13 Best Tips to Write Effective Job Posts for New Hires

Employers use a single job posting template to create standardised posts about their open job positions; these are then shared on various online job portals. A good job vacancy template must list all the things that would attract a candidate to your company. It is more like a job announcement or advertisement aimed at inviting more candidates for your recruitment drive.

Job posts are not job descriptions

Many employers and recruiters confuse job posting templates for job descriptions. Let us take a look at what each one is so as to understand the difference.

• Job description: It is a detailed description of the responsibilities and expectations of the job. It works as a guideline for interviewers while selecting the candidates. A job description is mainly designed for internal use. Sometimes, it is used for external purposes to allow the candidates to screen themselves before submitting their job application.
• Job posting: This is mainly used for marketing purposes. It sells the job and the company to the job candidates. A job post is generally uploaded on different job portals and social media platforms to generate a buzz among job seekers and invite more applications towards open job positions. It might just include a headline and a one-line brief.

Now that you have understood the difference between the two, let us look at the tips to create the best job posting template to attract the best candidates to your company.

1. Add a killer title

The job title is definitely the most significant part of a job posting. This is what will attract the attention of job seekers. This title is what will compel the job seeker to stop and take notice. Therefore, get as creative as you can while writing the job title.

Ideally, the job title of your job posting should include the vacancy name as well as the top three things about the position, which will make it attractive to the candidates. Use catchy words and phrases while writing the job title to add that extra zing to your job posting.

2. Engaging introduction

The introduction is the next most significant aspect of the job posting. If you have written a killer enough title to compel the candidates to stop and read, make sure that you write an equally engaging and emotive introduction so that the candidates feel that it is worth their time waiting to read the job post.

The introduction should ideally contain just one paragraph made up of 3 to 4 sentences, which provide five more details about the open job position. You can compare this paragraph to the “lead” used by newspapers to hook their audience and compel them to read the whole article. Make this introduction compelling so that the candidates end up reading the entire post.

3. Tell the company story

Next, give them info about the company. The best way to do so is in the form of a story. Once you have them hooked to your post, tell them the story of your company; this will help you build a connection with the candidates.

The company information to be showcased to the candidates should include how old the company is, its inception date, how long employees stay with your company (this shows stability and longevity), interesting projects or clients, accolades, awards, machinery or equipment, facts, work culture and other information that the candidates would be excited to know. Build your company information in such a way that it builds an aspiration for a job seeker.

Every job seeker should feel that your company is the next step and go-to destination to advance their careers.

4. Sell the job position

The essence of finding the best candidate lies in selling them the job positions. To start with, understand that your job position is not a unique opportunity. The recruitment industry has many such job positions on offer, some of them from companies that are far more established than yours. They can probably even afford to provide better remuneration than you are currently offering. So, why will a candidate be interested in your offer when they have the opportunity of reviewing their options?

The answer lies in how you sell your available job position to the candidate. Every other job post has the typical list of lengthy bullet points. Candidates hardly read beyond three or four bullet points. Hence, the rest of the points simply occupy the page and amount to nothing substantial.

Here is what you should do; only include the requirements essential for the job. Write only two or three bullet points about the requirements. Then focus on the facts candidates like the most; provide information about pay, working hours, interesting coworkers, perks, benefits, educational opportunities, etc.. This will interest the job seeker, resulting in more candidate enquiries.

5. Sell your location

People do not consider moving to a new location in their quest for a job change. This could prove to be an obstacle for your candidates, especially, if they don’t live in the same region as your company. Therefore, in order to attract candidates from different locations, you must first sell your job location to them. Provide them with crucial details and the positives of your location, such as schools, entertainment zones, recreational activities, lower crime rates and things to do in the holidays and weekends.

If your office is easy to commute to from your key target regions, mention actual commute timings in your job post. Let your candidates know that your job location is easily accessible and that they can maintain a work-life balance even while working with your company.

6. Highlight why they must apply

Highlight five or six top reasons as to why a candidate should apply for the job. Make sure you add the reasons that compel your candidates to take action and send in their resumés for the job. If it is a lengthy job post, keep these bullet points on top and highlight them appropriately so that they stay on top of your candidate’s mind while going through the job posting.

