Have you ever found yourself wondering why your job postings aren’t gaining the traction you thought they would? It’s a competitive market for employers, so your initial pitch to potential candidates has to be spot-on. Otherwise, important recruitment metrics may suffer. With well-executed job postings, you can easily (and cheaply) see an increase in the quantity and quality of the applicants you receive. You may even reduce the amount of time required to fill the positions. All it takes is a little wordsmithing and know-how…
Use Graphics To Make It Visually Appealing
Graphics help grab attention and make the job posting more exciting. Skip the ClipArt; get your designers involved. Choose logos and images that accurately reflect your brand. Depending on the job posting platform you use, they’ll likely ask for specific dimensions for logos, images, etc. Be sure to ask your designer for those specific sizes, so your images aren’t distorted.
Have A Great Hook
What you say in the first few sentences will decide whether or not the candidate continues reading, similar to a news article or blog. Start with the job title, location, and a brief description of your organization. Make it exciting, but avoid overused buzzwords like “innovative” or “progressive.” This sends red flags to potential candidates that you may be disingenuous and overstating your organization’s clout.
Clearly State Your Brand
Highly-qualified candidates are looking to work with organizations they consider “desirable.” What is your organization known for? Ground-breaking cancer research? Renowned diagnostic capabilities? Your brand should be clearly defined and explicitly stated in the description.
If you help run a smaller clinic and you’re unsure of how your organization’s brand is taking shape, listen to those around you. Patients, the press, referring doctors - these are the people who are helping to define and communicate your brand.
Capitalize on your organization’s reputation to attract the right candidates. Having a strong reputation means you can spend less on advertising, too; the candidates will come to you!
Be Forthright About Necessary Qualifications
To accurately describe the qualifications necessary for the role, you have to walk a fine line. You want well-qualified candidates to read the description and not see the role as one that is beneath them. Conversely, you should not overstate the qualifications to the point that it deters candidates from applying because they feel the role is above their capabilities. In this case, honesty is always the best policy. Cleary state was is absolutely necessary and what is preferred.
Be Transparent About Compensation & Benefits
Provide a salary range and emphasize your most competitive benefits. You likely have an exhaustive list of employee benefits, but you have to use the real estate in this post wisely. Do you offer both paid maternity and paternity leave? Do you offer student loan repayment assistance? These are benefits that set you apart. Other standard benefits (medical, 401k, etc.) can be mentioned succinctly enough to showcase that you offer the basics but also make it clear that your organization goes above and beyond to attract and retain the best talent.
Keep It Short and Simple
Skip the jargon and abbreviations and keep the language simple. Break the content into readable elements and avoid using exclamation points or other excitatory punctuation. When you’re finished writing, go back and redline any words or phrases that can be eliminated without losing the impact of the sentence. Minimizing fluff language helps keep your post concise and easily digestible for readers.
Have A Clear Call To Action (CTA)
What do you want the candidate to do? Apply. Make it easy for them. Don’t hide a link in obscurity somewhere toward the end of the post. Utilize bright, bold, large CTA buttons that incite action. “Apply Now” is standard - but make sure the CTA link takes them directly to the page where they can, in fact, apply (as opposed to a page where they have to read more and even click another call to action to begin their application). The fewer steps to move people from job searchers to applicants, the better.
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