Top Tips for Writing an Online Advertisement

• Search terms are the keywords in your advert that will attract candidates to your vacancy. Before writing the advert, consider what search terms a candidate would use and tailor your advert accordingly.  For example, instead of writing “you will be working…” write “As a Secretary you will be working…”

• Vagueness. Candidates are unlikely to apply for jobs after reading a confusing or vague job advert.  Be precise with the information and clearly explain what the job will entail and what is required.

• Be sure the title is clear and concise.  If your internal job titles differ from the general marketplace, perhaps consider using an alternate job title that clearly explains the role.

• Don’t use cryptic job titles as they are unlikely to appear in search results as users won't choose those keywords.  They are also often seen as scam adverts by users who are suspicious of rogue opportunities.

• This summary is the most important part of your advert.  If it doesn’t grab attention and compel the reader to click through to your full advert, then you could be missing out on some great candidates.

• By clearly listing the skills and experience required for the role and including words like “essential” will reduce the amount of irrelevant applications you receive.

• Describe the person you are looking for in terms of personal attributes and competencies required. For example, Detail Orientated, Resilient, Goal Orientated, Customer focused.

• Review the new Equality Act to make sure that you don’t use terms such as 'youthful' or number of years of experience.

• People are much more likely to respond to adverts which state a salary or salary band.  Phrases such as ‘competitive’ are not as attractive since they are ambiguous.

• When applying for jobs people want to know what kind of company they could be working for.  Talk about the culture of your organisation to attract the right candidates.

• Any achievements or recent developments should therefore be highlighted.  What does your company do, where it is located, what industry are you in? Make the overview compelling.

• What does your company have to offer?  Is there career progression?  What benefits are available?

• Include a postcode when posting your advertisement.  More than 90% of the searches made specify a location and post code matching technology sorts results so that the closest jobs appear first.

• Complete your advertisement with some basic information about how you would like the candidate to apply. For example, is a covering letter required?

• What can the applicant expect once they have applied?  Will they get an automatic response? How long should the process take?  Will they receive feedback?

• Handling applications can be a daunting task due to the high volumes that Online Advertising can produce.  Think about who will carry out the short listing process and how the response will be handled.  Time should always be considered before choosing any method of recruitment, so make sure that you have the resource to respond to all applications.

• Ensuring that all applicants are dealt with positively is highly important to your Company brand and image.  An email to unsuccessful applicants would suffice.

• Short listing – how many candidates would you like to interview?  If you have had a high volume of applications, carrying out telephone interviews first can be a great way to save time.

 Good Luck with your Recruitment!