If you are getting a lot of applications but not quite the right profile/experience it might be that you could revamp your job advert to attract more relevant candidates.
Here is a few tweaks which might help –
- Make sure your advert stands out, and doesn’t sound like a lot of the other job ads out there. Strong candidates skim job boards quickly and if the ad blends in they might not stop. Rather than listing the usual “dynamic team, competitive salary, opportunity for progression” pick out some interesting points that make this job different and focus on those.
- Make sure the job advert does sound like a checklist “degree required, 5 years’ experience, industry background essential”. Instead try to focus on what problems the will solve, what impact they will have and what perks there might be.
- Is the salary clear? So many adverts don’t put a salary on, and many strong applicants are deterred by this ambiguity. Not because they are money driven but because they don’t want to waste time. Transparency builds trust and even a range is better than nothing at all or an ambiguous “competitive salary”.
- Wording does matter – you attract who you describe. “Stability, routine, structure” will attract more considered candidates where “fast progression, target focused” might attract more ambitious types. Think about the type of candidates you want to attract.
- Making the job role and responsibilities clear, without making it too long for the candidates to read. Pick out the key points that make it an efficient process for the best candidates whilst ensuring whoever applies knows what they are applying for.
- Do make sure the practical elements are clear – where the location is, what the hours are and if there is any hybrid working etc to make sure the right people can practically make the job work.
A simple test would be to read back the job ad – is all of it completely necessary? Is it clear, and would you apply for it?
We are very happy to help you to write a job advert or a job description that best captures the essence of a job role whilst making sure we attract the right candidates.
