Helping employers on your association’s job board attract the right talent will keep them coming back to post more and more job ads. Read on to learn how to help them create more effective job postings.
A new job has opened at a company within your association’s industry or profession. Now, it’s time to fill the role. So, the employer uses your association’s job board to post the job listing.
After a week of the post being live, the company checks to see how many applications their job advertising posting received – and it’s only a handful. What went wrong?
There are many reasons why a job posting fails, and learning the aspects of a stellar job ad can help your job board’s employers attract the right candidates from the start. And the more successful employers are at attracting candidates through your job board, the more likely they’ll be to continue posting ads – ultimately helping your association to drive more non-dues revenue.
Continue reading to find out how to help your job board’s employers write job posting ads with more effective details, formatting, language, and more.
What to consider when creating a job posting
While creating a job posting ad may seem relatively simple, employers must put considerable amount of thought into their postings for maximum effectiveness. Otherwise, they can’t expect a wide pool of qualified individuals to interact with the posting, let alone apply.
By creating a thorough listing from the start, your job board’s employers can ensure they receive enough applicants to make the best decision without needing to relist the ad later. A sufficient job posting has the following components:
- Description of the position
- List of expected responsibilities
- Summary of required qualifications and skills
- Note about associated benefits and salary
However, employers can’t just add these elements and expect them to work. The elements must be carefully crafted to inspire applicants to take the next step.
5 tips to make job postings stand out
There are specific approaches employers should take to ensure their postings are both descriptive and inspiring so that applicants fully understand the positions and feel the need to apply. In some ways, understanding how to post a job opening is a skill in and of itself. Sharing a few tips with your job board’s employers will help them create impactful posts from the start.
1. Format with an outline.
Every part of the job ad should be clear and concise. This approach can require a bit of a balancing act. The post should not be too vague, yet it shouldn’t overload readers with too much unnecessary information. A simple approach, highlighting the most important details, is best.
A job posting outline can help employers keep the ad informative, yet easy to read:
- List the job title.
- Begin the body of the post with a short overview of the role to engage potential applicants.
- Describe the role’s responsibilities.
- Follow with the job’s required qualifications and skills.
- Add a note about the anticipated salary and benefits.
- End with a few lines about the company and its culture.
Aim for the sections to be about three to eight sentences maximum. There’s no hard rule here. However, keeping sections succinct will ensure users don’t have to read paragraphs of information to fully understand the job’s details. It may be helpful for employers to create a rough draft of the job posting first, then review it to decide which details should stay.
A few formatting tips will also help: Use bullet points and numbered lists when possible. Write a header for every section so that readers can identify sections with ease. If employers have control over aspects like font and bolding, they should use these aspects to their advantage, choosing a simple font everyone can read and highlighting the most important elements in bold letters.
Approaching each new job posting with this basic formula will give employers a better chance of filling the role successfully from the start.
2. Use the right language.
These days, many companies try using trendy language in their job ads. Take the following sentence as an example: “We’re looking for a rockstar consultant who loves to work hard and play hard.” When applicants see that kind of language in a job post, many of them will roll their eyes and keep scrolling.
While casual language can help employers convey a company’s laid-back culture, using precise, professional wording is more important. A job ad should be direct and accessible. There’s a time and a place for fun, flowery terminology that ensures applicants know the company has a personality, which is typically at the end when discussing culture. At any point before that, the wrong verbiage can turn applicants off, as they likely won’t grasp what the role entails – and that’s the whole point of the job ad.
Another reason to limit trendy phrases is search engine optimization (SEO). No one is searching for openings for “rockstar consultant.” Instead, they’re looking for things like “associate management consultant”. If employers want the most applicants to find their ad, employers should consider the language they’re using.
A bit of creativity can help job ads stand out, but think twice about going overboard for the sake of comprehension and SEO.
3. Ask current employees for help.
Often, recruiters must rely on standard job descriptions for each ad they post. Unfortunately, such job descriptions can be vague and outdated, failing to reflect the role’s current requirements and the company’s present culture.
It helps to reach out to people working in the same or similar roles for input. These individuals can give recruiters further insight into current details about a role, helping employers to find a candidate that best suits the company’s needs.
4. Create a sense of urgency.
The most effective job listings urge readers to apply, even when the company isn’t in a rush to fill the role. In other words, employers shouldn’t want potential applicants to click out of the listing with the intent to come back later; they should want job seekers to apply immediately.
