Have you discovered a big price increase to list on job boards? 

Are your adverts not getting the same or better results than they did in 2019? 

If so, this blog is a must-read for you!

Before you spend another penny on job boards or job distribution, have a look at what exactly your staff are putting out. 

Chances are, they are merely replicating old adverts or copying large chunks of text from your client’s website. 

Every advert forms part of your brand image and if the ones going out are poor, that feeds into overall impressions. 

And of course, affects responses!

 

Use the right job title

The correct job title is not necessarily what the client has given you. 

A job title is the most common search term that the target audience will use. 

Always remember, more than 90% of jobs are viewed via a direct search from Google.

 

Always include a salary

There’s plenty of well-documented research that shows that no salary, or “£ competitive” will reduce your response rate by more than a third. 

A salary, or a (reasonable) range, will help the audience self-select if the job is appropriate for them.

Sure, some candidates may assume that they will always get the top end of the range, but it’s up to you to manage those expectations.

 

SEO

Yes, it does apply on job boards too! 

Check with your account manager because the algorithms do vary and change, but generally repeating your key search term 6-8 times in natural sentences throughout the advert will tend to push you further up the listings.

 

Sell the job in the first sentence

If I search for a type of job, I’m going to see ten or fewer examples on page one of my results. 

All the jobs will have the correct title, so I will click on the one that stands out the most – more than likely because it tells me about a desirable benefit or that the company is award-winning. 

It probably won’t be the one that starts with, ‘My client is seeking…’

 

Check your grammar

Frankly, there’s no excuse with Spellcheck or Grammarly – don’t just ignore that underlined warning because you don’t understand it!

If I had a penny for every ad that starts with, “My client, a well-established XXXX, are looking for…”

Oh, you still don’t know what’s wrong with that? 

Chances are you are also misspelling licence and practice (these are nouns, verbs use an “s”). 

Basic mistakes, like the above, in your ad tell people you lack an education and you don’t care enough to double-check your work.

 

Four simple things to remember

The company, the job, the person, the package. 

Remember that the demographic you are looking to attract may have a fundamentally different outlook from yours. 

You may value “variety” and sexy offices whereas a senior accountant might be more interested in the business strategy and the share options on offer. 

Sell the right opportunities to the right people.

 

Know the law

Yes, the Conduct Regulations do include rules about advertising. 

If there is an experience threshold, check why it is – what specific experience is necessary – rather than several years. 

And whatever you do, don’t say “Some lifting involved, so must be able-bodied”.

Likewise, bland statements that you are “an equal opportunities employer” do not cut it. You have to be – it’s the law!

Clever, natural language inclusivity statements have been shown to enhance applications though. 

 

Bullet points

They are easier to read, quicker to write and likely to highlight key benefits better than swathes of purple prose. 

Think about those dreadful flowery descriptions that estate agents are renowned for “A hall gives way to the kitchen, acting as a linking spot of harmony to all the rooms”. 

Don’t be that guy!

 

Call to action

Tell candidates specifically how they should apply, ideally more than one way to do so. 

Always give a deadline.

A named consultant or even a specific reference to quote has been shown to dispel the nagging doubt that “recruiters just make jobs up,” which is also not permitted, BTW. 

 

Original work only, please!

If your team routinely cut and paste whole sentences – or even a suspiciously long, unusually articulate or formal phrase, from the client’s website, they are merely alerting competitors and candidates to copy it, stick it in Google, and find the client’s own job ad. 

In my view, that’s what the offending recruiter often deserves.

 

Still, reading?

Yes, this article has 11 points, not 8! I did that on purpose to show you how people will notice if you didn’t read the whole thing over when it’s done.

Did you find this blog helpful? You may benefit from a complete review of your recruitment business and strategic consulting.