An effective recruiting ad should be like any other advertisement. You are promoting a job and the potential applicants who read the ad, are essentially your consumers. Your purpose in drafting is to attract attention, inform the reader and to incite action in response to the ad. Essential information must be conveyed, such as the following:
Job title and responsibilities;
Job location;
Salary or pay range;
Submittal instructions; and
Recruiting deadlines. (Mathis et al., 2013, p. 201)
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The ad itself should be an extension of the organization’s own image—the brand should be identifiable, unless it is a blind ad, and the emphasis on the position that is being sought for fulfillment. The successful ad elicits certain responses, including the qualifications of an ideal candidate. This might include, years of experience, appropriate background and previous job assignments, and knowledge, skills and abilities (Mathis et al., 2013, p. 202).
Once the reader’s attention is garnered and they are informed as to the relevance of the position, the objective to cause the reader to desire such a position. This could be compelled through the dispensation of organizational information. This could mean information as to company culture and values, company vision and philosophy, business competencies, strategies and market orientation, as well as what makes the business recognizable and/or unique (Mathis et al., 2013, p. 202).
Thereafter, the effective recruiting ad must give the reader (i.e., applicant) specific directions on how to proceed through the recruitment process. Working through this process is what can and will attract the right applicants to the position. It makes no sense to receive hundreds of applications from applicants with little to no applicable qualifications. After all, this is one business venture where the goal is attracting quality, not quantity.
Based upon the guidelines set forth above, there are clearly things that one should strive to do. The converse, is the host of things that should not be done. As with any advertisement, the effective recruiting ad is not too busy or graphically confusing. It must be accurate, appropriate, as well as compliant with the applicable employment laws. The effective recruiting ad, like any ad, must be easy to read, and the directions to create action in the applicant must be clearly worded and very easy to ascertain.
At this juncture, less may be more. While you want to inform as to the company, you do not want to oversell or confuse the issue. After all, you are inviting the reader to learn more about the product, that’s all. Of course, in a blind ad, the whole sell should be the position itself, something that will make someone want to apply because of the opportunity in and of itself, and not because of the company name alone.
The headline or position description should be succinct and as simplistic as possible. However, it must attract someone to the possibility, so the job title may not be the best descriptor if it is either vague, or not germane to the actual position. This is a judgment call, and may call for drafting and re-drafting. If the company name is going to be used and the company reputation is good and the business recognizable, then why not use that to promote the advertisement—maybe by way of a common font, color or logo design, that will create familiarity and ease with identification. This is again is a client issue, whether they want more emphasis on the job position or on the fact that XYZ company is hiring. Simplicity and ease of comprehension are vital, as well as that special something that calls one to take the desired action. Effective recruiting ads are not wholly unlike effective ads, and taking a cue from those attributes of a successful product ad, will bode well for the recruiting ad drafter.
- Mathis, R.L., Jackson, J., Valentine, S., (2013) Human Resource Management. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.
