Congratulations! Your business is booming. Sales are higher than ever before. Your company is doing so well that you need to hire some more employees.
What is the first thing you do? Make sure the job description is up to date! Once you’ve got that under control, you need to advertise your job opening.
It seems simple enough. You post your job advertisement out on LinkedIn, Career Builder, Indeed, your website, etc. etc. But have you ever stopped and actually thought about how to write a job posting?
Many employers are under the impression that candidates will just be jumping at the opportunity to work at their company (I mean, it IS a really great company after all). But the truth is, candidates are picky. They aren’t just going to apply to any ole’ job. You want your job advertisement to stand out from the crowd and attract the right kind of candidate, one that will thrive in your organization.
(Side note: A job posting is also a great opportunity to promote that brand you’ve worked so hard on and that has helped you boost sales throughout the company. Just something to think about.)
We’ve broken it down for you today so you can write a job posting that accurately reflects your organization, keeps you out of trouble and attracts the right kind of employee.
First up, here are the key parts of your job posting.
Key Parts of Your Job Posting
- Information about the company
- What position is being advertised?
- What qualifications do they need?
- What are the responsibilities and challenges for this position?
- Performance clause
Check. Now let’s go over the Do’s and Don’ts of Writing Job Postings.
The Do’s Of Writing Job Postings
- Do use a relevant titles and keywords. You want people to actually find your job posting so you want to optimize your post to get the best web traffic. You also want the right people to find your post so make sure you use relevant job titles in your posting.
- Do reflect the company. Make sure your job advertisement is consistent with your brand. You want to find someone who will fit with your organization so you need to be honest about your company culture.
- Do Add A Little Sparkle. If you want to capture people’s attention these days you need to be just a little bit flashy. Consider using your logo, a video or other images to make your job posting stand out.
- Do be specific to allow candidates that are not a good fit to self-select out. You don’t want to scare people away, but you do want to accurately describe the role and set clear expectations so only those who qualify will apply and you don’t waste your time. A job advertisement should contain a brief description of the essential job functions and specific duties of the position. It should also list all required job qualifications (e.g. college degree, master’s degree, substantial and/or previous experience, etc.). If you list those details, candidates will be able to determine if they are qualified for the job.
- Do use the job description as a guide. This is exactly why you need to have accurate and updated job descriptions before you write a job posting. You can’t find a good fit for a job if you don’t even know what the job entails!
- Do keep it short. We live in a world of 140 characters or less. Your job advertisement doesn’t need to be as brief as a tweet, but keep in mind just how short people’s attention spans are these days when you are writing it. Bullet point lists are always a great way to keep it concise, but cover all the basics. (Just look at this blog!)
- Do Keep It Legal. You need to reference to the fact that you are an “Equal Opportunity Employer,” sometimes abbreviated to “EOE.” You also need to avoid certain words that can get your in trouble. More on that next.
The Don’ts Of Writing Job Postings
- Don’t use discriminatory language. Languages that states or suggests a preference for a particular gender, race, age, or other such quality should be avoided.
- Don’t use any of these words:
- Young (in that same category, avoid the word “Mature”)
- Retiree Preferred
- Healthy
- Salesman
- Christian
- Single
- Fluent in English
- Don’t leave out all the great perks that your company offers. Do you have an awesome rewards or advancement program? Do you have great benefits? Let your prospective candidates know the perks that come with working for your company!
Now that you’ve read all the Do’s and Don’ts of Job Postings you are ready to post your job advertisement.
Before you set up an interview with any of your candidates, you may want to read our other blog, “Hiring For Job Fit – How to Turn Perfect Candidates Into Successful Employees.”
Let us know if you need any help with your recruitment process! By using Integrity HR’s team of certified consultants to help with recruitment, you’ll get better recruiting and more qualified employees. We’ll customize recruiting policies and procedures for your organization that will save you time and money, and comply with federal and state legal guidelines.
We can do all the recruiting for you, whether it’s a high, mid or staff level role. Or, whatever part of recruiting where results are required…it just depends on the job and your needs!
