Creating a truly great job advert isn’t as easy as you think.
But at AdBuilder, we’ve done our research, and we’ve seen the results in action.
Whether you’re a rookie recruiter or a seasoned pro, there’s always room for improvement.
Here’s what makes a good job advertisement, broken down into five important steps.
How to Write a Good Job Advert: 5 Steps to Hiring Success
1. Be Concise and Deliberate
No matter how many listings you’re writing and uploading in a day, applicants will be reading more.
As a recruiter, you should be well aware of this.
Potential candidates don’t have the time to read novel-length job adverts, even for jobs they might be perfectly suited to.
According to Reed, job advertisements under 500 words see a 12% higher application rate, while job adverts between 100-300 words see 8.4% more applications per view.
The lesson?
Be concise and choose every word carefully.
You don’t have that many to work with, so make them count.
2. Show Them the Money
Salary is a crucial inclusion if you want to get ideal candidates clicking ‘Apply’ without hesitation.
Recruiters, listen up: 37% of those involved in the hiring process agree that retention rates would rise if companies were clear about salary before hiring, and 90% of candidates view pay as their top priority.
In fact, a leading UK recruitment agency, Coburg Banks, saw an increase in application rates of 61.7% when they started including salary information in a job advertisement as standard.
Your recruitment agency could see similar increases.
3. Optimise Your Advert
Sorting your job advert’s SEO is a great way to ensure that it reaches the largest possible candidate pool.
After all, only 5% of people even bother to head to page two when browsing Google search results.
Two of the key ingredients to job advert optimisation include:
Nailing the Job Title
Make the title of the job something that candidates will be searching for.
Make it clear, concise and descriptive without being overly creative, niche or complex.
‘Code Ninja’ might seem like a fun and quirky way to describe a role, but ‘Java Developer’ is more likely to attract candidate attention and appear in job searches.
Adding Keywords
42% of recruiters openly admit that they don’t try to optimise their job adverts.
Get ahead of the game, do your research, and include relevant keywords to stand out.
However, don’t make the mistake of keyword stuffing and making it sound unreadable.
Remember, you’re selling the job role, not the job title.
As a rule of thumb, keywords should equate to around 5% of the total word count.
So, for a 300-word job advert, that would mean including around 15 keywords.
4. Avoid Biased Language
A commitment to diversity and inclusion is the best way to ensure that you can cultivate a workplace full of talent, regardless of background.
If you want to avoid putting off candidates before they ever enter the workplace, you’ll need to follow diversity best practices.
This process starts by writing a job advert that avoids the use of bias language or practices.
Worryingly, around 60% of businesses exhibit male biases in job adverts.
Make sure you’re not one of them, or you’ll limit the number of women in your talent pool.
Avoid masculine-coded language such as:
- Rockstar
- Logic
- Self-confidence
- Driven
- Committed
On the flip side, consider ditching the following feminine-coded language examples too:
- Loyal
- Kind
- Considerate
- Compassionate
- Honest
5. Polish Your Ad Until It Shines
Finally, put the time into making sure that your job advert is as good as it possibly can be.
Even a single spelling or grammar error in a job advertisement can turn a candidate away, and when you’re trying to secure top-quality recruits for your clients, that’s the opposite of what you want.
AdBuilder can help you to produce a foolproof template for job advert success that allows you to create professional, high-quality listings every time.
How to Write a Good Job Advert: 5 Steps to Hiring Success
The best way to be sure you’re on the right track with your job ads is to ask yourself, ‘Am I thinking about this from the candidate’s perspective?’
Prioritise information that the candidate needs and wants to know and hold back information that will be less important to them at the initial application stage.
Need more support writing optimised job adverts in only 10 minutes? We’re ready and waiting.
