Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed
The following is an approximate transcript.
HEATHER: Hello and thank you for joining Episode 28 of Talent Connection, a podcast about connecting job seekers and employers, produced by Cachinko. My name is Heather Huhman, and I am the founder & president of Come Recommended, as well as the Career & Recruiting Advisor for Cachinko. I’m joined by my co-host, Tony Morrison.
TONY: Thank you Heather and good morning. My name is Tony Morrison and I am the vice president of Cachinko. We help job seekers find jobs matched to their specific skills and preferences, and we operate a job matching and career networking application on Facebook.
HEATHER: Today’s episode is “How to Scare Good Candidates Away with a Bad Job Posting.” Let’s get started. What does it take to write a job posting?
TONY: Technically, it takes a job opening, a clear definition of the position description from the hiring manager, and a list of qualifications and requirements for a person to perform that job well.
More specifically, a job posting is a way to provide a description of the position and qualifications required to advertise that open position. It should include an explanation of the duties involved, a summary company description, the salary and benefits, and other selling points like company culture or interesting products or projects.
A good job posting sets the proper expectations for any applicants, but it should also dissuade unqualified people from applying.
HEATHER: Now, are there certain types of companies that use job postings?
TONY: Every company uses job postings. This is how they get found and filled. Some postings are public and broadcast out to many large general and smaller niche industry and professional job boards. Some are shared selectively with employees or predefined referral network to fill the jobs through referrals. Even if the company only fills a position through internal movement or through a referral, recruiting for the position essentially started with a job requisition and a posting.
So, consider the job posting a form of brand marketing and always use a standard practice of composing and communicating the necessary information to your target candidates to whom you want to advertise your jobs.
HEATHER: So speaking of that standard of practice, what would you say are the basic elements of a job posting?
TONY: There are several very important elements to a good job posting. The job title, the company and brand, position description and details, and the use of relevant and familiar keywords.
You must use job titles that will be familiar to your audience. The job title is the most important section of a job posting. The job title is the most common search phrase used by the job seeker, and it is the first thing that will catch the job seekers’ eye in their search. You want to use specific and familiar job titles in postings. Some people argue that you should use creative job ads that will catch someone’s attention. In my opinion, you want to be found first, and since the title is your first impression in their search, you want the title to resonate well with the job seeker the first time they read it, or they may just pass over it. In other words, an attempt at creativity could backfire on you.
Job seekers want to know about the company too, and this is your chance to advertise your company brand. Include your logo, a brief description about the company, products, and your company culture. If the position involves training, then include this as well; that could be exciting for some of your job seekers. Give the viewers of your company description something concise and memorable so they can relay that information effectively to their networks. Your brand message and the job opening that’s available might be interesting to someone else in their network. You want them to be able to relay that information very clearly to their networks.
Use relevant keywords in your job description to optimize the posting and make sure that you are found by the search engines. Keywords and the title are the most important elements of your job posting. Keywords dictate how you are found and ranked by the search engine. Since the full text of the job posting will be searched, include the relevant keywords in multiple sections of the job posting and provide all important details in each section.
Lastly, it should include a call-to-action. For instance, give the interested viewer a way to contact the company, apply to the job, follow the company, share the job with their friends and colleagues, or refer someone specific from their network to that job.
HEATHER: So you’ve described the things that should be included, is there anything that a job posting avoid?
TONY: The job posting is your chance to be found and make a good first impression. So, be yourself. Be authentic. Tell your audience what you want without a lot of marketing fluff. Avoid that marketing fluff, and don’t try to be too creative or humorous…or don’t try to be too cool or embellish. You have a serious need to fill a job. You want the right people who will fit well with your company culture, and you want someone who can contribute and grow with your company. So just say that, and be clear about it.
Don’t leave elements of your job posting blank either.
You should always bullet point lists like skills and qualifications but avoid using word processor bullets. Use simple hyphens or asterisks since bullets generally do not convert to HTML well.
Geo-target your job posting, but don’t get too specific around your job location. Candidates may consider a wider geography in their search and be comfortable with a longer commute.
In addition, you should not get too industry specific. You should include your industry, but you should also consider that job seekers with similar applicable professional experience from other industries might also be excellent candidates. Potential candidates may search by industry, so you can increase your chances of being found by high quality candidates by linking your job posting with multiple industries.
HEATHER: And, how can job postings attract good candidates?
TONY: The first and most important step to attracting good candidates is to be authentic. Convey to the reader all the elements of a good posting, and be sure that they understand the challenges and expectations to be successful in the position. The best candidates will get excited about rising to the challenge and exceeding your expectations.
Think of this as your first opportunity to engage your prospective candidates. If you simply post a job description, list a few basic details about the company, and leave other elements blank, or use ambiguous information like, competitive salary or commensurate with experience, etc., then you are not speaking to your candidates. In other words, if you just go through the motions when posting your jobs, then expect job seekers to go through the motions as well; and you will find that many unqualified job seekers will click-to-apply to your jobs.
Using everything I have described so far…concisely illustrate for your target candidates exactly what it would mean to be successful in the position.
You can use some creative ways to reach your audience, and you should involve social media and implement a social recruiting strategy to find top candidates. Whether you are posting your jobs on the same old job boards, expertly driving traffic back to your career site with a multi-pronged recruitment marketing campaign, or experimenting with 2-3 minute hiring manager videos, it all starts with knowing who and what you want to fill a position successfully, and knowing how to ask for it in your job posting.
HEATHER: Thanks so much, Tony. That’s all the time we have for today. You’ve been listening to Talent Connection, a podcast about connecting job seekers and employers, produced by Cachinko. For details about the next episode, please visit blog.cachinko.com.
Recent Comments