6 Steps to Building a Stellar Job Posting

The first strategy in recruiting 5-Star Employees to work for your organization is to build an engaging and detailed job post that will attract them.

How else would those 5-Star Employees know you’re looking for them?

 Building a job advert can be a tough feat, especially considering the internet’s effect on the job market— many jobs today can be applied for with one click of a mouse.

As convenient as it may be, favoring quick and concise content over value has turned many job adverts into vague position descriptions using very few words to draw candidates in.           

Listen up, business owners far and wide! The truth is you don’t want to adjust to the changing tide of fast readers and swift job applicants.

The candidates who prefer the “easy” apply features and would rather submit resumes than fill out applications are your 1, 2 and 3-star employees. 

You need to repel these types of candidates and attract 5-star candidates…how you ask?  By going ALL IN on your job postings.

The elements you need are merely extensions of traditional job advert.  It’s important to include more detail wherever you can, but remember to keep it digestible (thanks to the swiftness of the internet, many folks don’t have large attention spans to read long-winded job postings).

There is a line between too much information and being too vague or brief; you need to find that sweet spot.

Modern components for a well-rounded job post that will attract 5-Star Employees are as follows: a catchy title, a short summary of the position, specific success metrics for the role, any job requirements, a passionate company voice, and a code word filter.

Including each of these components is guaranteed to make your job posting better and different than the rest:

• Catchy Title

Stepping out-of-the-box to create a unique posting title will get you noticed, e.g.  if you are looking for someone great in math, instead of saying that in the posting title, try – Love Puzzles and Solving Problems.  See the difference?  Which one would get your attention?

• Summary of position

You want to include a short, detailed summary of any job positions you list. Without a summary, candidates can only assume what the position title truly means in your organization. This will turn 5-Star candidates who need more information away and attract those less qualified.

• Success metrics for the role

You want to quantify success for your applicants.

Take a graphic design job advert for example: instead of must create graphics daily, the advert should say 3 new graphics expected at the end of each work week.

Detailing what you expect a role to accomplish will attract passionate candidates who are searching for specificity and repel lazy candidates who don’t feel like reading the fine print in a job posting.

This will also repel candidates who don’t want to work but are looking for a steady paycheck. If they see all expected duties quantified like this, many subpar candidates will be scared away by accountability.

• Job requirements

Including requirements for your positions will narrow your search and attract the candidates who better fit the exact role you’re recruiting for. Requiring certain degrees or experience will help you to find a candidate who will not be surprised about the job when they walk in on the first day.

• Passionate voice

It’s always exciting when companies have their own fun and trendy voice. Have you seen Wendy’s starting twitter fights with other fast food chains?

While we don’t encourage brawling with your competitors on social media, using a unique company voice will make for a far more engaging and assertive job posting.

You can make a good impression with your community and attract passionate candidates by weaving your own passion into your organization’s job postings, advertisements, and media presence.

• Code word for application eligibility

This final step serves as a hiring hack. Listing a code word somewhere within your application candidates must use when applying for a position will act as a filter, e.g.  think of something unique within your company or the position to use as a code word, or use something quirky like Purple Squirrel.

When requiring a code word, you can tell which candidates do not follow directions from the start. Including code words in applications and emails is always an easy way to filter out ho-hum job candidates who lack the passion to do their job well.

Incorporating these steps when creating your job adverts will help you attract your desired 5-Star candidates and repel the 1, 2, and 3-star folks that make you want to rip your hair out.

Have you successfully incorporated any of these steps when building your job adverts? Which step works the best for you?