As demand for highly coveted marketing skillsets heats up, the importance of writing a great online job posting increases. We’ve put together some quick tips to ensure your job posts are as effective as possible.
1. Usability matters! A good job description should be cleanly formatted and flow in a logical manner such as: job description, details, requirements, company information and contact information. Keep the job description as concise as possible.
2. Don’t hide the brand — even if the job post is for a young, small company, don’t make the company anonymous or you’ll significantly limit your response. Candidates tend to distrust anonymous listings and, consequently will skip over them. Instead, be transparent. Even if it’s a post for a new company, represent it honestly and make clear what differentiates the company from other companies. Your post should answer the question: Why is this a great place to work?
3. Your company overview should include information on the company’s mission, goals, industry, headquarters, states and countries of operation, total number of employees, annual sales, etc. Keep in mind that the potential applicant may not have conducted any research on the company before reading your description. Even if the company is well known, don’t assume that a job seeker knows company information. A candidate may be familiar with the brand yet know little or nothing about the company’s operations. The purpose of your job description is to engage the targeted job seeker — to “hook” them and inspire them to want to learn more about the company. Consider it the starting point for the job seeker’s research on the company.
4. List key responsibilities, the department and the reporting structure. Include all of the mandatory skills and qualifications. Make clear distinctions between what is preferred and what is mandatory. How many years of experience do you want? What are the required skills, certifications, licenses, level of technical proficiency and education needed?
5. Watch and limit the cliches and exaggerations. Superstar, rockstar, brilliant, guru, wiz, can all come with connotations that may turn off some great potential candidates. It can also reflect poorly or conflict with the brand image. Reflect the company’s brand and culture. Is it fun and lively? Is it conservative? Write the job post accordingly to attract the right fit for the corporate culture.
