3 ways to make your job posting more attractive

Cream-of-the-crop candidates don’t have the same needs as what most candidates are looking for work. These top performers don’t just want another job; they want better jobs.

But most job ads are written towards candidates who need a job. These ads are overstuffed with skills, duties and responsibilities, and are often negative in tone. They simply do not inspire the best to apply.

The best way to get quality candidates interested in your opening is to create a job posting that attracts candidates. Consider these three tips on how to improve your job posting and make it more attractive. 

1. Know what candidates you’re looking for

One common way to improve your job posting is to categorize candidates as active or passive job seekers. Active candidates are aggressively looking for another job, and passive candidates are gainfully employed but open to exploring new career opportunities when they are presented. Some recruiters mistakenly assume that all passive candidates are great and all active candidates are not great, but you’ll find some of each in both groups.

The best a recruiter can hope for is a great active candidate responding to a job posting. But posting a typical job ad won’t attract this person. You need a compelling job description that incorporates the motivating factors for top candidates, who accept jobs based on what they’ll be learning, doing and becoming.

2. Write a better job description

It’s not just the job that’s important; it’s the opportunity to grow on the job. Great job descriptions need to capture this. The focus should be on the future, not the past. Skills and experiences don’t mean everything; activities need to be emphasised. Combine this with a job title that will grab their attention and you have a winning job ad.

Don’t be afraid to put some personality into your job description. Candidates will spend many hours trawling through hundreds of job postings, many indistinguishable from the next.

If they come across one with a: humorous, positive, forward-thinking and motivating tone this will not only get the attention of active job seekers, but they will also attract a few of the top passive candidates who are just browsing after a tough day.

And rather than just forwarding on a generic copy of their CV, if they can see that you have put thought and time into your job posting, they will be more likely to put the same into rewriting their CV so you can see their full potential. Better quality CVs make the selection process a whole lot easier.

3. Create better opportunities

Virtually everyone is open to a situation that’s clearly superior to their current one. If you can convey that opportunity in your job posting, you’ll be making great strides towards dramatically reducing your cost and time to hire, without reducing your standards.

Regardless of your sourcing medium (advertising, career fairs, referral and network programs, database mining, calling potential candidates, etc) it’s the attraction piece that’s most important.

You’ll need to interest a top candidate enough who is willing to endure the subsequent interview and assessment process. Advertising and sourcing programs need to offer more than just another job; they need to offer a better job, so make sure that your grass looks greener.