A Job Ad for the Ages
By Peter D. Weddle
Weddles.com
In an economy that is enjoying virtually full employment, the competition to attract
and hold the attention of high caliber prospective candidates is fierce. As parallel
pressures mount to cut the time and cost of filling position vacancies, corporate and
third party recruiters alike are using the Internet to supplement their traditional
practices. In the process, they are developing and refining an array of techniques to use
that medium for promoting employment opportunities and sourcing candidates.
Today, there is much ado about building recruitment areas on corporate home pages,
selecting general and niche recruitment Web-sites, mining resumes at Usenet newsgroups,
e-mail-based electronic networking and relationship building through sponsored
professional development sites. All of these techniques can be extraordinarily effective.
Ultimately, however, the battle for the best and brightest will be won or lost with the
on-line job ad.
This hardy little statement is still the primary method by which job
seekers—passive as well as active—find, acquire information about and evaluate
employment opportunities in cyberspace. Whether it is posted on a recruitment Web-site,
lobbed into a newsgroup or enclosed in an e-mail message, the on-line job ad is the
ultimate, irreducible currency of recruitment on the Internet. The challenge for
individual recruiters, therefore, is to craft such ads so that they consistently generate
a satisfactory return, measured in the number of qualified candidates who respond to them.
As with print classifieds, there is both art and science to creating such an on-line
job ad, one which:
- Attracts great candidates,
- In adequate numbers,
- With the right stuff, and
- At just the right time
for effective staffing.
Expertly crafted on-line job ads can work magic with even the most passive of job
seekers, while poorly written ads will not move even the most determined employment
candidate. What spells the difference?
Increasingly, recruiters are discovering that the best on-line job ads are those which
use the special properties of cyberspace. Unlike classified ads which are constrained by
the limited and very expensive space of print publications, job postings can and should
tap the Internet’s more expansive dimensions. On-line job ads don’t have to be
compressed into one or two lines of copy or filled with the abbreviations and code words
devised for classified advertising. Indeed, the best job postings offer a complete and
compelling description of an employment opportunity. They are not so long as to be boring,
but long enough to both inform and sell the reader. Further, they use vocabulary and
images that grab, hold and persuade, not the mind numbing language of most job
descriptions. In short, print classifieds work like an elbow to the ribs, whereas good
on-line job ads raise goosebumps.
Similarly, job postings must not be static. Instead, they should use the interactive
capability of the Internet to engage job seekers in the ad’s message by enabling them
to participate in its expression. That can be accomplished by inserting a link in the
ad’s copy which connects prospective candidates to the organization’s
recruitment Web-site, if it has one, or to its corporate Web-site. In the latter case, the
link should move candidates directly to the employment area of the site where they have
immediate access to additional job-related information. In addition, the most effective
on-line job ads always include an e-mail connection or a link to an on-line application
form so that the job seeker can apply for the position immediately and directly from the
ad.
The Job Seeker’s Perspective
The other key to an effective on-line job posting is its perspective.
In essence, the ad should describe an employment opportunity so that it:
- Answers the key questions that would occur to most job seekers, and
- Sells the position by touching on the "hot buttons" or key interests and
concerns of prime candidates.
To meet those objectives, however, the ad must relate to a specific job seeker. And as
most recruiters know, there are several distinct cohorts within the candidate population,
each with an unique set of interests and goals. Among these groups, the two most important
are probably the active job seekers and their always elusive passive counterparts. The
secret to a truly effective job posting, then, is to include features and information that
will appeal to both of these cohorts. The following tips will get you started.
ACTIVE JOB SEEKERS
- Use terms that attract those who want a new job right away, such as "Immediate
Opening" or "Available Now."
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Peter D. Weddle
Biography
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