Better Job Ads = Better Candidates
By Andrew Hammer

How many times have you seen (or written) a job advertisement that looks like this?

Large manufacturer seeks ME or EE with 10+ yrs process or prod. mgmt exp Must have exp w/ 2 axis milling mach & weld testing. Salary commensurate w/ exp – full benefits + 401k & pd vac Send resume to:

I think we can all agree that in today’s competitive candidate marketplace, an ad like that is a complete waste of time and money.

The best and most qualified job seekers are passive in nature. Even when they take the active step of visiting a job board or looking in a trade publication, they are still passively looking for opportunities. They are quickly scanning job ads looking for premium opportunities to advance their careers. These are what I call ‘Drive-By Job Seekers’ – qualified, motivated, star performers that are only looking for opportunities with clear advantages for them. Just like driving down the street passing fast food restaurant after fast food restaurant, these job seekers will continue to drive past your job ads until they are somehow different and better than all the others. Your job ads must reach out and grab the attention of these job seekers and engage them so they stop, look, and listen to your message. Cryptic ads full of abbreviations, requirements, and devoid of pertinent details simply don’t work.

According to Dr. John Sullivan, “…the very highest quality candidates have estimated drop off rates as high as 90% once they have scanned your position description.” This means that if you are not putting your very best foot forward, at the first contact with ‘Drive By Job Seekers’, you are losing your first and often only opportunity to capture these candidates. Dr. Sullivan goes on to say, “If you want to dramatically increase the number of high-quality candidates who apply directly to you, you must first realize that after your company’s image, the first opportunity you have to really excite them about your firm and this particular job is when they begin to read your actual position description.”

What then, does a good job advertisement, capable of capturing the attention of the candidates you need to recruit look like? And, how do you, an HR professional, craft ads that will differentiate your company and jobs from every other opportunity?

What does a good job ad look like?
Structurally, a good job ad looks very similar to the ads you are accustomed to writing. However, the order in which information is presented and the type of information is fundamentally different. A good job ad contains several key elements that contribute to its overall effectiveness.

1. A unique and attention grabbing title – Given that your job advertisement has somewhere between 2 and 5 seconds to capture the attention of the high caliber talent you are seeking, the title better be good. Nothing too off-the-wall, but certainly attention grabbing. Consider the difference in these ad titles.

Aircraft structures design and testing versus Structural engineer
Regional Delivery Driver – no overnights versus Truck Driver
Consumer Banking Loan Officer versus Banking

In all three cases, there is additional detail in the position title that can drastically affect the perception of the position and impact the desire of candidates to apply. Each position title also contains some keywords that will help your job ad to be found by job seekers utilizing text searching. Most importantly, the title should capture your target candidates’ attention and convince them quickly to continue reading your advertisement.

2. A complete and compelling description that puts the information a candidate wants to see upfront. Me. Me. Me. Me. Me. What’s In It For ME? That is the question every ‘Drive By Job Seeker’ expects you to answer. So, focus on What’s In It For the Candidate first and spell out the mundane requirements later in the ad.

A survey conducted by Accenture in late 2006 yielded the following results for the most important priorities of job seekers (multiple answers allowed):

• 60% Challenging and interesting work
• 58% Recognition and rewards
• 44% Opportunity for fast career growth and advancement
• 42% Employer is financially strong/will prosper in the long run
• 42% Employer is people-oriented.

With this information in mind, your advertisement should lead with the answer to this question: “What is challenging or interesting about this particular job?” If your candidates will be working with the newest equipment or best software explain that in detail. If your candidates will be working with the brightest minds in your industry, highlight this early in your ad. If you are designing a new aircraft engine that will reduce emissions, focus on the benefits to society. Whatever it is that makes this an exciting job, find it and focus on it.

Next, your advertisement should inform your candidates about performance expectations, metrics, and rewards, keeping in mind that many rewards are not financial. ‘Drive By Job Seekers’ want to know how they will be measured and how they will be rewarded. These star performers are often times motivated more by responsibility than by money. Make sure you include details on how your company recognizes and rewards excellent performance.

3. Formatting Matters – Various studies on Internet usage and behavior all indicate that you have less than 10 seconds to capture the attention of a Web site visitor before they have made a decision to continue reading or click away to another ad, page, or site. Consider the following quote from the March 16, 2006 Interbiznet Bugler “Realize first that you have less than 2 seconds to capture the mind’s eye of your ad reader. The first quarter- to-half-second, the human eye scans colors and shapes and in the next 1.5 seconds drinks the bold type and entire first line. A headline with five words or less is where the viewer decides whether to continue or move on. If your job headline does not lead to a benefit or take longer than 3 seconds to “show the money” in your digital ad; guess what? You lose. The vast majority scan a job posts headline and pick up only the bold or italicized copy and dollar signs. Less than 17% of online job seekers read word-by-word. Your ad does not mention specific money or benefits? You lose a great number of your qualified readers in the blink of an eye.”

