How to Create Job Postings That Attract Qualified Candidates

Posted by: Karen Booher on October 14th, 2023

Are you not getting enough quality responses from your job postings? Try incorporating some of the following tips and strategies to get a positive boost in your qualified response rate.

Pay Close Attention to Your Job Title

It’s okay to use a different job title in your posting than what your actual job title is internally. Most people search by job title, so your job title has the greatest impact on whether candidates will click on your listing.

• Stay away from using abbreviations. Especially in job titles, if you abbreviate you risk not having your job show up in searches. For example, write out Human Resources vs. HR; Manager vs. Mgr.; Vice President vs. VP.
• Don’t get creative with your job titles. You will want to use the most concise and commonly used job title to attract and draw in job seekers. For example, General Manager is going to get a better response than Business Unit Leader; Receptionist is better than Ambassador of First Impressions.

Get Creative in Your Job Description

Once you’ve “hooked” the job seeker with your job title, now is the time to get more creative. It may be easiest to copy and paste your job description into your job posting, but is a mere list of job duties and requirements going to set your company apart and help “reel in” those top candidates?

Long lists of detailed job duties are not going to going entice a candidate or market your position well. Consider summarizing the job in a Position Overview, with still enough details to give a good picture of what the position is all about.

Your job postings are a reflection of your company’s culture. Job seekers are looking for a company that is a good cultural fit for them, so be sure to include some of the following:

• Your company’s mission and values. Millennials – the largest group in today’s job market and your company’s future leaders – have made it clear that they are looking for more than just a paycheck. They want to make sure a company’s mission, vision, and values align with theirs. Don’t leave these important factors out.
• Highlight things Job Seekers are interested in. Is there a hybrid or remote working option? Flexibility in the work schedule? Who does this position report to? What are possible career paths for growth? Is travel required?

Compensation and Benefits – Must Be Included in Your Job Postings

Not only are good pay and benefits an attraction to Job Seekers, but since January 2021, Colorado law has required companies to include this information in their job postings.

In 2019, before the pay transparency movement began, the percentage of job ads with salary information was around 10%. In 2022, that had risen to about 30%. Indeed, a global jobs board, recently reported that 50% of the U.S.-based job listings on their site now include some employer-provided salary information.

Colorado, whose pay disclosure laws have been in effect the longest, takes the top spot with 81% of job ads featuring pay information, according to Indeed. Washington comes in second with 75%, and California in third with 70%. Mississippi takes last place at 33%, followed by Arkansas (36%) and Louisiana (38%).

Even though Colorado’s 81% for pay disclosure in job postings exceeds all other states, it is still short of the law’s 100% requirement.

Qualifications are Important – Specify if They are Required or Preferred

List all necessary certifications, experience, specific skills, and education – and specify required or preferred. It’s better to deter unqualified candidates than to write a job description so broad that everyone in the market for a job applies to it.

In Conclusion

Bottom line… if you can make some effective changes in your job postings to improve upon your company’s recruiting results, it would be a very worthwhile exercise. Here are some statistics you should know:

• How many applicants are you getting, on average, per job posting?
• What % of job posting responses are you contacting for pre-screens?
• What % of job posting responses are you scheduling interviews with?
• What % of scheduled interviews are no-showing or canceling?

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Sources:

1. SHRM’s HR Week, 10/1/2023, “Half of Job Ads Now Contain Salary Information”, by Roy Maurer, September 26, 2023.
2. https://www.glassdoor.com/employers/blog/10-tips-for-writing-seo-friendly-job-descriptions/, By Glassdoor Team, February 24, 2020.
3. https://www.glassdoor.com/employers/blog/how-to-create-job-titles-that-crush/, “How to Create Great Job Titles”, by Glassdoor Team, September 7, 2021.