• 5-minute read
• 12th July 2019

How to Attract Great Candidates with a Well-Written Job Advert

Recruitment is crucial for any business. And if you’re growing your team or looking to replace a vital cog that has moved on to join some other machine, you need to find the best people. But how can you do this? The first step is writing a great job advert. And we have a few tips to help.

1. Pick the Right Job Title

To attract the right candidates for the role, you need to make sure the right people are looking at your advert. As a result, you need to use a job title that will be easy to understand for people who don’t know your company yet. Simpler is usually better in this respect.

This applies even if your company prefers non-standard job titles. For example, while you may refer to the person who writes copy for your website as a ‘Lexical Organisation Guru’, it is unlikely anyone will search for that when job hunting. Thus, ‘copy writer’ would be a safer bet for a job advert.

2. Salary and Location

If possible, include some basic information on the salary range at the top of your job advert. Simply put, this is often the first thing people look for in job listings. And if you can’t include this information, you can at least invite candidates to get in touch to discuss remuneration.

Likewise, a good job advert will always say where the role is based at the top of the listing. This might seem obvious, but you’d be surprise how often it is missing. And not including basic details like this can mean that candidates dismiss your advert without even reading about the role.

3. Start with a Summary

Think of the first paragraph of a job advert as an elevator pitch. Your role is to sum up the following as concisely as possible:

• What your company does
• What the role involves
• The type of candidate you are looking for
• What makes the role appealing

Don’t worry about going into detail at this point. Instead, focus on getting the key details across in a few short sentences. The idea is simply to ‘hook’ the reader so they read the full advert.

4. Role, Candidate and Company

The main body of any job advert should include:

• Role Objective and Responsibilities – Candidates need to know what the job will involve. This doesn’t have to be a definitive list of all tasks and responsibilities, but it should be enough to give applicants a sense of how they’ll contribute to the business.
• Candidate Requirements – A clear explanation of any qualifications or experience required for the role. You can include desirable traits or qualities here, too, but this is optional.
• Basic Information on Your Company – Candidates may not be familiar with your company yet, so let them know why you’re a great place to work.
• Salary and Benefits – Even if you give a salary range at the top of the advert, make sure to mention it in the main text as well. You should also set out any benefits or workplace perks that come with the role.
• Career Opportunities – Give a sense of where the role could lead, including training and career advancement opportunities.
• Application Information – Basic details on how to apply for the role, the deadline, and when applicants are likely to hear more from you.

All the above should be written in clear, concise terms, avoiding jargon where possible. Use bullet points and formatting to highlight key information.

5. Other Options…

In addition to the essential information above, you may want to include:

• Images – An image of where the candidate will be working can add a lot to a job listing. If nothing else, it helps people understand what working at your company will be like.
• Call to Action – Ending a job advert with a call to action or prompt is a great idea. Something as simple as saying ‘Feel free to email us if you have any questions’ can be very encouraging for candidates, as it gives them license to reach out to you.
• Subheadings – If you break up the main body of your advert into smaller sections, each with a clear heading in bold, it will be easier to read.

These aren’t necessary, but they can help you attract more candidates.

6. Proofread Your Job Advert Carefully!

You want to make sure the best candidates apply for the role? Then you need to apply the same high standards to your job advert. And if candidates have to wade through typos or ungrammatical sentences to find out about the job, they’re much less likely to apply.

As such, having the copy for your adverts checked before you list the role is a great idea. And if you need any further assistance on that front, we have expert editors ready to help.