We have already written one blog on how to make your job ads SEO friendly, but recently it was brought to our attention that a lot of recruiters are just struggling to make their ads candidate friendly. We’ve put together a few tips to help.
Why Well Written Ads Are Essential
Guys, seriously. Come on now. If your ads are badly written, why would any candidate in their right mind want to apply?
Judging from the sheer volume of badly spelt, poorly laid out, semi-comprehensible ads that are out there, maybe they just don’t have a choice.
As a recruiter, half of your job is to make the position attractive to your candidates. You want them to read your ad and get excited about the role. You need them to want to know more.
Often, you’re paying a lot of money to advertise your roles – so surely you want them to get the right kind of attention?
Common Mistakes
One of the most common mistakes a recruiter can make when composing a job ad is a terrible opening sentence.
You want an ad to almost instantly appeal to potential candidates, to encourage them to consider themselves for a role, and, most importantly, to tell them to get in contact with you.
It’s no use beginning your ad with the same dull “Our Client is… blah blah”. Been there, done that, yawn city.
Your ad needs to really sell the role, to make the company you’re recruiting for sound like the sort of place a candidate would like to work. For example: “A successful, multinational construction company is currently in search of the perfect Quantity Surveyor for their latest exciting project. Could this be you?”
A friendly, personal tone aimed directly at the candidate is essential.
Speaking of tone…
Write TO Job Seekers, Not At Them.
Using the second person when writing an ad is an easy way to get straight into a nice, easy going tone. Addressing a candidate with “you” is so much more personal, and so will be much better received among those looking for roles.
In an ideal world, the candidates who apply to this role will be the ones you pick up the phone to, so why not start your relationship in a friendly, approachable way. Even though the information is still the same, the tone you convey it in can drastically alter the way it is received.
E.g. “The successful candidate can expect their role to consist of the following:”
VS. “If you’re successful, your role will entail:”
It’s important to remember that a job description is NOT an advert. Just parroting back what your client has given you is lazy, and doesn’t answer the key questions most job seekers will be asking, namely:
What and where is the role?
Who are they looking for?
Why do I want this position?
Keep these questions in mind when writing your ads.
Ultimately, the most vital aspect of your ads is that they make sense. This means no intermittent punctuation signs as a result of multi-posting carelessness, no badly formatted bullet points, and definitely no copy and paste!
If you’ve spotted an ad disaster, or you’ve got a tip you want to share, comment below!
