Ensuring you gather the best possible team in your organisation is integral to success, and the first crucial step in this process is writing the perfect job ad.
Amid talks of talent shortages in Ireland and abroad, writing a job ad can be a daunting endeavour.
You have to juggle getting your point across with ensuring you retain the attention of applicants.
It is said that the internet has decimated attention spans worldwide, putting us at a lower scale than a goldfish in terms of how long we can actually focus.
Furthermore, after tracking the website activity of jobseekers, it transpired that the average potential applicant will spend a mere 49.7 seconds on a job ad before dismissing a position as a poor fit.
It’s certainly a lot of pressure, and it may seem difficult to ascertain exactly what will make people sit up and notice your open position in a sea of employers and candidates.
To help you, Headway Capital has compiled this infographic to help demystify the process of attracting top applicants.
Your job title should be clear – keeping things vague will only frustrate applicants and potentially waste their time. Avoid using internal acronyms or titles specific to your company that are difficult to find on search engines – you need to engineer your ad according to what you think your ideal candidate will be searching for.
Keep your introductions snappy to avoid losing people before you’ve even begun. The introduction can be make or break – indeed, four times as many people read the introduction than the ad itself to decide if they want to apply.
Company reputation is becoming an increasingly important factor in determining whether people apply or not, so don’t forget to include some essential details to illuminate what your organisation does and the company culture within.
Recruitment can often be frustrating, but it doesn’t have to be. If you’re interested in honing your job ad to maximise its efficacy, check out the tips below.
Image: Headway Capital
