Our advert team has compiled some top tips to maximize your adverts’ performance and generate high levels of exposure to attract the best possible candidates available.
The key to creating the optimal advert is to put yourself in the candidates’ shoes and write the advert as they want to see it; What title would draw your attention? What benefits would you expect? What information would you need to make the final decision on applying?
After years of advertising, the team has outlined six tips and must needs when it comes to advertising:
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- Job Title – The title is arguably the most important part of your advert. It is what candidates will see before anything else, meaning you must get it right or not attract the right audience. We recommend you keep the title as generic as possible while ensuring it is still relevant. On top of this, you must steer away from using what the job boards call ‘Invalid Characters,’ which include forward slashes, brackets, dashes, hyphens, etc. These have been known to seriously hinder the job board algorithms, which can affect the response rate.
- Salary – Now you have your job title sorted, the second most crucial part of any great advert is the salary! This is also something that is also regularly overlooked, and it, unfortunately, can result in low response rates if not included. A salary gives potential candidates a good idea of the potential earnings they could expect, and there is nothing worse for them to go through the whole recruitment process just to be let down on a salary they were not expecting. For some companies, it is hard to put an exact figure, this is when we would advise to use a salary bracket that allows employers to tailor the salary to the skill set and previous experience of the successful candidate.
- Location – You may be thinking, how can you possibly go wrong with the location, and you cannot, really! However, there is one thing which is regularly misunderstood when filling in the location field, and that is the use of postcodes. Some think that a postcode will minimise the exposure as you are targeting a small area, however it does the exact opposite! Let’s use London for an example, if you simply advertise in ‘London’ your advert would generate less exposure as the location is too generic and can also potentially attract a lot of unsuitable candidates, as well as candidates who live too far away. The advert itself will not be as visible on the job boards compared to other companies advertising in that area who are using a postcode. We would also advise not to make the area too broad; we understand that a lot of adverts are to cover a particular area. However, in terms of attraction we would suggest using a more specific location within the ‘area’.
- Benefits – Benefits, let us go back to putting yourself in the candidates’ shoes, what benefits would you like to be aware of that could potentially help you make your final decision on applying. Free parking, Complimentary fruit & soft drinks, pension schemes, free healthcare, its these types of benefits that really make the world of difference when it comes to the overall response rates. Although these may be discussed in the interview stages, it is definitely worth addressing them your advert to give the job seekers an idea of what sort of benefits they could expect working with your company.
- Job Description – Now we have the Job Description. The Job Description is obviously tailored to specific roles and industries; however, it is the information included and the way it’s presented which could potentially put candidates off. Although it is best to have as much information as you can in the advert, you also want to be careful not to include so much information that the job seekers lose interest. We would strongly recommend the use of bullet points for 3 main factors of any vacancy: Job Responsibilities/Duties, Required/Desired Skills & Qualification and finally, Required Attributes. These things are essential as it not only gives the candidates a clear picture on what the role is like and what it entails, but it also gives them a hypothetical checklist where they can compare what is required to their skills, qualifications, and attributes to see if they are a good fit for the role. The use of bullet points for these factors ensures you can keep things informative without having to type out extensive pieces of information.
- Proactive Shortlisting – So, your advert is live with all the relevant information, ensuring optimal results. Now it’s just a waiting game. The candidates start flowing in and you question when would be the best time to start shortlisting. Should you operate in batches of 5, 10 or maybe 20? Maybe you should wait until the campaign has finished and start from there? Although these options may sound like a good idea, choosing either could potentially lose you some quality candidates. With the current market climate, job seekers are literally spoiled for choice and are most likely advertising for a multitude of positions, meaning employers need to be on the ball each time a candidate applies; THERE IS NO TIME TO WASTE! Now its obvious that whoever is dealing with the shortlisting cannot action each candidate as soon as they apply, there is other work to be done! However, being proactive in contacting candidates is an essential step in making sure that all the work you’ve put into the advert doesn’t go to waste. You don’t necessarily have to offer an interview, it could be something as simple as expressing your interest, or just acknowledging that you have received their CV.
That pretty much covers it, this is Ad Warrior’s 6 tips to help generate high volumes and great quality candidates, and ultimately make the most out of your adverts.
If you currently have an advert live with us and would like to make some amendments on the back of this email, then please get in touch with the team and we will be more than happy to help. Our advert team consistently implement the use of keywords to help with exposure, if you would like to add some of your own then just send them over! You can find out contact details in our signature below.
We hope this information helps, and happy advertising!