Writing Great Web Recruitment Copy
4 simple steps to get the most from your job copy
We have touched on this in our Writing Effective Job Adverts section but thought this could do with a bit more investigation.
Once a candidate has found your advert, it is important that what you have said attracts them to apply to the vacancy.
Just like any other direct marketing communication a job advert needs to be able to communicate what the offer is, generate interest in the product (the job and the company who is offering the position) and then get the desired response (apply for the job).
Communicating the Offer
Follow this layout below to effectively ensure that you have covered all the information that is needed to attract quality applicants. Each of these 4 sections below should ideally be able to be covered in a couple of sentences each.
Details about the Company
This is the "job" of the job title and the first few lines of your job description.
A catchy headline will make your advert stand out. Most jobs boards including creativepool has hundreds of jobs on them - all vying for the attention of candidates, making yours a little bit more descriptive than "Digital Designer" will help to get your advert noticed.
The lead paragraph should back up the job title eg. "Are you a Web Designer with a Difference?" "Then we have a challenging an exciting role in the heart of Central London for one of the best Digital Agencies around" is an example of something that will encourage people to read more about your advert.
Generate Interest
At a basic level you need to include where you are and what your company does - candidates need to know who they are sending their details to!
Further to this the details about your company are a great selling point. Think about why would people want to work for you?
- Is the company based in a great location.
- Do you have other great staff working in your company.
- Are the offices great.
- Do you win awards?
- Does the company have a social side?
- Are you successful?
- Are you expanding?
Anything you can add that gives people a flavour about what it is like to work with your company will add to the candidates view of the job and what you are offering.
Details about the Job
Please read Writing Effective Job Adverts, where this topic is covered in depth.
The job description should cover these main two topics:
- What are the overall responsibilities of the job?
- What a typical day might involve for a candidate?
- What are the benefits that the new employee can expect from their new job?
- What is the Remuneration Package - the most important part of the ad!
What you expect from the Candidates
This section is very important to get qualified responses.
- Spell out clearly and concisely what the skills and experience you want from potential candidates.
- Decide what educational requirements you'd like to see in a candidate.
- Finally establish what previous work experience is needed for the job
Don't go over the top and put down every last thing that is required from the candidate - put in the vital skills as this will ensure that candidates are not put off by something that they can't do that you have asked for that in effect might only be a small part of the job.
(nb. Make sure that what you put in here is within legal guidelines. It is illegal to discriminate against applicants on the grounds of sex, race, age, disability, sexual orientation, religion or belief. Take a look at our Guide to the Age Discrimination Act).
Don't forget the the Call to Action
Adding a Call to Action along the lines of "Don't miss this opportunity - Apply Now!" brings immediacy to the process and will encourage candidates to - well - Apply Now!
In Summary
Think like a job seeker.
When choosing a job candidates go through pretty much the same thought process as any purchasing product or service. Think about what you would need to know before you applied for a job (or purchased a car or house) for example.
- Put in your company details
- Go through the job details
- Include what the required skills are for applicants
- Finally put in the Call to Action to make sure they don't slip through the net!
So what next?
If the above has helped you to write your next advert and would like to use Creativepool then the following pages will be of some help: Take a look at our packages page which has a full listing of prices and combinations of packages.
If you'd like to get in touch please take a look at the contact us page.
