Observing a few basic principles can really improve your jobs ads—and make them work much better for you. It really is worth the little extra effort involved.
All jobs are different.
And job ads are there for the benefit of potential candidates - not you or the client - so try to look at the world through their eyes as you write the ad.
Spend a little time, before you start writing, working out what distinguishes this one from all the rest. Why would someone be interested in it?
List these things before you write, and make them prominent in the ad.
The first sentence should be an attention grabber.
It will probably focus on one or two of the points you worked out above. The sentence could be serious, but a lighthearted start can often work well. Be cautious, though, about jokes, as they can sometimes misfire, and a bad joke in a recruitment ad can be the kiss of death.
If in doubt about whether your first sentence works, ask a colleague.
Ads that don’t give an indication of salary are far less effective than those that do.
Always mention pay, even if you have to make your figures a broad range.
Find out what terminology applicants will recognise as relevant to the industry in which they work. Then use it. If unsure, ask your client.
Less is more.
When you have written your ad, go through it carefully and remove unnecessary words and phrases. You will almost certainly find that there are plenty. Cutting your ad down will make it read much better—when you cut it down what you are really trying to say suddenly stands out.
As a result, you will get a much better response.
Microsoft Word has an excellent spelling and grammar checker. So does most word processing software. Use it every time. There is no excuse for misspelled words or poor grammar, and even the best spellers can overlook a typo. Mistakes are unprofessional and given today’s technology, completely unnecessary.
You will also probably find that this process will highlight words that you could happily lose from the ad.
Finally, apostrophe's apostrophes. If you are not certain how they should be used, then don't use them at all.
It is easy to be so familiar with something that you forget to mention the most fundamental points, because they are so obvious to you.
Go through your ad once you have written it and make sure that you have not left anything out.
Have another person read your ad.
When you do, invite criticism and be grateful for it. Make sure that the reader gets a strong sense of what the job is all about.
Put these few principles into practice and you will find that your ads will start to work better for you than ever before.
And when you find that your ads are working well, don't get complacent—remember to keep doing the things that made them a success.
