A job advert is the first step to attract the best addition to your team. You’ve spent quite the time to craft the best description – a good balance between creativity and detailed information. But then comes the question – what if nobody sees it? How to make sure that it will reach the right candidates?
Here’s how the process usually goes for the job seeker. They open the job board, type in the desired position, scan summaries of the numerous ads that appear, and open only the ones that seem appealing. So here’s how to make sure that your job advert will catch attention and increase the number of applications you receive.
Write a compelling job title
Keep it short, simple, and on point. Think about what the job seeker would most likely look for in a job board or Google search. “A Rockstar Human Unicorn That Will Shoot Us To Moon” might sound awesome (it doesn’t) but is that something someone would actually search for? List exactly what you look for – “IT Manager” or “Facebook Ads Specialist” is as good as it gets.
If you still want to be creative in your job title, at least make sure that people will still get a hint about the position by scanning through the job listings. Include the actual job title and play around to make it more fun, if you’d like. “Rockstar Facebook Ads Specialist That Lives and Breathes Optimization”, for example.
Add location to your job title
Don’t waste yours and the candidates’ time – including the location in the title of your advert will make it more relevant. You don’t want to receive a bunch of CVs from people living across the country if you don’t offer relocation packages.
And if the position you’re offering is remote, make sure to include that as well – it’s a huge plus for the candidate to know that in front.
Work on the SEO of your job ad
You want your ad to be searchable and to reach more people. To achieve that, focus on the specific and most relevant keywords. You can look up similar jobs posted by big companies and brands, to get the idea of trends and most sought up skills. Include all the popular keywords and phrases in your advert to make it more SEO-friendly. But don’t forget that in the end, you want to attract humans – keep it clear and readable.
Find the right job board for your ad
By now, if you’ve followed the advice above, you should have the most optimized job advert. The next step is to find the perfect place to post it. Not all job boards are created equal so find the one that best fits your needs.
A generic site would have the most reach but it will probably attract lots of irrelevant applications. Depending on the position you might find a specialized niche job board more useful to find the right candidate.
Use social media
To maximize the potential of your ad, don’t rely only on job boards. Use social media to reach candidates who aren’t actively searching or might’ve just missed your ad because they don’t use the same job board like the one you posted on.
Use your company’s Facebook and Twiter profiles to post your job and don’t forget LinkedIn where most of the professionalists are looking for new career opportunities these days.
Ask around your network
A referral might be just what you need to find the perfect candidate for your job. Your business acquaintances, clients, suppliers, your staff, and even your friends and family – they’re bound to know someone that’s looking for a job. And chances are they wouldn’t be referring them if they’re not sure they’re a good fit for the job.
Track the performance
Successful recruitment takes some time and effort. Don’t forget to track the performance so that you know what worked and what didn’t. Record all results including the number of views, applications, relevancy, interviews, and cost. This way you can improve the performance of your current job advert or use the analysis for future reference.
