5 tips to write a ridiculously effective job ad
Finding the right person for an open position can be pretty hard. There are tons of people out there looking for jobs, but actually getting them to reply to your vacancy can be a real challenge.
At Unicorn Hunt, we see hundreds of job postings come in every month. Some of them are well-written and end up getting a ton of replies. Others leave much to be desired.
But writing a stellar job post doesn’t have to be hard — you just need to keep in mind a couple of key factors. I’ll run you through them.
1. Let the culture shine through
You work at an amazing company — so why hide it? Too many posts are terribly dry and extremely boring to read, giving possible applicants a bad impression of how it would be to work there. Instead, try to let the text represent your company’s culture and give them a feel of why it’s fun to work there.
2. Be welcoming
Lots of job ads are written like they’re providing a service to the reader. This is a big red flag — it gives potential candidates the feeling they’re not being appreciated. Writing in a friendlier, more open tone can help push some hesitant candidates over the line.
It’s all about being approachable, sounding like a human and watching out for gender bias in your writing — you’re writing for everyone. A tool like Textio can help with using the right language in your post.
3. Shorter = better
Job hunters spend a lot of time browsing and applying to jobs — and they hate it. Be respectful of their time by limiting the length of your post, and more people will end up reading it.
4. Be unique without being ridiculous
Every day, an insane number of job posts hit the internet — saying you need to stand out would be an understatement. Make your ad fun to read and use unique phrasing, but don’t overdo it. Nobody likes working for someone who uses ten exclamation marks.
5. Try to give a clear salary indication
If there’s one thing people don’t like talking about, it’s money. Often, the subject is only touched upon at the end of the interview process, just before signing a contract. This puts a lot of pressure on salary negotiations, and could eventually cause problems before signing a contract.
Instead, try to give an indication of how much someone would be making in the position — this way, everything is clear from the start.
Some examples of great posts
It’s easier to follow by example, right? Here are two companies showing how to do it.
MedicSpot chose to stand out by using a video for its post—a great eye catcher that explains what the company is all about, while sharing the fun of working there.
Then there’s Simply Business with a post that, once again, uses a video for visual effect. But there’s something that’s even more interesting—they like to boast about themselves. In a good way.
By noting that the company made it to the Sunday Times Top 100 Best Companies to Work for two years in a row, it quickly becomes clear why working for them would be a great experience.
There you go! Everything you need to make your job posting stand out and attract more applicants. What kind of tricks do you use? Share them with us in the comments.
