Recruiting and Hiring Advice – How to write good job advertisements

Recruiting and Hiring Advice – How to write good job advertisements

To get the most out of your jobs on Swedish Startup Space, keep these guidelines in mind when writing your job title and description.

An Enticing Job Title

A vague job title or a description with only a few sentences offers limited information when matching your job to job seekers’ search queries. This makes it difficult for qualified job seekers to find your listing.

The most obvious way to increase visibility for your ad is to make the job title attractive. Internally, the role might be called “Global Head of Communications Support”, but if the type of person you want is someone who wants to work as a PR manager, use the title “PR manager”.

Brief Description of Company / Organisation

Use up to 40 words (the size of this paragraph) to tell us about the position and not about the company. This helps the reader quickly determine if there is an appropriate role for them, tempting them to continue reading.

Try to think of an opening line that best describes your company. Stay away from ‘niche’, ‘market leader’ or ‘unique’. These are buzz words that hundreds of companies use to describe their organisation, and it can become quite monotonous for the reader. Instead, briefly describe your company’s function and keep the description factual, i.e. ‘Ericsson is a world leader of mobile broadband Internet communications; based in Kista, we provide Internet communications services all over the world. Our current staff force is over 110,000 and due to expansion we now seek a new addition to our team.’

Role’s Responsibilities

List three to seven main tasks that the selected candidate will be expected to fulfill. Relate these to a corporate goal wherever possible so that the applicant can imagine how the position fits into the business plan. Remember, your ad is not a job description and does not have to contain every element of the role, just enough for the right person to send in their CV.

Remember, your ad is not a job description and does not have to mention every element of the role, just enough for the right person to send in their CV.

Candidate’s Specifications

What knowledge, skills or qualities are you looking for in your ideal candidate? Divide these between what is necessary and what is an advantage / plus. If you are hoping to receive many CV’s, you can afford to be a little less specific with your requirements, but if you just want a few applicants, you should be very clear with the strict requirements each candidate must fulfill.

Skills and Abilities

These are abilities you expect your ideal candidate to demonstrate. Think in terms of technical, organisational, communicative or creative skills. Apply each desired skill to the specific job tasks.

Qualifications and Experience

What specific education or academic background do you require? What level of experience (if any) is needed? Is the candidate required to have held a prior job of similar description? Include the length of experience gained, and in which specific industries and departments.

Location and Salary

Most often, wages are discussed in the final stages of the recruiting process, when the candidate is at the end of the interview, or when actually offered the position. However, it is beneficial to point out some of the benefits that they can look forward to if employed at the company. Why would they want to apply for your position instead of a competitor’s? This need not be financial compensation. Think about whether the company can offer flexible working hours or health care contributions.

Usually, you fill in the location when you publish your job ad, but be sure to add more specific information about where the workplace is located. Is it a new office? Does the position require them to spend most of their time at work, or include a lot of traveling? Where people work is often as important as what position they seek.

Your Business

What does your company do? If your company is not world famous, you should include information about what kind of business you are in. And one more thing, please don’t copy the “About Us” page from your website.

Next Step – How to Apply

Be specific here; consider seeking help from a recruitment team, as there may be ways to filter applications to improve the quality of applicants.

What is the next step if a person is interested in your vacant position? There is an “Apply here” link located in the ads on Swedish Startup Space, but you can also add a number for candidates who have questions about the position.

Conclusion

Make sure your advert is detailed enough without being too long, and remember that layout and professionalism are imperative to its success; be inspiring with your content and be as descriptive as possible.