I get to see lots of position openings and jobs because the members of our recruitment network post their jobs on our job board. It is a very unique job board because it is a contingent job board. It is free to post, and if you make a placement then you pay a small fee for the postings that delivered results for you. That is why we refer to it as a contingent job board.
Quantity over quality has never been a recipe for success. As it relates to job openings advertised on a job board or to a fellow recruiter in a recruitment network, or promoted on aggregator sites like Indeed, a quality description will deliver superior results. Here are a few tips to make your job/position openings better:
Detail something specific about the employer. Can you state why people what to work at this company? Do they have great leadership, market position, history of promotion from within, culture, compensation program, bonus program, growth potential or a dozen other things that candidates care about? Make it real. Tell me about a candidate that you placed there or something that you experienced. For example, “The last 3 candidates I placed there have all been promoted and absolutely will require dynamite to blast them out of this company. They are so happy to be here.”
Make the posting read less stiff and more naturally. We can all cut and paste from a job description. That is not a talent, that is lazy. I can tell you that it also helps to have someone else read and comment on your posting before you make it live. I had crafted one for an NPAworldwide employee about a year ago and had a member read and comment on it. Wow, am I glad I did. She made the company and the job sound interesting and dynamic…by the way, we are, but I was so fixated on ticking off the correct details that I missed making it fun and exciting. You have all seen the postings that once you read the first line you can almost predict the next 10 lines of content will be bland and boring. The content is important for delivering the job opening to the right candidates from their job board searches but there is no reason you cannot make it more exciting and interesting…perhaps even unique and different. Maybe offer some examples of what a successful hire would accomplish in their first year.
Do not forget the basics. Did you know that Monster has sample descriptions for lots of jobs? Here is the link: http://hiring.monster.com/hr/hr-best-practices/recruiting-hiring-advice/job-descriptions/sample-job-descriptions.aspx
Be honest. Don’t sell someone on something that is not real. If it is long hours and low pay, maybe it should say something like, “This is a job that will require long hours. The starting salary is low but the long-term potential is worth the investment. This is not a good job for a 9-to-5er or a clock watcher.” If the employer churns and burns through people, capture the position as a good introductory stop in a career focused on XYZ, a solid point of entry into the industry, or a great way to build a foundation of experience in the ABC industry. Don’t sell a career if that will never happen.
Be specific. “The best candidates will have excellent writing skills and a passion for writing. They are easily understood when they write and they enjoy creating lots of content. It should come easy for the right person. Much of the day will be creating messages for external audiences and it needs to be an existing talent not a skill under development. And if you do not enjoy writing, this job is not for you.”
Better job postings will attract more of the right candidates. Do a side-by-side trial someday if you are not convinced. I know that different postings will be attractive to different people.
great reminders here and some new info too! Thanks for sharing Dave
You’re right about most jobs ads being so boring. I’ve never liked reading most of them as they all tend to say the same things. They don’t really give the true picture of what someone can expect to be doing or achieve.