Writing a job advertisement is very similar to writing an advert for selling a product or service. You need to know what will attract your target audience.

An effective job advertisement is not a job description but is a thoughtfully created message that is designed to attract the top quality candidates to your position.  The advert should concentrate on clarity, text, layout and on conveying a professional image.

Here are our tips and tricks to writing the best job advert:

Short Description:  The short description is 140 characters in which you have to attract the candidate to read the rest of the advert. It needs to sum up the role and also give the candidate something that will attract them to the role. E.g. Ongoing training, Location etc.

Company information:  It’s not just the job the candidate is interested in; it is also the company and the company’s culture.  You don’t have to go into too much detail about your company but it needs to be exciting enough to get the candidate interested about the company.

What’s in it for me: When writing your advert think about if you were a candidate what would attract you to the job or what we like to call the ‘what’s in it for me’ factor.  Then add this in the advert. This can be anything from training, career progression, car and mobile provided etc.

It’s all in the writing: Instead of writing phrases such as “the successful candidate” try and phrase it as if the candidate already has the position. By writing lines such as “You will be working in a team of…” or “To be successful in the role you will need to have…” By adding the ‘you’ to the phrase it is implying that the job is the candidates and has them imagining they are in the position already.

Always have selection criteria: When writing your advert make sure it is clear in what experience and skills the candidate needs. This will let candidates decide if their skills match the role you have available and will discourage those not qualified from applying.

Remember to think like a candidate and write the advert as if you were selling it to them. This way you should get the best possible candidates applying for the job.

Or alternatively you can purchase one of MACRO’s Advertising Services and included in the price of the advert we will professionally write the advert for you. If you are interested in this service or any of our others please contact us on 1300 083 488.