In order to attract highly qualified candidates and communicate what the job entails effectively, it is important to put out clear and engaging job postings. Creating job postings that compel job seekers to apply is an art, as it is sometimes someone’s only interaction with the company previous to applying; you want your job to look appealing to the right candidates. Job postings should spark interest, make the candidate excited to apply to your company, and provide them with the right information to decide whether they could be a potential fit.
Make it Easy to Find
The first thing you are going to want to do is make sure it is search friendly. When potential hires are foraging through job postings, they’re most likely going to be using the same key terms, so utilize those, but also combine them with words that will make your posting stand out. Use words that are specific to your organization and to the position that will attract niche candidates.
Describe the Job
When describing the position, a lengthy, wordy paragraph that goes into great detail isn’t the most effective way to describe the job. Typically the description is broken down into two sections: an overview of the job and a list of assumed responsibilities. Following this formatting will help keep the posting organized as well as keep the description from becoming overwhelming and possibly driving away candidates.
Outline the Role
This is where the overview of the job comes in. This is going to be a short paragraph and is typically going to describe the day-to-day operations that the job entails. It’s good to address the candidate directly and using “you,” instead of “the right candidate,” as it will make the sometimes sterile job posting seem more personable. In order to not lose the interest or attention of your job seeker, keep these sentences short and to the point; use descriptive words, but don’t overuse them.
List the Responsibilities
When describing the job responsibilities, it is best to steer clear of a paragraph formatting. The best format to use for this section is a list format. By doing this, it makes it easier for job finders to quickly scan the bullet points to determine whether they will be a good fit. It is also important to pick about five or six of the major responsibilities and go into detail about those instead of having a list of 20 things, as that can get overwhelming.
Use Effective Formatting
There is going to be plenty of content in your job posting, so formatting and organizing all of the content in an effective way is essential. Making the information easy to absorb by limiting descriptions to only the essentials, formatting the listed items in bullet points and organizing it into clear sections will make your job posting more user friendly and will make candidates excited to apply for the position.
List Required and Preferred Skills and Achievements
This section should also follow a bulleted formatting. This section will list the required as well as preferred skills and experience necessary for the position. By keeping a bulleted formating for this section, candidates can easily scan the information and decide whether they fit the criteria for the position.
Share Your Mission
Arguably the most important part of the entire job listing, sharing the cultural values of the company. By describing the company or organization’s mission, history, workplace dynamic, and future goals, the candidate can better assess whether they would be a good long-term cultural fit for your group.
It’s important that as a company you have the right recruitment and job posting software that allows you to post the most effective job postings. TrackerRMS, a top recruiting and applicant tracking software, can help you organize your candidates and source the best candidates and jobs.
