As a talent acquisition or recruitment professional, one of your biggest hurdles is figuring out the best way to post a job online. Sometimes the choices can be overwhelming. Where should you post? Is your job description effective? Are you attracting qualified candidates? What is the best recruitment solution?
Your job description is one of the first interactions a candidate has with your organization. Active job seekers are filtering through thousands of job openings to find their next opportunity; you need to ensure your description captures the attention of qualified talent.
How to Create an Online Job Post
YM Careers Network is here to help. Avoid getting overwhelmed, start by creating a job ad that will attract hard-to-find candidates. Read through the list of Do’s and Don’ts for a convenient guide to online job posting.
THE DO’S
DO: BE CONCISE!
- Keep the position title short and sweet, and specific! Shorter, to-the-point position titles get more clicks and more applies.
DO: WRITE A GREAT DESCRIPTION
- Spend the time to write a stellar job description. Almost half of job seekers spend less than five minutes reading a job posting before deciding whether they should move on or apply. That means your job description needs to be punchy, to the point, and interesting!
DO: USE TECH TO YOUR ADVANTAGE
- Utilize virtual resources when you can to advertise your openings and promote a strong company brand. Virtual interviews, events, and career fairs will help you to connect with more candidates in a cost-efficient manner.
DO: GET SOCIAL
- Use social media! Associations that are part of the YM Careers Network offer upgrades for your postings that will put your job on various social media channels where they can be seen by professional association members who are notoriously hard to reach.
DO: MAKE IT MOBILE
- Ensure your job post is mobile friendly and convenient! According to Appcast’s recent report, over 60% of job applications were submitted online in 2020, making mobile applies more common than desktop in the online recruitment world for the first time. The YM Careers Network can email jobs directly to qualified candidates for simple mobile access and application capabilities.
DO: GET ORGANIZED
- Use bullet points! Active candidates are likely looking through many job postings in a day and you have a limited window to capture their attention.
- Make sure your job description is easy to scan for the important details, and that those details are included.
- Separate categories for benefits, description of the role itself, required and desired skill set. Make sure the most important parts stand out. Put spaces between sections so candidates aren’t confronted with a wall of text.
DO: BE PROACTIVE
- Reach out to candidates directly! You don’t have to wait for candidates to come to you, especially if you have access to a pool of qualified candidates in your industry and can reach out online.
THE DON’TS
DON’T: SACRIFICE QUALITY FOR QUANTITY
- Don’t put your job in places that will attract the wrong candidates. If you’re hiring for a niche position, the generic job boards won’t cut it. Don’t waste time spending hours sifting through dead ends when that time could be better spent connecting with the right candidates.
- Quantity is important, of course, but what you really need is quality. One quality candidate is better than hundreds of unqualified ones. Utilizing a resource like the YM Careers Network will lead you to better, quicker hires.
DON’T: LET BIAS GET THE BEST OF YOU
- Use neutral language in your job listing to eliminate alienating potential candidates and possibly deterring them from applying. Make sure the language in your job description is inclusive.
DON’T: LIST TOO MANY REQUIREMENTS
- Be succinct. Including too many specific job requirements or qualifications is exhausting and daunting to potential candidates. Are all your requirements actually requirements, or are some of them “nice to have”? Save the longer list for yourself to reference later if needed but present only the core essentials in the job posting itself.
DON’T: FORGET TO FOLLOW UP
- Don’t leave candidates hanging. Whether it’s a good fit or not, your timely and tactful response ultimately becomes a part of your brand and reputation.
- If you’re excited about moving a candidate on to the next phase of the process, let them know! If you need some time to get details together, keep them in the loop in the meantime. They’ll appreciate the effort, and then are more likely to follow through.
- Online job posting makes this easy; you’re able to quickly message candidates from your computer or phone via email or the job board itself.
The bottom lines are “do” be concise and courteous, “don’t” think quantity beats quality, and “do” use technology to your advantage.
