Writing a job advertisement that grabs you
A job advertisement is a form of marketing. The idea is to sell you — the business — and your product to potential customers: job seekers. A job advertisement includes copywriting, tone, company values and more.
Copywriting for a Job Advertisement
The headline of your advert should be snappy and attention grabbing. The text should then give an overview of what the role entails in as few words as possible (one paragraph). Use bullet points if you need to give a long list of details or benefits to entice the candidate.
Tone Of Your Advertisements
The tone of your advert should be professional and non-salesy. It should not include any ‘cheesy’ language (such as “try us out” or “we’re looking for someone with initiative”). You want to use positive, straightforward language that shows you respect the candidate and want to help them.
Be Respectful
It’s a candidate poor market right now. You’ve got a very limited amount of time to be able to catch a candidates attention. Respect their time and communicate only what you need. Candidates don’t need to hear that you pay the legislated superannuation percentage. Speak to your teams, what keeps them coming back every day? What is the secret sauce that makes your team magical?
Company Values
In Your Advertisements Be clear about your company values. If a candidate is taking the interview stage, you want to make sure they appreciate these values as well. Ask them questions about things they are looking for in a new employer.
Design And Layout Of Job Advertisements
You may feel tempted to use lots of graphics and pictures in your advertisements. Unless they are relevant to the role, don’t. Remember that a lot of people will be applying for the job, so you want to make your advertisement as easy and quick to read as possible. It should be highly scannable because you will most likely have many people scanning your adverts rather than reading them in detail. This is important because if a candidate doesn’t like what they read, they can simply move on to the next advert. Above all, an effective advert needs to stand out from the crowd and attract attention — without becoming gimmicky.
If you do need to include graphics, make sure they’re relevant and high quality. Try to avoid clip art or images from other websites, as these can look sloppy. Consider using vector images that are SEO-friendly and easy to read on different platforms (such as a mobile).
Writing a Job Advertisement Is Not Easy…
There is a lot to consider when writing an advert (and the same goes for writing any article). However, if you really care about getting the best staff who are right for the role, it is worth taking the time to write a great advert — one that attracts the right people and gives them all the information they need.
