HELP WANTED: 5 Tips on Job Posting Basics & Getting Better Candidates

Wallpaper peeler, sleep clinic yawn counter, turkey wrangler and parachute tester … are these the best Halloween costumes of 2008? Actually, they are excerpts from a very interesting list of the most unusual jobs current employees admitted to once having which Amy spotlighted earlier this month. 

The titles alone were intriguing—but also imagine the job posting that would have been crafted for each position. What would it say? Let’s consider the parachute tester, for instance, taking the sophisticated approach:

“Looking for exciting and adventurous work? Want to help save the lives of others?

For 60 years, ACME, a company that makes everything, has bettered the lives of consumers of all ages through our wide array of products, and currently desires qualified candidates to serve as one of our talented, thrill-seeking Parachute-Deployment Specialists.

In this capacity, the individual will accompany other members of the PDS team on high-altitude excursions to ensure the proper mechanics, durability and methodology has been utilized in producing ACME-brand parachutes before the commencement of beta-testing with sky-diving members of the general public. Your parachuting involvement will also help determine flawed operating systems and advance our ground-breaking technology to help protect the lives of daredevil recreationalists, military specialists and rescue team members. College degree, previous experience not required.”

Or the very straight forward one:

“Got nothing to lose? Help test our parachutes. If successful, you’ll help save a life and earn extra cash. If not, well… let’s just say upfront, ‘thanks for helping us find the flaws in our design.’”

It makes quite a difference in how it’s written, doesn’t it?

The challenge with writing job postings is you want to sell the opportunity as effectively as possible while being careful not to embellish the description, otherwise you’ll mislead the candidate who found the posting when typing Schenectady, NY parachute tester in his or her search query.
 
The ultimate goal is not just attracting candidates, but getting interest from the most qualified among the field of numerous job seekers. A bland, mediocre or inaccurate job posting will get you candidates who are bland, mediocre or bad fits. But investing time and effort into creating a well-crafted job description will net a huge return in the best pool of candidates. We’ll explore job postings further in subsequent posts, but for starters, let’s look at five basic tips to writing an effective job posting:

Seek Yourself
Before diving into your own job posting, check to see how others are listing similar positions. Determine which ones stand out, and the strengths and weaknesses for each. Check the layouts, how the position is presented and what the companies say about themselves. Scouting the “competition” will give you an idea of where to start when crafting your posting.

Write the Right Words
Most job seekers will use specific search words relative to the available positions they hope to find. Therefore, your posting should have as many relevant key words as possible. For instance, if your posting is for a nurse, include the word “nurse” repeatedly along with “registered nurse,” “RN,” and “BSN,” among others. Try not to overuse the same keywords again and again, but at the same time, avoid titles that would be unfamiliar for the position. Ask yourself, “Would I use this to search for the position?” “Care-giving health professional” or “accoucheuse” probably won’t net many results. Make the words work effectively for you.

Give Details
Don’t leave little to the imagination. When job postings have more detailed descriptions, candidates tend to apply more. Therefore, make sure you include the following items: a description of the position and requirements, the duties it will involve, information on the company and the opportunity presented, and a breakdown of the benefits and intangibles. Providing all of this data will allow you to weed out some unqualified candidates and pique the interest of those who are. Don’t worry about sharing TMI—you’d rather offer too much than too little information.

Use Good Job-Posting Feng Shui
Make your posting easy to read, directing candidates through it quickly and effectively. Using HTML, bullet points, italics, bolded and underlined statements, paragraph breaks, centering and other formatting features will create a reader-friendly posting that highlights the most important aspects of the job. A posting that is pleasing to the eyes will also give a good first impression of your company.

Sell Your Sizzle
Open with information about your company. While current employment trends show more job seekers than opportunities, employers should not take that to mean they will have the pick of the litter. People are still hiring, so there is more than one opportunity for the best talent out there. Therefore, sell your company to the job seeker, explaining not just the position’s responsibilities, but why your company is considered a great place to work and what it’s doing to stand out in your industry.

If you happen to actually be looking for a parachute tester, feel free to use the description within this post and (warning: shameless plug) take advantage of our Job Postings to attract the right skydiving candidate or whatever open position you have available with your company.

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• Posted by: CB Staff Writer on October 31, 2008
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• Categories: Job Postings, Products