.

Elzette Fourie is a Recruitment Communications and Advertising specialist based in Cape Town. With more than 15 years’ experience in the recruitment advertising industry in South Africa and the UK, her strengths lie in creating advertisements, and social recruitment advertising and targeting. She has strong media relationships which allow her to negotiate the best deals for her clients’ campaigns. Elzette stays effortlessly up to date with the latest trends because of her inherent interests in communications, community and recruitment. Catch her Mondays 4pm – 5pm SAST with co-hosts Tim Barry, Vanessa Raath and Wesley Madziva on the #JobAdviceSA Twitter Chat.

The post How to write a cracking good recruitment advertisement appeared first on Recruitment Marketing.

According to Indeed, “A job description is an organisation’s greatest chance to impress and attract the most talented job seekers in a market where talent is tight.”

Time pressure and the vast numbers of job advertisements and information online means that potential candidates will scan job descriptions quickly before moving on, which is why it’s important for them to be engaging.

Use standard job titles

Keep the process simple by using standard job titles, as people tend to search for their current title. For example, a Marketing Manager would search for “Marketing Manager” on job boards.

“It was becoming quite common for a while to see job descriptions with titles such as ‘Marketing Guru’ or ‘Marketing Ninja’, but job seekers simply aren’t thinking of their role in this way. Similarly, if you need a barista, that should be the job title you advertise, not ‘Coffee-Making Genius’.”

Keep it short and sweet

Every piece of information in your job advertisements should be relevant and concise.

“Job descriptions between 700 and 2000 characters received 30% more applications.”

Place yourself in their shoes

View your advertisements from your ideal candidate’s perspective. Include information such as how will they contribute, what rewards and opportunities for development are available, and what personalities are suited to the role. Avoid internal company jargon and acronyms that could isolate potential candidates.

Inject your organisation’s personality

While it’s beneficial to use standard job titles and keep things short and sweet, that doesn’t mean you can’t get creative.

Distinguish yourself as an employer by showcasing what makes your organisation and the role you are offering different to others, as well as your company culture and team members.

There’s nothing less engaging than dull, lifeless job advertisements with generic wording. So demonstrate your employer brand by including your logo, organisation values, and making the language personable. Casual, colloquial language, when used appropriately, as well as the word “you”, can create a memorable impression.

An expertly crafted job advertisement will net you far better candidates while filtering those unsuitable in the early stages of your recruitment process.

Does your organisation use any of these strategies in creating effective job advertisements? Tell us in the comments.

Source  
Why your job descriptions aren’t attracting quality candidates

Indeed

The post Perfect your job advertisements to attract the best candidates appeared first on Recruitment Marketing.

If your job advertisements are not branded to communicate your company purpose and culture, you may be wasting precious time sorting through candidates who are the wrong cultural fit.

Annette Carroll reporting for ERE explains how to make the most impact through branded content:

Brand every piece of content you post and use it to instantly draw candidates into your culture. The most popular and impactful posts are the ones that make people feel something; excitement, happiness, hope, etc. Job descriptions are overlooked as content, but that is exactly what they are, and there is no better time to evoke emotion than when trying to entice someone to apply at your company.

 

My focus is on the candidate. I want to let them know what we can offer them, through a job posting that immerses them in our culture.

Consistent, branded content can be used to instantly draw in the best candidates for your organisation. Job advertisements are a deliberate branding strategy especially designed to invoke a response. They are personal, while still communicating the expectations of the role, and allow room for readers to become curious and engaged.

The best techniques for crafting a branded, eye-catching job advertisement include using personal, conversational language, asking questions, and storytelling through introducing the “story of why” candidates would want to work for your organisation.

Source

Job descriptions are a branding opportunity

Annette Carroll

ERE

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