How to Write a Killer Job Ad to Attract Your Ideal Candidates

August 27th 2018

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The job advertisement industry is a multibillion-dollar industry that raked in more than $4.4 billion in 2017. Google has even entered the job advertisement market with hopes of using its powerful search engine capabilities to drive success. This growth in the online job board industry has created a hectic and highly competitive marketplace. LinkedIn alone has more than 11 million job openings at any given time and a membership of more than 3 million prospective candidates. Despite these large numbers, the job advertisement industry has an extremely low click-through rate of only 2 percent. Combined with an unemployment rate of 3,9 percent employers who want to stand out in a busy marketplace must create a killer job ad that speaks directly to top talent candidates.

 

What Are the Core Elements of a Traditional Job Ad?

Most traditional job ads contain several core elements, including:

 

# Job title

# Job description

# List of required skills

# List of desired education and experience

# Job conditions (location, hours, salary, travel responsibilities)

# Employee benefits

# Company brief

# Instructions on how to apply for the job

 

Who Is Applying to Your Job Ad?

When creating a killer job advertisement, it is crucial that you understand what type of candidates will be viewing and applying to your job ad. The majority of people searching for jobs online are active candidates. This includes job seekers who are currently unemployed, those who are actively looking to change job positions or employers, and those who have other motivational factors, such as career growth opportunities. Unfortunately, active candidates only account for 15 percent of the overall job market.

 

Who Isn’t Applying to Your Job Ad?

Eighty-five percent of the job market consists of passive candidates, those not actively looking for a new job. A large percentage of these passive candidates are never going to see your job posting simply because they’re not searching through online job boards. But what about the active candidates who read your job ad and still don’t apply? There are several reasons why job seekers might not apply, such as:

 

# They may be looking at job options but are not ready to apply yet.

# They may not fully understand your job ad.

# They may think they are not 100-percent qualified for the job and therefore shouldn’t apply.

# They may not know enough about your company — or, worse, they may have read a bad review of your company.

 
It is essential to look at your job ads through the eyes of prospective candidates and determine if there are any barriers preventing them from applying. Using your job ad to tear down some of these barriers will go a long way in helping you attract more qualified candidates.

 

How to Write a Killer Job Ad

The fact is that traditional job ads are no longer enough to attract top talent candidates. Even the best candidates out of the 15 percent actively looking for new career opportunities are not looking for the same job. Instead, they want a better position, a job the offers career growth, improved work environment, better benefits and more.

The only way you can attract the best of the best (both active and passive candidates) on job boards is to create a killer job advertisement. A job ad that focuses on building a message that is not just about one single job position, but a job ad that is career oriented. A job ad that doesn’t only list job responsibilities and requirements, but one that really provides insight into what it’s like to work for the company. Simply put, if you want to attract more candidates, you must make messaging a top priority.

At Tulsie, we don’t write job ads. Instead, we create a focused messaging campaign to build momentum with candidates by showing them their possibilities and by challenging them to step out of their comfort zones.

Our Smart Sourcing Services bring this all together by understanding why we need to go beyond the job offer and employer brand to connect and meet candidates’ needs as part of deeper, more enduring, and in many cases increasingly interactive, relationships to ensure continued recruitment success. Learn more about Tulsie’s smart sourcing solutions today.

Written by: Sushila Ramkisoensing


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