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Writing Recruitment Ads That Work

CONTENTS

Introduction 3

Identifyyouraudience 5

Writeyourad 7

Placeyourad 12

Recruitment Advertising Guide Writing Recruitment Ads That Work 2

Writinganeffectivejobadisavitalpartoftherecruitment

processbutitcanbeachallenginganddauntingtask.

Getitrightandyou’llattract

applicationsfromsought-aftertalent

whilepositioningyourbrandasan

employerofchoice.Getitwrong

andyouriskmakingapoorhire

orevenworse,damagingyour

wideremployerbrand.

INTRODUCTION

3

TIP:Abadhirecancost

yourcompanyup

to30%ofayearly

salary!

Recruitment Advertising Guide Writing Recruitment Ads That Work

Remember,today’sjobseekersareveryactiveondigital,mobile

andsocialplatforms.Theyhaveavoiceandaren’tafraidtomake

referrals,influenceandsharejobhuntingtaleswiththeirpeers.

Candidatesandemployeesregularlypostjob-relatedcontent

andfeedbackviasocialmediachannelsandemployerreviewsites

suchasGlassdoorandIndeed,soit’sabsolutelyvitaltogetyour

jobadsrightandcreateapositivefirst

impressionofyourbusiness.Jobads

areemployerbrandcontentthatyou

controlsomakethemostofthem!

ThisRecruitmentAdvertising

Guidegivesyouafewpointers

toputyouontherighttrack.

4

TIP:Themajorityofjob

seekersreadatleastsix

reviewsbeforeforming

anopinionof

acompany.

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CHAPTER ONE

5Recruitment Advertising Guide Writing Recruitment Ads That Work

Startbydefiningexactlywhoyouaretryingtorecruit.Consider:

Whataretheirbehaviours,skillsandpriorities?

Wherearetheylikelytoworknow?

Whatformofmessagingwilltheyrespondto?

Whattypeofmediacanwepotentiallyusetoreachthem?

Rememberthejobadisn’tjustalistofskillsandexperienceyou

wantthecandidatetohave.It’sanopportunitytoselltherole

andtotellcandidateswhatmakesyourbusinessunique.

Ratherthanrecyclinganoldad,reallytakethetimetothinkabout

themostimportantpointsofyourparticularvacancy.Whatwill

thecandidategetoutoftheroleandwhatcanyouofferover

yourcompetitors?

Yourteammembersmight

alsobeabletopointyouin

therightdirectionandprovide

somerelevantsuggestions

fromtheirperspective.Your

bestcurrentemployeeswill

helpyoutodefinethetype

ofpersonyou’relookingfor.

Thinkaboutwhatmakesthem

greatandwhytheyenjoy

workingforthecompany.

If you don’t know – ask!

Spendingsomuchtimeatthestartof

therecruitmentprocessmightseemlikea

hasslebutitwillpaydividendsinthequality

andfitoftheapplicantsyouattractfortherole.

6Recruitment Advertising Guide Writing Recruitment Ads That Work

TIP:Differentgenerations(suchas

MillennialsorBabyBoomers)

havecompletelydifferent

outlooks,strengthsand

weaknesseswithregard

toworkinglife.

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7Recruitment Advertising Guide Writing Recruitment Ads That Work

Whenyouhaveaclearideaofyourtargetaudience

andwhatyouwanttosay,youcanstartthinking

aboutthewordingofyourad.

Remember:lessismore.Today’scandidatesareshortoftime

andhavealotofchoicewhenitcomestorolestochoosefrom.

Yourjobadneedstogettothepointquickly.Youonlyhave

afewsecondstograbtheirinterestandthat’sit!

Your text should not be a full job descriptionanditdoesn’tneed

tocovereveryaspectoftherole–thinkofitasateasertocreate

awarenessanddrawinterest.

CHAPTER TWO

Hereareourtop10jobadtips:

Focusontheemotionalbenefitsoftheroleandifapplicable,

theopportunitytocontributetomeaningfulworkorgive

back.Thisisespeciallyimportantwhen

targetingmillennials.

Prepareaseparatejobadfor

everyroleyouarerecruiting

for.Addingmultiplelocations

orroleswouldbeconfusing,

andjobboardsdonotaccept

multiplesinonelistingeither.

Thejobtitleusedinyouradis

vitallyimportant.Makesurethat

youuseanobvious,widelyused

andcommonlysearched-forterm

–evenifyourorganisationusesdifferenttitlesinternally.

Ifyou’renotsurewhattermtousespendsometime

researchingwhatothersdo.

