by Leslie Rothman
You can categorically differentiate your organization by attending to this first critical candidate touch point in your recruiting process. Take a look at how you handle the details of your job announcements — your advertisement designed to attract great applicants. Think of potential applicants as important customers who you want to “buy” your opportunity.
Your goal is to get high caliber applicants responding to the positions you spend time and money to post, so catch their attention and reel them in! You won’t do that by simply lifting your company’s dry and often lengthy job description to create a posting. This is especially true if you are trying to entice people who are satisfied with their current employment situation and are passively interested in other opportunities.
Make that Posting Pop!
Sell the opportunity in the first few lines
If you post on a job board, the first few sentences of your posting can appear right under the position title. Postings are picked up through a variety of social network forums and job boards, so make those first sentences count by talking about the opportunity or impact of the position. Start out by focusing on what potential applicants are looking for, not what your organization needs.
As an example — “If leading a claims management department from a functioning group to a great team interests you….”
Promote the company
Include a paragraph about the company’s mission or vision, or the kind of workplace you have or are striving to be. Here is a place to speak to your company’s employment “brand”, or best features.
Highlight just 5 – 8 most important responsibilities, and expected outcomes
Avoid using a 15+ bulleted list of “essential functions” or a task list straight from the job description. Change your perspective to thinking of your desired candidate and sell the job responsibilities to them.
As an example — “Identify process improvement opportunities, with a goal of decreasing handoffs and time to complete an order.”
State only key requirements for the position
Include necessary content expertise as well as abilities that relate to getting the job done in your organization’s culture. Again, stick to the most important things that an applicant must have, not an all-inclusive wish list. One of our job seeking clients so aptly described his frustration with the off putting typical posting, “The job postings with excessively long lists of requirements that no mere mortal could ever meet.”
And with your key requirements, be specific. Instead of “excellent communication skills”, identify the kind of communication that is required to be successful in this role.
As an example — “Ability to develop, communicate and present business cases to support project resource allocations.”
Visual Impressions Count
This doesn’t mean you need fancy graphics however most readers, especially those who are just casually looking, won’t eagerly plow through a paragraph that is 4 inches of dense text describing job duties. Similar to when you view an applicant’s resume; it matters if it is easy for the eye to read.
Your upfront time will pay off. You’ll receive more high quality responses and they’ll be from applicants that are already excited about what you have to offer and who, in turn, will take the time to make a strong impression. And while you’re at it, you’ll be making a positive contribution to your organization’s brand.
“Enticing Position Announcements attract Great Employees” is a copyrighted publication of Career & Workplace Directions, LLC and cannot be copied or printed without express permission of Career & Workplace Directions, LLC.
