How to Write a Job Advertisement

A well-crafted job advertisement is your first impression. It’s not just listing responsibilities, it’s about attracting the right person, showcasing your unique culture, and differentiating yourself from competitors. In this blog, we’ll take a look at best practices and must-have elements in writing a compelling job advertisement that will land you candidates who are the right fit for you.

Make sure you read to the end for a FREE job advertisement template!

Know who you’re writing to:

Before we get into it, keep in mind you’re writing to two audiences: potential candidates and search engines.

For candidates: Use clear, concise language and highlight what makes your business and role attractive. Speak the candidate’s lingo, using industry terms and avoiding overcomplicated jargon.

For search engines: Optimise your description with relevant keywords, including job title, skills, and industry terms. This ensures the right qualified candidates are finding your listing. Make sure to use hashtags if you’re posting on social media platforms like Facebook or LinkedIn.

The Must-Haves

Compelling Title & Company Introduction

Seems pretty self-explanatory, but you’d be shocked by how many businesses mess up this crucial step. You must grab candidates attention with a clear descriptive title that accurately reflects the role. The old adage ‘does what it says on the tin” rings true here. It’s much better to go through applications of candidates who match the role rather than those who applied because the job title was unclear.

Once you have a title that represents the role accurately, it’s time to introduce yourself. This is the fun part, where you get to introduce your business, show off your mission statement, and explain what makes it unique. A great brief intro to your company has the ability to hook the best candidates and make them want to read more.

Putting some extra time and effort into your job advertisement’s title and introduction can go a long way in attracting suitable candidates who are worth chatting to. With Recruit Shop, our consultants write your job description for you. Before doing this, Recruit Shop consultants conduct a consultation with you, to find out exactly what role you’re looking to fill, and how your business is unique. Through getting a deep understanding of your recruitment needs and brand, Recruit Shop consultants can then craft the exact messaging you need to find the right applicants. You can learn more about our process here.

Appealing Job Summary

This is where you sell the opportunity. Instead of just a list of tasks, paint a picture of what a day in the role looks like and how the role impacts the business. Don’t be afraid to highlight the challenges associated with the role either. Let candidates know what they’re getting into, so there are no nasty surprises when they start. Allowing candidates to understand the impact they’ll have gives them a reason to apply. Showcasing the challenges they’ll face also weeds out anyone who’s not keen to take them on.

Make sure your summary also has a strong focus on the benefits, not just the duties. Emphasise what the role offers, like career growth opportunities, work-life balance, and the best parts of your company culture. Don’t get too bogged down in the serious stuff, make room to show off what a great place to work your business is.

Recruit Shop consultants are specialists in small business recruitment and can help you identify parts of your business that are massive benefits you may have never noticed before. You probably have a lot more to offer than you think. If you’d like to learn more about creating a competitive employee benefits package, read this blog.

Clear Requirements

This ties in nicely with our previous two must-haves. Once again, make it clear. Outline the exact requirements that are necessary for candidates to meet, if their application is to be considered. The key is to balance your needs and wants. Clearly state the essential skills, qualifications, or experience necessary for the role.

However be careful, there’s no point in hiring someone who has all the requirements but isn’t a cultural fit. In that case, it’s good to leave room for potential, be open and honest that certain requirements are preferred, but also show you’re flexible for the right fit if they show the potential and characteristics your business values.

Here at Recruit Shop, our consultants hire for every role across every industry, providing a wide knowledge base of the requirements any role needs to have, they can help you tighten these up, or maybe even loosen them up in some cases.

Standing Out

Be You

Embrace your personality! Inject your company culture into everything you say and do. Use your business size to your advantage, and be more personal and approachable. It’s a lot easier to build rapport with candidates when they’re speaking directly to the business owner rather than an HR representative or hiring manager. You can be realistic and transparent with them, fostering trust and attracting those candidates that align with you.

Being yourself is great and all – you need it to stand out! But you also need to market your vacancy. Make sure you’re on the right job boards, or on the right social media pages to appear to the job-seekers that are right for you.

Here at Recruit Shop, we market your vacancy for you. We market your role across all major job boards, social media, and to our very own database of job-seekers, giving you a much wider talent pool, and more chance of scoring the best candidates! This is Recruit Shops’ (and your) secret weapon, so don’t tell anyone…

Competing with Larger Businesses

Being a small business you can often offer faster decisions and personalised experiences. If you like an applicant, let them know. Send them an email or give them a call. You don’t have to recommend them up a chain of command, contact them right away once you come to a decision. Use this speed to your advantage to snag that brilliant candidate before someone else does.

When you run a recruitment campaign with Recruit Shop we provide you with interview ready candidates who are the best of the bunch, making the process even faster. You also get FREE access to our custom-made recruitment app. On the app, you can view your curated shortlist of candidates, review applications, select top applicants with one click, and automatically send your feedback to your Recruit Shop consultant so they can take the next steps right away.

If you need any further help hiring for your business, reach out today! Our consultants would be happy to have a chat about our services and how Recruit Shop could help you hire faster and easier for less, saving you both time and money.

Now we can’t send you off to craft the best job description empty handed so here’s a free template of what you should aim for in your next job description.