Recognising our candidate short market, it's imperative that employers put some thought into the ads they're posting.

Rather than "advertise" available roles, focus more on "marketing" or "selling" the role. 

We must sell both our businesses and our available roles to future employees. It's all about helping candidates see themselves in the role and encouraging them to feel engaged and eager to join your team. 

Five points for a great job ad;

A brief overview of the business and your facility and why it's a great place to work. Don't focus on equipment or "state of the art", talk about your values and beliefs and specifically show why it's a great place to work. This is about selling the business to candidates, not simply selling the business.

What are the benefits of working for YOU (specifically) - For example, any initial and ongoing training and development, career progression opportunities, and a solid team culture. This is where you sell your available opportunity beyond being a job ad.

What the role entails - Help the reader see themselves doing the role. The more realistic the representation of the role, the more likely the hire will stay in the role.

Required Qualifications - Less is more. Hire for attitude and train for skill. There are things you need, like relevant qualifications. Don't place too much emphasis on anything that can be taught; like knowledge of a specific software program, for example, should not be listed as a required skill.

What the recruitment process looks like - Let them know what to expect and be sure to follow through. The way you treat all applicants will influence the way you are perceived as an employer.

For more information on the topic, here is another article that helps with your overall recruitment strategy.

You can also download a PDF we recently published on Creating Job Ads That Work - the information comes from a survey of more than 100 Personal Trainers.

I hope this helps and if you have any questions please get in touch.

Need to post an ad? It starts here.