Yourintroductoryparagraphis

anotherimportantcomponent

asthefirst100wordsmay

appearinonlinesearch

resultsandneedtograb

thecandidate’sattention.

Followabasicformulaof:

What(istherole?)

Where(isthe

specificlocation?)

When(workinghours

andshiftpatterns)

Why(shouldcandidatesapply?)

8Recruitment Advertising Guide Writing Recruitment Ads That Work

TIP:Usegoogle.co.uk/trends

tocomparepopularsearchtermsfor

jobtitles.

TIP:Companycultureisone

ofthetopfivemost

importantfactorsjob

seekersconsider

whenlookingfor

anewjob.

Includerelevantkeywords.

Keywordsarethesearch

termscandidateswillbe

usingfortheirjobsearch

whichcouldinclude

qualifications,skills,

experienceandsector-

specificwording.Tryto

usethejobtitleandword

‘job’threetofourtimes.

Throughouttheadvert,keepthetonewarmandwelcoming

andbesuretomentionthatyou’recommittedtodiversity

intheworkplaceandindividualityisvalued.Talktothe

candidateontheirlevelandusethe

word‘you’ratherthan‘the

successfulapplicant’.

Youcanthengoontotalk

brieflyaboutyourbusiness,

cultureandthetop-level

detailsoftheroleyou’re

recruitingfor.

Next,outlinewhat

you’relookingforfromthe

candidatebywayofskills,

experienceandtheattributes

theyneedtohave.

Concludewithdetailsonsalary,benefits

andanythingelsetheycanexpectfromyourbusiness.

Endwithastrongandclearcalltoaction

socandidatesknowexactlyhowtoapply.

9Recruitment Advertising Guide Writing Recruitment Ads That Work

TIP:Ifyoucan’tdisclosesalary

information,invitethe

candidatetocontactyou

formoreinformation

instead.

JOB TIP:Ifyouusetoomany

keywordsinyourjobadvert,Googlewillloweritspositionintheresults.Onlyusethe

mostrelevantterms,nomorethan

4times.

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Whatnottodo

Remember,it’sillegaltoadvertiseforspecificpersonal

characteristicsortodiscriminateagainstspecificdemographicsin

anyway.Asageneralguideline,itisunlawfultodiscriminateagainst

anyone,bothatworkandinjobadverts,basedonthefollowing

protectedcharacteristics:

Gender

Religionorbelief

Gender

reassignment

Age

Marriageand

civilpartnership

Race

Disability

Pregnancy

andmaternity

Sexualorientation

Makesurethatyourcopyisinclusiveandclearlystatesthatyou

welcomeallapplicationsandarefirmlycommittedtodiversity

intheworkplace.

10Recruitment Advertising Guide Writing Recruitment Ads That Work

Whatagoodjobadlookslike:

11Recruitment Advertising Guide Writing Recruitment Ads That Work

Customer Service Advisor Peterborough

Permanent

£18,500+OTE

Anaward-winningtelecomscompanyislookingforcustomer-focusedindividualstojointheir

expandingcustomerserviceteam,basedinOrtonSouthgate,Peterborough.Yourprimaryrole

willincludehandlingcallsregardingcustomercontractsandassistingwithgeneralenquiries.

Thisisafantasticopportunitytojoinawarmandwelcomingteamonapermanentbasis

andreallymakeadifferencetoourcallers’customerserviceexperience.

Welovewhatwedoandwantyoutoenjoyeverydayyouworkwithus.

AsCustomerServiceAdvisor,yourmaindutieswillinclude:

Providingefficientandhigh

qualitycustomerservice

Supportingcustomerswith

enquiriesregardingtheircontracts

Processingcustomer

servicerequests

Ensuringallcallsare

accuratelylogged

TheCustomerServicedepartmentisopen7daysaweek.Therefore,youwillberequired

towork40hoursperweekonashiftrotabetweenthehoursof8am-8pm.

Anypreviousexperienceisdesirableandyou’llhaveexcellentcommunicationskillsand

aconfident,professionaltelephonemanner.GCSE’sorequivalentofA-Cgradeincluding

MathsandEnglisharealsorequired.

Benefits include:

23daysholiday+bankholidays

Fullandcomprehensivetraining

Upto5%performancebasedbonus

Weekendshiftallowance

Dailylunchallowance

Contributorypension

Freeon-siteparking

Subsidisedon-sitecanteen

Ifyouthinkyouhavetherelevantskillsandexperienceforthisfantasticrole,

pleaseapplytoday.

Wearecommittedtodiversityandflexibilityintheworkplace.Ifyourequireanyreasonable

adjustmentstosupportyouduringtheapplicationprocess,pleasetellusatanystage.

