A recent ANZ survey showed that job advertising on the internet rose by 0.8% last month, compared with a 1.9% decline in job advertisements in major metropolitan newspapers in Australia. The internet has become a great resource for companies looking to hire, and is often a first port of call for job-seekers considering a change of job.It is relatively cheap and easy to advertise on most of the generalist job boards and most recruitment agencies, along with many major companies, have rolling contracts for bundles of advertisements that they can place with the boards each month. As any job-seeker can attest, the quantity is there but the quality is often sadly lacking.
So how do you make your ad stand out from all the others? How do you make it searchable, attractive, and of a high enough standard to encourage people to apply? The following can be taken as a guide to increasing the value of your ad, and decreasing the risk of damage to your brand.
Proof read before you submit
Sounds obvious? Take a look at any one of the major job boards and it is apparent that not everyone is doing this. Poor spelling and grammar not only damages your brand, but can also prevent your job from appearing in candidate searches.
Don't abbreviate words
Candidates search on complete phrases and job titles. If you have "Snr Eng Mgr" (for example), then your job will not appear if a candidate types in "Senior Engineering Manager" as a search.
Always list salary
Statistics show that you will get more applications if you do. Often advertisers are afraid to do this in case they put people off with a salary that doesn't meet their expectations. Often salaries are flexible, and a company is willing to pay more for someone with great experience. However, if you want to maximise your chance of people applying then you need to at least put a ballpark salary range in your ad. You can use the main text of your ad to explain that the salary is flexible, and that higher rates may be considered for candidates with higher levels of experience.
Don't be cliched
Avoid phrases such as ‘think outside the box’, and ‘dynamic’ - be original. Studies from MyCareer have shown that application rates decrease when an advertiser uses the word 'exciting' in their advert. Try to be a bit different.
Break it up
Job-seekers will not be inclined to wade through hefty paragraphs of text (especially if they are having a quick browse from their desk while at work). Keep it short, use bullet points, and get to the point.
Don't be too specific
Try to change your 'must haves' to 'nice to haves' in order to widen the pool of applicants you will receive. E.g., instead of "You must have experience working on $200m projects, and be degree qualified" try "You will have experience working on high value projects, and a degree would be advantageous."
Does this mean you will get applications from hopelessly unqualified people who will waste your time? Yes. But you will get those anyway. You are trying to include the Project Manager who has worked on (say) $150m projects, has a nearly-finished degree, with lots of great experience, who is otherwise perfect for your company.
Of course there will always be some essential criteria for your role, and I am not suggesting you ditch these. But review each item carefully - would you consider someone who was perfect in all regards other than possessing Skill X/ Qualification Y? Could you train them/ get them qualified if everything else was perfect? If so, that item is not a 'must have'.
Use the summary section wisely
The summary section is common to most of the major job boards. It's a 150 character snapshot of what your job is about, and job-seekers then click through to find out more. The only purpose of this section is to attract a job-seeker into clicking through to the main body of your advert. So think about what will make them do that! They need information about the job, so they know if it's (roughly) relevant to them, and they need to be tempted in with something appealing.
Often advertisers are very vague in this section, and summaries can get littered with over-used adjectives that reveal nothing of the job or the company, e.g., "Exciting opportunity for dynamic individual. Career progression!" This does not stand out in a list of similar summaries, and the job-seeker could be wasting their time by clicking through further. By being specific you will be more likely to attract the person you want. E.g.,"$2b infrastructure project. Roads and drainage experience needed. Opportunity to advance to lead role."
Get with the times
Gone are the days of the dry position description doubling up as an advert. Your advert should not feature a series of hurdles that the successful candidate has to be able to navigate in order to apply. If you want to attract good applicants then don't put them off! Remember who you are writing to. Don't make it all about you and what you need! Tell them what they get out of it too. And benefits don't have to just be salary related. What about training opportunities, ability to travel, the chance to mentor junior staff? There are lots of things that will appeal to a potential applicant. What do you love about that company? Why are you there?
Be legal
Be careful to ensure that your ad does not feature anything that could be viewed as direct or indirect discrimination. You cannot (for example) advertise for Australians only, or state that you need "a young go-getter". There is more on avoiding discrimination here.
Finally...
Treat your applicants nicely. One of the biggest complaints from online applicants is that they never hear back about their application. Ensure you have a system in place that will acknowledge receipt of all applications (either automatically or personally), and will advise applicants of the next step. This may be as simple as telling applicants that if they have not heard by a certain date then they were not successful, and providing contact details if they want feedback.
It can be difficult to manage high volumes of applications, but ensuring that all applicants are acknowledged and are not left in doubt about their success (or otherwise) will leave a good impression. The person who is not right today may be great tomorrow, and may know others who are great. Ensure you leave them feeling good about your company, and with no reason not to recommend you to others.
No comments:
Post a Comment