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Job adverts are important in recruitment. They serve as the initial point of attraction for candidates with one simple aim: to entice them to apply for your vacancies.
So what can you do if your advert isn’t bringing in the right candidates?
Most job boards will allow you to make an edit to your role; however this may come at a cost. As such, it’s important to get your recruitment advertising campaigns right.
Webrecruit has compiled a list of 10 reasons why your job advert might not be attracting the candidates that you need. (You can use this article as a checklist to make sure that you’ve included all of these features before posting it on the job boards).
1. You haven’t included any remuneration details
Put yourself in the position of the jobseeker: you see two adverts for a Sales Manager. One has a salary of £40,000 with a listed OTE (that’s on target earnings) of £80,000 and several more benefits included. The other has no salary or benefits included. Which one would you apply for?
Providing details of the salary and benefits is essential. Salaries aren’t just important as an attraction factor – they also allow you to gauge the level of the job. For instance, a role with a salary of £80,000 is likely to attract a more experienced candidate than a £20,000 role.
2. You’re using a weird job title
There’s a time and a place for creativity and unfortunately, job titles aren’t it.
Job titles are really important; selecting a commonly-used title that candidates are likely to search for is vital so that the right people can actually find your advert.
If you want to inject some creativity within your vacancy, you can play around with the language in your advert but we’d advise sticking with a searchable job title to ensure that jobseekers will be able to read your fantastic copy.
3. You’re asking for too much
Be realistic about the skills, qualifications and experience that candidates are expected to have for your vacancy. For example, if you’re advertising for a new Admin Assistant to join your team, don’t expect them to have a degree, significant administration experience and a typing qualification, all for a £16,000 role.
If your response rates are low and your advert contains a lengthy list of essential criteria, just think, does the candidate really need these qualities? Are there any skills that can be easily taught on the job? Consider reducing the list of what you’re asking for.
4. You’re not targeting the right people
Make sure that your advert is tailored to attract the right people. Consider using specialist job boards for particularly niche roles, make sure that the essential criteria is clear and ensure that your entire advert
You can achieve this by asking questions. For example, if you’re looking to target sales people who want to move into a management role, you could ask questions in the copy, such as: is focused on targeting your ideal candidate. “Are you an ambitious sales professional seeking your next step up?”
5. It’s too long
Most online readers won’t bother trawling through paragraphs and paragraphs of information about your company to get to the actual role description and details of how to apply.
Long adverts can also be very difficult to read on mobile devices and, with an increasing number of candidates looking for their next role on the move, this can be off-putting for jobseekers.
6. You haven’t considered SEO
Make sure that you’re using keywords in your adverts so that candidates can find your role when they’re searching online. Consider repeating the job title throughout your advert, as well as adding additional keywords.
Here at Webrecruit, our Copywriting Team include a list of similar job titles in an ‘Additional Keywords’ section at the bottom of every advert to maximise the relevant audience looking at the advert.
7. You’re using the wrong job boards
Maybe you’ve put together an effective advert but it’s been posted on job boards that just aren’t working for you.
Monitoring the performance of your job boards is important as you need to know what advertising sources are delivering you with good quality candidates.
8. You’re making it difficult for candidates
You need to make it as easy as possible for candidates to apply for your role. This is why it’s important to provide clear instructions on how to apply and include a call to action in your advert, telling them what they need to do next.
9. You haven’t ‘sold’ the role
Jobseekers don’t just want to know what the role is; they want to know why they should be doing it. What’s in it for them?
Will they get the chance to work on some really great projects that will make a difference to your company’s success and profitability? Or perhaps they’ll have the chance to participate in some excellent learning and development programmes where they can really develop their skills and progress?
Make sure that you sell the role appropriately.
10. You’ve used too much jargon
Jargon or internal language in job adverts can be a huge frustration amongst jobseekers. Try to drop any internal language and make your company description (and the role description) as easy to understand as possible.
Chances are, if jobseekers are confused, they won’t apply.
If your job adverts aren’t working, you might be interested in learning more about our advertising service. Download The Great Job Advert Battle to learn how our adverts gained 50% more applications than traditional copywriting methods.
