What is the first job of an advertisement?

A job advertisement is much more than just another advertisement. In fact, organizations are usually rated based upon the quality and the presentation of their job advertisement. Here are 4 things that job candidates usually look out for in a job advertisement.

1) Job Title

The first thing that usually attracts the attention of a candidate will be the job title. Generally, candidates search via position title or location on most job boards. By making the relevant information available, this sets a very clear idea of who and what the organization is looking to hire. This serves to eliminate potentially unsuitable candidates and attracts a more focused set of specialized candidates.

A good filtering process significantly reduces the time and effort needed by HR and hiring professionals to screen and interview candidates. This in turn reduces the time taken to fill a vacancy and reduce inefficiencies in the hiring process.

2) Job Description

Prospective candidates need to know what the position entails and whether they are qualified. Job description is able to help them decide if they are a suitable match for the position.

Some HR professionals consider writing job descriptions a waste of time. However, a job description that accurately describes the responsibilities of the position will serve to improve the hiring process and also prevent misunderstandings between organization and candidate.

Thus, job descriptions should be as accurate as possible and possess all of the following information:

• Individual tasks affiliated with the job
• Purpose and responsibilities required
• Any required technical knowledge or previous experience
• Qualifications required

Providing such information on the job advertisement will not only attract better-suited candidates, but also ensure that potential applicants have a better understanding of the requirements and qualifications related to the position that they are applying for.

3) A Salary Range

An often debated topic among HR professionals is whether or not to include the salary range on offer. Some experts believe that the information should be released at the organization’s discretion to avoid upsetting or disappointing a potential employee.

However, the pros of providing a salary range could potentially outweigh the cons. A study by Forbes has shown that high performing employees often leave their jobs due to monetary reasons. By showcasing the salary offered, applicants are more likely to apply for the advertised position as they have been given a clear understanding of the salary that is offered rather than an ambiguous figure.

However, a savvy HR professional should take into account that if the salary offered by their organization is below that typically offered on the market, providing a salary range will only serve to drive away quality candidates. Adopting a clear and upfront attitude with regards to the salary offered will resonate well with quality candidates and improves the organization’s reputation as a quality employer.

4) Showcasing Your Strengths

As more millennials start to enter the workforce, they bring with them a whole new set of challenges and requirements. A study by the Harvard Business Review has shown that millennials are consumers of the workplace and choose to shop around for jobs that best suit that lifestyle and goals.

In order to remain relevant, organizations need to be aligned with the needs of this new generation. For example, millennials often place a premium on work-life balance and a positive work culture that nurtures growth and development.

Instead of stating the obvious by writing “We have a great culture”, HR professionals can opt to have employee testimonials or produce a short and simple recruitment video that showcases daily work life at the organization

jobsDB.com encourages employees to share their experiences and opinions on their company reviews page. This gives an insight into the thoughts and opinions of employees of a company; from positive experiences or even issues that an organization may have. From here, HR professionals can use this feedback mechanism to take whatever corrective action needed.

Sourcing for new candidates is a challenging process and HR professionals face a multitude of challenges in today’s hyper-competitive world. However, these few tips could open the door to a new way of reaching out and attracting top quality candidates.

A job advertisement, or job posting (although this can have a slightly different meaning, as detailed below), is an advertisement that promotes open postings within a company or organization.

They’re posted in order to attract the attention of capable and talented professionals who may be searching for a role in their industry. As a talent attraction tool, a job advertisement can be used to attract both internal and external candidates. 

The terms job advertisement and job posting are often used synonymously. However, to more specifically define job posting, this is more likely to be solely tailored towards internal candidates. This is as it won’t use the same ‘advertising’ strategies as a job ad might, as the internal colleagues will likely already know about the role.

What role does a job advertisement play for companies?

Job advertisements are first and foremost a hiring tool used for filling vacancies. However, they are also excellent employer branding tools for a company. They’re a great chance to practice self-advertising. You can mention any employee benefits and describe your company culture in order to present the business as an attractive employer and to convince suitable talent to work with the company. 

High-quality job advertisements are particularly important for SMEs and start-ups. This is because, unlike well-known and popular larger companies, they won’t benefit from the same level of awareness and knowledge about the business as larger companies do. This puts them at a disadvantage when it comes to attracting a high level of applicants.

When is a job advertisement needed?

Writing a job ad can be hard work, so it might be natural to question whether a public job ad is really always needed. The answer is usually yes. 

For external job searches, a high-quality job advertisement is something that will catch a candidate’s eye and set you apart from the competition. Having a job advertisement written out also allows the role to be referred to external candidates and promoted to several job boards. This, in turn, casts the talent net further. 

If filling a position internally, either through promotion or restructuring, a job advertisement may not be needed. In this case, a job posting on the intranet or a discussion between team leads may be enough. However, producing a job advertisement may still be good practice.

How do you write a job ad?

Employers can often fall into the habit of writing their job ads focusing solely on self-promotion. This can then lead to a hoard of unskilled candidates applying and not enough suitable matches.

Successful job advertisements are characterized by the fact that they focus on potential applicants and their skills. They should also show how their skills and talents can be used profitably in the company, for both employer and employee. 

In order to achieve this, there are some requirements in regard to content, structure and outline that must be observed.

What info belongs in a job advertisement?

In order for a job ad to attract the attention of highly competent professionals, it should contain the following information:

• Job title

• Company name

• Salary

• Type of employment (temporary, full- or part-time, etc.)

• Work model (remote, hybrid, office first)

• Job description

• Employee benefits

• Desired skills and qualifications (soft skills, hard skills)

• Application details (submission method, required documents/information)

• Brief company description

• Contact person

If any of this vital information is missing or is not apparent during the first skim of a job ad, this could potentially reduce the number of applications received and thus the success of a job ad.

How should a job ad be structured?

In order to retain the attention of vying talent, a job ad should be structured and organized as follows: 

• Function or role description

• Duties and responsibilities

• Skills and characteristics

• Application notes

• Company description

Here, a candidate will be drawn in by a creative role description that allows them to pinpoint how their characteristics, values and beliefs align with the company.

Where are job openings best posted?

Young professionals and graduates, in particular, spends an increasing amount of time on the internet. But even experienced candidates with many years of professional experience tend to look for jobs online nowadays, rather than in print media. 

For this reason, job ads are best published and advertised on several platforms at the same time:

• Job boards

• Professionally oriented social networks such as LinkedIn

• Social media platforms such as Facebook for jobs

• Career site of the company

Previously, this may have required multiple programs and user accounts. However, an applicant tracking system (ATS) such as JOIN can minimise this effort. The job ad can be written once, then published and advertised simultaneously on numerous platforms with one click. As a bonus, the job ad can then also be found on Google and in other job search engines such as Indeed.

Who is responsible for job postings in companies?

The question of who is responsible for creating and monitoring job postings and processing incoming applications depends largely on company size.

In start-ups and small companies, this task is usually taken care of by the HR Manager. However, in medium-sized and large companies there may be a team of specialists responsible for recruitment, talent attraction and managing incoming employees.

Tips for writing job advertisements

Attractive and well-written job postings are an important part of successful talent acquisition. To help reach the right talent with a job posting, we have compiled some further tips and hints in our blog article on job ads.

Our job ad templates are also available for the most in-demand jobs on the market. These simply need to be copied and adapted to your company's requirements, then they’re ready to go! Plus, we’re constantly adding more templates to our library.

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