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CHAPTER THREE

12Recruitment Advertising Guide Writing Recruitment Ads That Work

Whenyouthinkofrecruitmentadvertisingyoumay

automaticallypicturetraditionalprintadvertisements

intherecruitmentpagesofyourlocalpaper.

However,traditionalprintadvertisingisno

longeraseffectiveasitoncewas.

Ifyou’relookingforamore

cost-effective,powerfuland

wider-reachingwaytoconnect

withbothactiveandpassive

talentintoday’scompetitive

jobsmarket,you’llneedtolook

beyondprinttojobboards,

mobileappsandsocialmedia.

TIP:AccordingtoIndeed,9out

of10jobseekersnowuse

theirmobilephonein

theirjobsearch.

13Recruitment Advertising Guide Writing Recruitment Ads That Work

Socialrecruiting

Ifyou’renotactiveonsocialmediayourselfitcanbedifficulttoknow

howtostart,butsitessuchasLinkedInandFacebookarefreetouse

andcanreallyhelpdistributeyourjobadverttoawideandrelevant

audience.Theyalsohelptobuildwordofmouthforapplicants

andtodrivereferralsfromexistingemployees.

Afterpostingyourjobadonjobboardsandwherepossible,yourown

dedicatedcareerssite,sharingonsocialmediaisoftenthenextstep.

Hardtofillorhighvolumerolescanpotentiallybepromotedviayour

company’smainsocialaccountstoallofyourfollowershoweverthis

isnotpossibleornecessaryforeveryroleassocialcontentneedsto

bevariedonandnotsolelyfocussedonjobs.Aneasysolutionistopost

ashortmessageincludingalinktothejobadvertouttoyourown

personalsocialmediafollowers(particularlyonLinkedIn)andencourage

therestofyourteamtodothesame.

TIP:70%ofcandidateswouldbe

morelikelytoapplyforarole

iftheyseepositivefeedback

fromfollowersonthe

company’ssocial

mediapages.

Whatgoodsocialmediapostslooklike

Here’sanexamplesocialmediapostto

promotetheCustomerServiceAdvisorrole:

Twitter

Hereisthetypeofwordingwe

wouldrecommendusingonTwitter:

14Recruitment Advertising Guide Writing Recruitment Ads That Work

We’re looking for a Customer Service Advisor to join an award-winning #telecoms co. in #Peterborough. Know anyone? Find out more & apply bit.ly/1gg2h

TIP:Beforeyouposttoanyjobboard

orsocialnetwork,proofyourcopy

thenproofitagaintomakesure

therearenotyposorauto-

correctblunders.Betterstill,

asksomeoneelseto!

Facebook&LinkedIn

HereisthetypeofwordingwewouldrecommendusingonFacebook

andLinkedIn:

An award-winning telecoms company in Peterborough is seeking

a Customer Service Advisor to join an expanding Customer

Service team on a permanent basis.

This is a unique opportunity

to join a warm and welcoming

team and really make a

difference to the customer

service experience.

As a Customer Service

Advisor you’ll be providing

efficient and high quality

customer service and

support customers with

enquiries regarding

their contracts.

Find out more and apply: bit.ly/1gg2h

Collegesanduniversities

Anotheravenueforsourcingtalentisfromlocalcolleges&universities.

Oftenthesefacilitieshavealumniwebsitesorstudentslookingfor

relevantexperienceduringholidaybreaks.Itisoftenthecasethatroles

canbeadvertisedforfreeonthededicatedcareerswebsitesandinorder

tofurtheradvertise,universitiescansometimesallowflyersandposters,

aswellasattendanceattheircareersevents.

15Recruitment Advertising Guide Writing Recruitment Ads That Work

TIP:Therearemanywebsites

whichprovideshortened

linksforsocialmedia.Justa

fewexamplesarebit.ly,

ow.lyandgoo.gl

I tmayseemlikethere’salottoconsiderwhenwritingtheperfectrecruitmentadvert,buttakingthetimetoproperlyplan,identifyyouraudience,writeyouradandshareitacrossthemost

effectivechannelswillproveinvaluable.Notonlywillyouensureyousecuretheinterestoftoptalentforyourvacancies,you’llalsobedoingwondersforthedevelopmentofyouremployerbrand.Recruitmentadsareakeycomponentofyouremployerbrandcontentandshouldbegiventheattentiontheydeserve.

Makesureyouallowtimetotailoryouractivityforeachroleandyoureallywillreaptherewards!

CONCLUSION

16Recruitment Advertising Guide Writing Recruitment Ads That Work

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