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Hiring is a lengthy process that can be made harder if you do not have an excellent job ad. This should include all the relevant information that a candidate needs to make an informed decision on whether to apply for the position or not.
Leaving out certain information could cause the best talent to look elsewhere or leave you inundated with CVs which don’t match the job at hand. If you want to improve employee retention and attract the best talent to your business, below we explore how to improve your job ads in 2022.
Include Salary Information
As an employee considering multiple job ads, you are more likely to be interested in the one with clear salary expectations rather than those who do not have this information readily available. After all, the salary is the most important reason that any employee comes to work, so it should be clear from your job ad. You also need to make sure that the salary in question is the same as, or better than the average UK salary, unless you are planning for additional benefits for your employees.
There will be places online that include all the information you need to know about average salaries in the UK for your business sector. You can see what employees will expect from your job ad. This includes the average UK salary by age and job type which you can find information about here: https://www.checkasalary.co.uk/salaries/average.
Make Your Job Title Understandable
As far as job ads go, having an understandable job title will go a long way in finding the right talent. As well as salary, the job title is the first thing that potential candidates will look at, so if it does not make sense or it is too long, the candidate will simply skip past your ad. This can be extremely frustrating, especially if you have taken a long time to create a good quality job ad.
When it comes down to creating your job ad title, keep it simple and concise. Ensure it is a commonly understood phrase, such as “Social Media Marketing Assistant” or “Head Chef”. Whilst you may want your job ad to be fun and quirky, leave this for the job description, rather than the title. Use a free keyword resource tool to check for the most commonly searched phrases regarding the job, as this can help when producing the job title.
Set Out Desirable And Required Skills
The right candidate may come along and have the work ethic and attitude to do well in your company, even if they do not have some of the desirable skills. If you do not make it clear in your job description, you could be losing out on the best employees. Make sure to set out desirable and required skills in separate headings, so candidates know what they need and what they might need.
Anything you can train your employees in is likely to be more of a desirable skill than a required skill. For example, if you are looking for a receptionist, it may be required that they have experience working in an administrative or similar role. When it comes to desirable skills, you may want them to have experience using a certain computer software program that is used throughout your office, but this is only desirable as you can teach them how to use it.
Keep It Personal
Depending on your business, you may want to bring a little bit of personality into your job ad. You can do this in the form of puns or by using engaging tones. As a rule, make sure that your job ad is supportive, rather than demanding.
For example, a demanding job ad will include the experience and skills that an employee usually needs in a bulleted list, whilst a supportive job ad tells a story of what the employee will do in the job role and how your business will help them achieve this. Instead of using words like “the employee” or “the ideal candidate”, use personal words, like “you,” “your,” and “yours.” This immediately makes the job ad more relatable for the candidate.
Use Bolding To Your Advantage
When candidates are applying for job after job, it gets to a point where skimming becomes the most effective way to apply. They want the information they need to make a decision quickly. Bolding is an easy and effective way to get your main points across, whilst still including all the relevant information you need. A candidate can always come back to this later if you offer them an interview.
When bolding, make sure to cover some of the main responsibilities and important words that may be relevant to the job. This ensures that there is an emphasis on the main parts. Just make sure not to go overboard with the bold text, as this makes bolding meaningless.
Add Headings
A good job ad is easy to read and has headings throughout. Without this, the reader has to pick out points from a bunch of text, which makes finding the information they want much harder. If a candidate cannot find the information they need quickly, they may end up reading the job ad.
The right headings will give structure to your ad and make it easy to navigate. It also means candidates can skip to the parts they find more relevant first, as some people will read about the job description before the company or vice versa. Imagine trying to read this article without the use of headers and you soon get the idea.
Treat Your Job Ad Like A Sale
In the simplest form, a job ad is a type of advertisement that represents your company and offers candidates the chance to work for you. This should be exciting, enticing people to click apply. Consider how you would sell your business to someone looking to join and go from there. If you are good at sales, you are good at creating job ads. Not everyone is a wordsmith though, so consider hiring a freelance writer to help you create the perfect job ad.
Don’t Forget Your Contact Information
No matter where you choose to advertise, it is important to include contact information, as some candidates might request further information before applying. This shows that your company is approachable and willing to help their employees, even before they are hired! Leave a work email or phone number at the bottom of your job ad, so you can be contacted. If you advertise on LinkedIn, you can redirect candidates to message you on there.
Improve your job ads by including salary information, making the job title understandable and concise, using bolding and headings, and setting out both desirable and required skills separately. Keep it personal and treat the job ad like a sale, wording it to encourage individuals to work with your business. Add your contact information to the bottom, and you have yourself a great job ad that can help you to find the best employees for your business in 2022 and beyond.