Within a job ad, the formatting of text, the usage of color, and the layout of your ad can greatly affect your results. Think again about the ‘Drive By Job Seeker’, what is it about your advertisement that is going to make the candidates you are seeking STOP, LOOK, & LISTEN to your recruiting message? Some specifics to include within your job advertisement include:

• The Attention Grabbing Title – repeat the title of the ad within the ad copy itself and use formatting to focus attention on the key elements.
• Use colors, bolding, italics, and other formatting sparingly to emphasize the most important elements in your ad without creating clutter.
• Include your company, division, or product logo within the job advertisement. You have worked hard to build your brand and it can work hard for you in your recruiting efforts and job ads.
• Chunk your ad text to make it more readable.
• Align your ad copy (text) so that your advertisement focuses the readers eyes from top left corner to top right corner to lower left corner to lower right corner. The typical reading pattern for a Web page is in the shape of a large Z and formatting your ad to make it easier for readers to follow this pattern can increase results.

4. Provide a clear path – Every job advertisement must include a clear path for candidates to follow. This includes clear direction on how to apply, how to follow up, and where to find additional information about the company. A link to your company’s home page is good, but it is better to link directly to the specific pages or areas of your Web site that the candidate will be interested in, like benefits, vacation policy, daycare options, local points of interest, etc.
Make it easy! Always remember you are competing for the best ‘Drive By Job Seekers’, the competition really heats up as the candidates continue to experience your company, your Web site, your people, etc. Make sure that your best candidates can easily understand how to work with you so that they remain motivated throughout your hiring process.

How do you, an HR professional write compelling job ads that will capture the attention of highly skilled candidates?

1. Understand the Job - The first step to writing an effective job advertisement is to fully understand the job. Take the time to intimately know about the job you are recruiting for and learn about why it is an integral part of the success of your company. Step outside your normal channel of information by going directly to people in your organization who are performing the same or similar jobs. Spend time with these key people and interrogate them about the key elements of their job. Once you know why this position is integral to the overall success of the company, learn what happens if this job is not done or not done well. This is where you will find most of the answers needed to construct a quality job advertisement as outlined above; things like why is the job challenging or interesting, what motivates these employees, how are they measured, and how are they rewarded.

2. Think and write like an advertiser – Now I know that most HR professionals have had little or no formal training in advertising or marketing, but that is no excuse for not crafting a well written job ad that any advertising agency would be proud of. Rich Bossler, an 18 year veteran of the radio advertising industry has this to say about recruitment advertising, “if you walk across the hall to the marketing department, they will tell you that it takes a consistent, compelling and frequent message to get the best consumers to visit your store or use your service. It takes that same type of consistent, compelling and frequent message to get the best candidates to apply for your open positions.” When you write your job ads, use compelling words and phrases to convey your message. Use action words, positive statements, and your own colloquialisms to appeal to your ideal candidates’ emotions, remembering that most people don’t change jobs because they need to; they change because they want to.

3. Think like your perfect candidate – What motivates an engineer is usually very different than what motivates a sales person. What stimulates an accountant to take action is typically different from what stimulates a programmer. When writing your job ads, think like your candidates. Write your advertisements using words and phrases that are familiar to them. Design each advertisement to speak clearly and directly to those specific candidates you are seeking. Recognize that candidates communicate differently based on their professional discipline and that candidates from different generations each need to be addressed using terms they are comfortable with.

4. Use EMOTION not Logic – Most people don’t change jobs because they need to, they change jobs because they want to. Changing jobs or careers is a very emotional activity. Tap into that emotion in each and every job advertisement you write. If you adhere to the steps outlined above, you are already starting to communicate to the emotions of your candidates by focusing on why the work is challenging and interesting. Continue to inspire your prime candidates to apply for your positions by appealing directly to their emotions by explaining why the company is a great place to work, how this job will further their career, and what the benefits are to the candidate today.

When you are competing for the best talent in the marketplace, better job ads = better candidates. Writing effective job advertisements only takes some creative thinking and effort, and when you successfully create stimulating advertisements that speak directly to your prime candidates, they will stop driving by your ads and start taking action to apply, inquire for more specifics, or refer a friend.

Andrew Hammer is President of CareerMarketplace, Inc., a leading network of profession-specific employment Web sites focused on engineering, sales, information technology, and healthcare. Mr. Hammer has over 10 years of experience with Internet recruiting as a former Director of Internet Strategy and Vice President of Top Echelon Network, the world’s largest Network of independent recruiters. In his current role he works with employers from across the United States to create candidate sourcing opportunities that allow his clients to compete in the global “war for talent.”