Ten Tips for Effective Online Job Postings

Julie Shenkman
Posted by in Human Resources


With candidates in short supply, there is fierce competition between companies for qualified candidates. Effective online recruitment advertising can be the key to attracting the talent your company needs. The cornerstone of this type of advertising is the job posting.

An online job posting must be approached differently than traditional employment advertising. The following ten tips will help you create effective online job postings.

No misspellings in your job posting.

Your job posting is often the first introduction that a job seeker has to your company. Don't ruin that critical first impression with misspellings. It makes your company look unprofessional, and is likely to repel candidates. Proofreading is vital.

Specify a salary range for your job posting.

Although many companies are reluctant to post a salary range, our statistics show us that candidates almost always begin by including salary in their search criteria. Specifying a salary range for your job posting means that your job will appear more often in the search results of job seekers.

Disclose your company name in the job posting.

Candidates prefer to know the name of the company to which they send a job application. There can be compelling reasons for a company to want to keep its job posting anonymous, but our statistics show that these companies will get less in the way of viewings and applications than other postings for comparable jobs.

Put as many keywords in your job description as you can.

Candidates are going to find your job posting by searching using keywords that are meaningful to them. Make sure that appropriate keywords are contained in your job posting. This will assist you in getting more qualified candidates to view your job posting.

Promote your company in the job posting.

You're not just telling candidates about a job, you're selling them on your company. Unlike newspaper advertisements, you don't pay for space by the line or the word. If your company is an industry leader, tell the job candidates. You've got room to highlight the company's track record. Use it.

Explain what makes your company unique and attractive to applicants.

OK. It's a great company but why would a candidate want to work there? Is it a short commute? Does the company offer benefits, an education subsidy or a pleasant working environment? These are things that candidates want to know about.

Describe your benefits, emphasizing any special perks your company may have.

Job seekers almost always want to know whether a company offers benefits, especially healthcare and dental. Beyond the core benefits, there are some things that just stand out in the minds of job seekers. If there are special perks to employment with your organization, then highlight them. Perks could be monetary, like stock options, but they don't have to be. Perks can be things like free membership in a local fitness club, ready access to jogging trails or flexible hours.

A job seeker doesn't want to switch jobs only to end up in a dead-end position with no career advancement possibilities. Assure them that advancement is possible and that the individual will be able to grow within their new position.

When specifying a title for a job, use a more traditional title so applicants understand what the position is.

Many companies now are using very creative job titles. Something like "Cyber Taxation Specialist" may be an intriguing job title but not too many people are likely to find it in a search. Plus, it's difficult for a job seeker to evaluate whether they may be qualified for the job when they see it in a list with twenty other jobs. After all, is "Cyber Taxation Specialist" a $35,000 job opportunity or a $75,000 job opportunity?

Make sure the job posting is not too lengthy.

As mentioned previously, Internet job postings are not like newspaper advertisements. You can make your job posting as long as you want. By all means, create a detailed and informative job posting for job seekers to peruse. But, there are still some practical limitations. A screenful of text is a good practical limit, or two at most.

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