How to Create Job Postings That Attract Real Talent

Many people don’t think much about job postings, but it really is one of the most important ways to attract talent and filling open positions in a timely manner. A well-written job posting can help you stand out among competitors and attract the right candidates to your company.

The One Important Question

But before you go through this article, it’s important you ask yourself this one, integral question: What do you want in an employee at this moment for this particular job position? What is your team missing? There’s no point writing a job post when these basic questions aren’t answered or made clear, and this is a much more common than you’d think; Gallup found that only 5 percent of recruiters and hiring managers agreed that their job postings are an accurate reflection of the expected job role. Brainstorming and company process reviews can help you identify what type of asset your company should be looking for, and the type of employee your company is dire need of to accelerate their growth.

And now that we have that out of the way, here are a few tips on how to create a job add that will attract the right kind of talent that you need on your team.

Tip #1: Start with a clear job title

The job title is often the first thing a job seeker sees in a job posting, so it’s important to make it clear and accurate. Use a job title that accurately describes the role and is commonly used in the industry to avoid confusion and eliminate vagueness, so avoid using trendy or vague job titles that may confuse potential candidates. Remember, the job title must reflect the type of role you want your prospective employees to fill.

Tip #2: Write a compelling job summary

The job summary should be a brief and engaging overview of the position and the company. It should highlight the most important aspects of the job, such as the responsibilities, qualifications, and benefits. You’ll very often see job ads with descriptions that are no more than three lines, and provide little to no insight into the nature of the job, it’s perks and benefits, and the responsibilities that come with it. In fact, Jobvite’s 2022 Job Seeker Nation Report found that one of the most frustrating aspects of the job search for job seekers is the vague, unclear job descriptions that do not provide any pertinent details, such as a clear bullet list of responsibilities that they’re expected to fulfill.

Don’t leave details that you think would be important for candidates to know: create a bullet list of responsibilities that come with the role, a brief summary of the job description, the benefits and perks that come with the job, and the qualifications you’re looking for in a potential employee. Not only will you save your prospective employees the headache of deciphering the role you’re advertising, but you also won’t have to go through a pile of job applications that aren’t relevant to the role at all.

Tip #3: Use clear and concise language

In addition to listing important details job seekers might want to know, using clear and concise language in the job posting is also important in order to make it easier to understand for potential candidates. Concise language here doesn’t only mean tidying up your grammar and sentence structure, it also means being very precise about the role you want the prospective employee to play. Think of it like this: instead of describing your perfect candidate in the job positing, describe what the employee needs to be doing and the type of contribution you expect them to make towards the organization. Don’t focus on describing the profile of your perfect candidate, rather focus on the tasks you expect to be fulfilled that would make a perfect candidate to your team and organization.

Tip #4: Make it mobile-friendly

Finally, make sure that the job posting is mobile-friendly, as many job seekers use their mobile devices to search for jobs. Glassdoor has an entire study done on the rise of mobile-use for job seeking, and they found that about 58 percent of job seekers rely on their mobile devices to search for jobs at least once a day. Creating effective job postings is essential for attracting top talent to your company. By using clear and concise language, highlighting the benefits, and including specific requirements, you can attract the right candidates to your company. And don’t be afraid to reap the benefits of the many job platforms on the internet for job posting, such as job boards and social media platforms like LinkedIn or even certain Facebook communities.