6 ways to make your job advert stand out

Do you want a better quality of job applicant?

It all starts with your job ad…

Catching the eye of a prospective candidate is hugely important, especially if you want to gain the attention of those who are casually browsing and aren’t hugely active in the job market.

A passive advert that doesn’t engage people makes it easy for them to ignore it and simply keep scrolling.

But a job ad that hits them between the eyes? That might just be enough to make them sit up and pay attention.

So how do you create a job ad that stands out? Here’s our guide:

1. Think about who you want to attract and target them

What does your ideal candidate look like to you? Understanding that a one-size-fits-all approach to your job ads doesn’t work is important, so take the time to understand who it is you’re trying to engage.

Consider things such as experiences, personality, ambitions, what they’d value from the role - once you have idea of who you’re trying to target, it’s easier to create an ad that speaks to them.

2. Give it some personality

Of course, the ad needs to be on brand and deliver on the details of the role, but there’s nothing stopping you sprinkling in a bit of personality here and there so that candidates feel that yours might be the right company for them.

It’s all too easy for companies to sound like all the others out there, so consider what makes you different.

What makes you stand apart from others? What is it about your organisation that should get a candidate excited? Then, demonstrate that difference by explaining it with personality.

3. Say it differently

Similar to the above, it’s all too easy to sound the same as everyone else and to drop in the clichéd adjectives to describe the person you’re looking for.

Maybe you really do want a passionate and enthusiastic team player who thinks outside the box, but can you phrase it in a way that’s a bit unique and will speak to people in a different way?

4. Mind your language

Coming back to our first point about knowing your target audience, you’ll probably choose slightly different language when recruiting a director of finance compared with a concession supervisor.

But there are some common rules that work for pretty much any ad, no matter who you’re targeting.

Short paragraphs. Short sentences. Short words.

They don’t just make your writing clearer, they make them more engaging.

5. Think about the experience and skills you REALLY need

More often than not, candidates having to wade through a huge list of ‘essential requirements’ and ‘nice-to-haves’ won’t do so gladly.

It can feel like you’re asking for the impossible, which risks reducing your pool of applicants.

Ask yourself what really matters and thin out your long list of bullets into a handful that really count.

6. Include the salary

Saving the best till last!

Salary matters to job seekers and is the driving factor behind around two in five applications. Industry research suggests stating the salary can led to more than a 25% increase in applications.

So, if you can avoid falling back on ‘competitive salary’ where possible, you’ll get a better response by being upfront and transparent with your numbers.