Your job ad is one thing and one thing only: a powerful
marketing tool geared toward attracting top talent. Your singular goal is to interrupt the job seekers browsing and
compel those that are qualified to take action by applying! Let’s take a second to think about this and give it some
perspective. How many ads do you see every day? Maybe millions. Of those
millions, how many effectively cause you to take action? Maybe a couple?
With this in mind, take a look at the ads you have been
writing and then come back to this article…
Do your current ads feel like they would inspire employed and
talented professionals to reconsider their current positions and think about
working for your company? You may already know this, but the vast majority of
top hires are already employed! Think about how you would target this market. I
would like to be very blunt for a second. Face the facts: Most job seekers do not
know that your company is special!
I hope I have caught your attention, and now I would like to
share with you the nuts and bolts of writing a great job advertisement.
What’s in a Name?
In one word…everything! The title of your job advertisement
is the most important aspect of the ad. Throw an adjective in for spice, dress
it up, MAKE IT STAND OUT! If you were an engineer, which title would capture
your attention?
A. Civil Engineer
B. Talented Civil Engineers Only
Did you know that professional copywriters will create over
50 different headlines for a single piece? Take a lesson from the pros and
invest the time in writing a great title for your ad.
“Our softball team has won 4 championships in
the past 6 years.”
That was the introductory sentence for a civil engineer job
ad posted on one of our sites. Sell job seekers on the exceptional benefits of
working for your company. Have you ever written a personal ad? Yeah, neither
have I… But if I had, I am sure the facts would have gotten me only so far:
6’1”, slightly overweight, receding hairline, bachelors degree, etc. But if I
throw a little “loves long walks at the beach” and “committed to ending child
hunger,” now I have a story. The same lessons apply to your ads. Yes, you need
the facts, but you better have a story.
Details, Details, Details
Balancing the quantity and quality of applicants that apply
for a job is an art. You know that the larger the pipeline, the more likely you
are to have some winners. But this comes at the cost of having to weed through
the endless number of unqualified, time-wasting mouth breathers who, for some
unknown reason, have decided that they want to fill your inbox with their
rubbish. In my professional opinion, you are much better off including a ton of
specific details and decreasing the quantity of responses you receive. Yes, we
like to see that our job advertisement has attracted applicants—but your own job
depends upon results. Add the detail, decrease your volume, and improve your
quality.