Recently I read an article on writing Recruitment Adverts but instead of being over critical, I decided that it would make more sense to write my own and pass on what I believe makes a good ad. Over the years I have written thousands of adverts and as a result you get to know what works.
Fortunately when I started writing recruitment ads I had a great tutor, who pointed me in the right direction it was a shame he couldn’t help me with my grammar!
When it comes to writing your advert it comes down to 3 main points
1 Location
2 Presentation
3 Content
Location
The two main areas are Job Boards and Newspapers/Magazines
With Job Boards it is imperative to ensure your vacancy appears in the first 10 results, after which the candidate will not go much further. If you combine this with the fact that your vacancy has been advertised by many other agencies it could get ignored completely.
To get round this you should refresh or re publishing the vacancy regularly and ensure it has plenty of content i.e. key words for the search engines to rank the vacancy highly. If you have a bigger budget then you can always look at banner advertising.
It is also important to search as if you where a candidate, regularly to see how it fairs against the competition and how quickly it drops off top spot.
In regards to Magazine and News Paper advertising it is down to the budget you have, because the best positions have the premium price i.e. the top right hand corner and the bigger the better. With a bit of savvy and spending time analysing the publications, I have saved hundreds of pounds on advertising. For example I found that the center spot on the back page stood out, because all the other adverts acted as a frame for my semi display. It actually had a better response to ads 4 times the size costing 10 times the price.
Presentation
Here is it needs to stand out on the website or the publication, and it is about a balance between the content and how it looks spatially i.e. “less means more†the use of bold is important and if you can go the extra budget then a banners, logo or pictures will catch the candidates attention, but with pictures we are getting in the realms of using advertising agencies.
With Job boards you can generally write as much as you want, but it is important that the title and the first paragraph stands out to make the applicant read on.
Content
This is where most of your time is taken and it isn’t all about what is written but how you communicate to your target audience i.e. a brick layer will be very different to that of a HR Director. It is also important to know that their needs are the same. If you ask anyone “what is the most important thing they want from a job?†it will be Job Satisfaction.
You do not need to take my word for this as Maslow described our needs back in 1943, which is out lined below with the most important at the top.
1. Actualization
FULFILLMENT OF GOALS & DREAMS
Need for self-fulfilment. Desire to realize your full potential and become the best you are capable of becoming.
2 Status (esteem)
SELF RESPECT & ACCEPTANCE
Need for reputation, prestige, and recognition from others. Contains the desire to feel important, strong and significant.
3. Love/belonging
COMMUNICATION & RESPONSE
Need to be loved and to love. Includes the desire for affection and belonging.
4. Safety
SOCIAL SAFETY & SECURITY
Need to be safe from physical and psychological harm in the present and future, and trust in a predictable future.
5. Physiological (biological needs)
PHYSICAL SAFETY & SECURITY
Need to stay alive! Biological and cultural imperatives to live. Includes having enough healthy food, air, and water to survive
Taking the above into account will help you write better Recruitment Adverts because it isn’t like most ads in that they just say what they want its about appealing to the candidates dreams and goals.
So when I write my ads they always take the same format as below
Title (plus embellishments)
Package (if attractive + benefits)
Company Profile
Opportunity to sell company
Job Role
Emphasise interest, challenge and opportunity
Benefits
What the company can offer, the dreams an opportunities
Contact Details
Tags: recruitment adverts, recruitment, job ads, vacancy ads
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Hi, I am thinking of starting my own recruitment company and cooukd do with some advice on how I can pluck up the courage and go solo. I have been in recruitment for 7 months and Very confident at what I do. However don’t fgeel confident going alone?
su007@hotmail.co.uk
You should also take SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) into account. Be sure to use keyword rich titles and descriptions for your postings. Place the most important words at the beginning of the title. Try if you can to get links back to your recruitment site. Links and content are everything.