You can give your job board’s employers a few tricks to create that sense of urgency in a job ad:
- Add an application deadline and start date:An application deadline tells applicants exactly when the posting will close. Listing a firm date will push job seekers to apply now rather than wait, as they may miss the deadline. On top of that, including a start date for the position gives applicants a clear timeline for when they’d potentially begin the role.
- Include contact information:Remind employers to add their contact information or other details about where and how applicants should send applications. This way, it’s as easy as possible for applicants to quickly send their information after reading the post.
- Reconsider application requirements: While some jobs require extensive information from applicants to find the proper fit, other roles may only need a résumé. Encourage employers to consider what they can remove from the application process to make it less time-consuming. For example, do they really need three references from past jobs? Could they make the cover letter optional? Only require what’s necessary so that candidates don’t feel overwhelmed when navigating to the application.
All of the above tips will streamline the application process so that people feel more inclined to apply immediately after reading the job listing.
5. Talk about culture.
Keep in mind that a “now hiring” post is more than an ad for a job. It’s an ad for the company.
Employers should include a section at the end of the job posting to briefly describe why people should join their organization. If candidates are intrigued by a role but don’t see any information about the company, they’ll be less likely to apply. Plus, a candidate who ends up not being a good fit will cost a company time and money.
Ask employers to consider the following questions as they craft the section about their workplace’s culture:
- What are your company’s standard benefits and perks?
- Is your company an equal opportunity employer?
- What’s your company’s mission?
Remind employers on your job board that candidates want to know what they’ll get in return for their hard work. A fulfilling role is a good start, but employees are also seeking adequate salary and benefits.
Why employers should use job opening templates
Creating job ads from scratch can be tedious and time-consuming. To simplify the process, employers can use a job announcement template for every posting.
A template allows them to start each new ad with basic details they will likely repeat across posts, like information about their company’s culture. Then, edit the rest of the template with information about the specific role being posted.
As a result, employers will spend much less time writing job ads from scratch. Plus, their job listings will stay consistent, even when posting multiple ads.
Overall, job ad templates are a great way to help employers on your association’s job board make their job posting experience easier and attract the best candidates possible.
5 characteristics of a great job advertisement
Effective job ads help ensure employers find the best candidates for the job. To help your job board’s employers write great posts, remind them of these effective job ad characteristics:
1. Targets the right candidates
Regardless of the contents of the job ad or how well it stands out, the ad must target and attract the right candidates. The simplest way to begin targeting the right candidates is to put the job title of the open position at the top of the ad. This allows candidates looking for specific types of positions to find the post easily.
Additionally, ensure the ad is posted where the right audience will see it. For example, if a company is looking to hire a sales manager, their job ad should be under sections like “Management” and “Sales and Marketing.”
2. Lists desired qualifications
Effective job ads need to list the minimum qualifications a new hire should have. For example, if the open position requires a certain amount of prior job experience, specific training, or a college degree, those qualifications should be listed in the ad. Listing qualifications will likely reduce the total number of applications your job board’s employers receive, but the ones they get will likely be able to perform the job as needed.
3. Clearly describes the job
Job ads should include a clear description of the position. The job description should explain the position in concise sentences to give candidates a better idea of what they’d be doing and if they’d be a good fit.
Describing the open position is another way of defining what type of employee the employer is seeking. For example, if the position requires travel or physical labor, candidates opposed to those aspects are less likely to apply, allowing employers to find appropriate applicants.
4. Uses searchable language
Today, most people search for jobs online, so the language in a job ad should be tailored for searchers and search engines. Employers should consider the queries job candidates may be searching for and use those phrases in their ads. Using keywords will help a job listing rank higher, making it more likely to be seen by candidates. Make sure keywords relate to the organization, job type, and rank of the position.
5. Provides a call-to-action
Today, most people search for jobs online, so the language in a job ad should be tailored for searchers and search engines. Employers should consider the queries job candidates may be searching for and use those phrases in their ads. Using keywords will help a job listing rank higher, making it more likely to be seen by candidates. Make sure keywords relate to the organization, job type, and rank of the position.
How to help employers in your association’s industry recruit niche talent
By offering a vibrant online job board and helping employers get the most out of their job postings, your association can help companies in your industry and provide your members with a powerful member benefit – all while generating non-dues revenue.
YM Careers by Community Brands offers job board software built for associations. It’s designed for niche career centers versus general career centers. This makes it much easier for employers to access highly qualified candidates (your members and potential members) and for job seekers to connect with companies who are hiring in your industry.
If you don’t have staff available to manage job board sales and marketing, YM Careers can help you showcase your job board to employers and job seekers.