7. Inform about the job application process

Now that you have provided all the possible information about the available job position and the company, the next thing should be to inform the candidate about how they can apply for the role. Explain to them the company’s application process.

When you have sold the candidate the job positions, don’t leave them in the lurch about “what to do next”. Rather, be a guide and lead them towards your job application process. This step is important especially with job roles that require only a single interview.

8. Get it drafted and proofread by various sources

Your job posting is an important company document like any other crucial company material. Therefore, after you have written an elaborate job post, get different people from your company to read the post and offer their honest feedback.

Multiple readings by different people will help you understand if your job postings need improving.

Your post is an important company marketing material. Your candidates will view it as an extension of the company; any kind of discrepancies is sure to hamper your brand identity. Plus, these posts would be uploaded on multiple job portals, so ensure that it is appropriate for your target audience.

9. Improve email responses

Email responses are a very important aspect of the recruitment process. The candidates post their resumés and you shortlist them for the screening process. It is important to inform your candidates about the status of the recruitment process. Do so even for candidates who have not been selected.

Your emails should be accurate, precise, personal and engaging. The core objective of the emails is to provide a positive candidate experience at every stage of the interview, irrespective of the outcome. All of this brand-building begins from the first email that you send to the candidates.

A poor or delayed initial response of the candidate’s application status will negate all the brand-building you have done with the job posting. Therefore, create a robust engagement structure with the shortlisted candidates. Even if they do not eventually get selected, they will share their positive experience with others, which will attract more candidates towards your company. Positive candidate experience will enhance your brand identity and improve your referrals among the candidates.

10. Focus on development and growth

It is essential to mention the daily responsibilities of the job role, but don’t make the list long and boring. Five to seven bullet points are enough to explain the job responsibility to the position. You can use the remainder of the section to highlight how these job roles contribute to the overall business objectives, and what will the growth potential be for the candidate joining in the position.

Even though necessary job roles and responsibilities are boring to read, most candidates want to know what is in it for them. Therefore, highlight the growth trajectory of the company and also explain how candidates will benefit if they join the company.

11. Create an urgency

This is the best marketing tactic, which yields favourable results. It is important to create a feeling of urgency to attract a response from the best candidates. A normal job post without any timeline will give a feeling that the company is in no urgent need to fill the post. This makes a passive candidate more complacent. When you create urgency, you compel even the most passive candidates to apply for the job.

Therefore, your job post should contain the necessary items but it should have the toppings of a start date and end date for the application. After all, every good offer has a time limit. Let the candidates know that your job position is an exclusive opportunity and will not stay vacant forever. And, if the candidates wish to apply for the job, they should do it now rather than wait unnecessarily. Another positive impact of creating urgency is that it draws people’s attention to your job opportunity and encourages or influences them to take action, resulting in better candidate applications.

12. Involve your current employees

In most cases, your current employees know the job requirements better than your HR team. After all, they are the ones who do the actual tasks. Research has shown that candidates are unlikely to apply for roles if the description does not provide adequate information about the required skills and qualifications. Therefore, it is important to fine-tune your job posts regularly to remove the skills that are not necessary any more and make the post relevant to the current requirements. Additionally, highlight the skills that can be learnt while on the job and avoid restrictive job requirements. This will ensure more candidates respond to your job posts.

It helps to include exiting employees while writing job posts. They can provide vital inputs on the necessary skills that are currently required for the job role. Plus, they can help determine what qualities you should look for in a candidate to ensure that they are a good culture fit for the role. Existing employees can help you highlight what the position exactly needs to get the most response.

13. Get innovative and interactive

Active job seekers spend ample time reading through job posts and descriptions. If you become innovative and creative with your job post, you can attract the interest of these candidates.

In general, candidates review hundreds of job posts. So, what makes your post different from the others? Why should the candidates show interest in your job posting? Answers to these questions will help you determine the kind of innovative approach you must take to attract the most candidates.

Job postings play a crucial role in attracting top talent to your company. They act as an extension of your company and allow the candidates to create a mental picture of your company and the work culture. Therefore, create killer job postings, which will not just attract the right candidates but also create brand awareness while enhancing your company’s identity among job seekers.