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Recruitment - advertising the job

Author: Jim Riley  Last updated: Sunday 23 September, 2012

Advertising a job

The Objective of Recruitment Advertising

The objectives of recruitment advertising are to:

(1) Attract suitable candidates, and

(2) Deter unsuitable candidates

What makes a good job advert?

Whilst there are no hard and fast rules about the contents of a job advert, the following features are likely to be in an effective advertisement:

Accurate - describes the job and its requirements accurately

Short - not too long-winded; covers just the important ground

Honest - does not make claims about the job or the business that will later prove false to applicants

Positive - gives the potential applicant a positive feel about joining the business

Relevant - provides details that prospective applicants need to know at the application stage (e.g. is shift-working required; are there any qualifications required)

Content of a job advert

Most job adverts contain:

- Details of the business/organisation (name, brand, location, type of business)

- Outline details of the job (title, main duties)

- Conditions (special factors affecting the job)

- Experience / qualifications required (e.g. minimum qualifications, amount of experience)

- Rewards (financial and non-financial; the financial rewards may be grouped together under a total valued "package2 - e.g. total package circa £50,000)

- Application process (how should applicants apply, how to; deadlines)

Choice of medium

What kind of advertising medium should be chosen? The following factors are relevant:

Type of job: senior management jobs merit adverts in the national newspapers and/or specialist management magazines (e.g. the Economist, BusinessWeek). Many semi-skilled jobs need only be advertised locally to attract sufficient good quality candidates

Cost of advertising: National newspapers and television cost significantly more than local newspapers etc

Readership and circulation: how many relevant people does the medium reach? How frequently (e.g. weekly, monthly, annually!. Is the target audience actually only a small fraction of the total readership or Viewer ship?

Frequency: how often does the business want to advertise the post?

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