Write an Ad for a Job

Most job advice focuses on job seekers and how they should search for jobs and write effective cover letters. Many employers, however, also need help finding ideal candidates to help their businesses thrive. Writing a job ad is more complicated than just sending out a message that your company is hiring. A good job ad will weed out unqualified applican'ts and make sure that the best candidates come to you for the job.

Steps

Sample Job Ads

Doc:Help Wanted Ad Template,Craigslist Job Ad,Help Wanted Ad

Preparing to Write the Ad

1. Perform a job analysis. A job analysis entails figuring out exactly what you need for the job you're posting. You'll have to decide what duties the job involve. Doing so will ensure you can write an effective ad that attracts the kind of applican'ts you're looking for.
   • Why does this job exist? What makes you think that you need someone to fill this position? Sometimes companies who don't do a proper analysis like this can actually end up hiring someone they don't need, which will cause problems.
   • Think about the physical and mental requirements the job entails. Is there heavy lifting, or is it more of a sedentary position?
   • What sorts of skills are required to carry out those tasks? If the job has a lot of physical tasks, you'll be looking for a different applican't than you'd want for a desk position.
   • What qualifications will be needed? Will your applican't require a particular college degree, or just a high school diploma?
   • If you're not sure what a particular job entails, try asking people from different companies who do similar jobs.
2. Decide on an ideal candidate. After you do a job analysis and figure out exactly what a job entails, then you need to decide who your ideal choice for this position would be. Doing so will help you decide where to post the ad, how to write it to attract your ideal candidate, and recognize that candidate when he or she enters the room.
   • Everyone's ideal candidate will be different and based on the particular job. To come up with a picture of your ideal candidate, pay close attention to your job analysis. For example, if you're hiring a sales representative, you'll want someone with great interpersonal skills and speaking ability.
3. Come up with a job title. An understated part of a job posting is coming up with a title, but it's very important. This is the first thing candidates will see, and it will decide whether they click on a posting or pass it over. You need to come up with an effective job title to have a successful ad.
   • Pick a title that is a good description of the job, but also not weighed down with jargon or useless words. For example, "Entry-Level Architect" is a simple title that tells applican'ts exactly what they need to know.
   • Use generic words. While you might catch some people's eye by being creative, this hurts the visibility of your job. Using uncommon words or phrases in your title will mean that your job will show up lower on the list of search engines. Job seekers will be using more generic words to search.
4. Come up with a pay rate. Even if you don't put this information on the job posting, you'll need an idea of what you're going to pay the applican't you choose. There are a number of things that go into setting a salary for your employees.
   • What can you afford to pay the person? If your yearly revenue is $100,000, you can't afford to pay a new employee $70,000 annually. Use your budget to figure out what's in the affordable range for you.
   • Will you pay per hour, or is this a salary position?
   • How much will this new position increase your revenue? For example, if you hire a great sales representative, your revenue could go up a lot. In this case, you can offer a higher pay rate because the person will bring in a lot of money.
   • How skilled is this position? Is it a position that requires a lot of skill, or can you replace the person easily? Higher skilled positions usually demand more compensation.
   • If you're having trouble, you could use a site like PayScale to find out what the average pay for certain jobs are.

Writing the Ad

1. Put the job title on top. Hopefully you've already come up with a good job title that will catch a candidate's eye while still being easy to find. Once you've done so, then you'll put this at the top of your ad, as well as in the subject line of the posting.
2. Break the add down into subsections. Most job hunters will scan ads quickly before deciding if they want to read more carefully, and big blocks of wording might cause some to pass over a posting. Make your ad easier on the eye by breaking it down into different sections with subheadings. This will help job hunters navigate the ad quickly and know if they are a good fit for the position. Some good headings to use are:
   • Job Description.
   • Duties.
   • Qualifications.
   • Experience.
   • Application Process.
3. Write the job description. Using the job analysis you performed, describe exactly what the job entails. This isn't just a simple summary of the job. A good job description will weed out unqualified candidates and attract qualified ones.
   • Give the location of the workplace.
   • List the tasks that the employee will be expected to perform.
   • While qualifications can go later in the ad, you can still get across the level of skill you want in the job description. For example, buzz words like "experienced" and "highly skilled" will demonstrate that you're looking for a candidate with a certain degree of expertise.
   • Finally, remember that this job posting is an advertisement. That means you should make the right applican'ts want to apply. Give a sentence or two about how the atmosphere at this job is great, the workplace is friendly, and any other positive aspects of the job.
4. List the necessary experience and qualifications. In preparing to write your ad, you should have come up with what your ideal candidate would be. This is where you'll lay out those qualities and write the level of skill and experience ideal applican'ts will have. Be specific here: this section will weed out unqualified candidates, and hopefully cut down on the amount of time you spend rejected unfit applican'ts.
   • Include the level of education the job requires, and the specific degree, if any.
   • Say if you require prior experience or training. For example, saying that you won't consider applican'ts without at least 3 years of experience will ensure you don't have to review inexperienced candidates.
   • You could list personal qualities here like speaking and personal skills. Keep in mind, however, that applican'ts could easily say that they have these traits in a cover letter and then try to fake them in an interview. Beware of this if you put personality traits in this section.
5. List other relevant information about the job. After the job description and qualifications, other information may or may not be necessary, depending on the job. Some popular information to include in job postings is:
   • Pay or salary range. Some may opt to say "Compensation based on experience" if they haven't finalized a pay range.
   • Whether this is a part time or full time position.
   • Whether or not this position includes the potential for promotion.
6. Include application instructions. Different jobs may have different application processes, and you should include instructions for applying. You may want a resume emailed to you with a specific subject line in the email. Whatever the process, include it so applican'ts can easily reach you.
7. Proofread the ad. Like with any piece of writing, your ad should be carefully reviewed and proofread before you post it. Any spelling or grammar errors will make your company look unprofessional, and could discourage more qualified candidates from applying. You should also have at least one other person read it to make sure it's an effective ad.
8. Post the ad. After putting the ad together, it's time to post it. Where you specifically post the ad might depend on who your ideal candidate is, so keep the following in mind when posting the ad.
   • More general sites like Craigslist usually have less skilled and specialized jobs posted.
   • Sites like Monster or Indeed also have general postings, but also more specialized ones.
   • For highly skilled jobs, you might want to look into professional periodicals or websites. For example, postings for history professors are usually placed on the American Historical Association's website.
   • You could also use LinkedIn to advertise your job. This way, you can see people's qualifications right off the bat.

Warnings

• Steer clear of discriminatory descriptions. Limiting your search to a specific age group, gender, race or cultural group is illegal. Laws are in place to give all people equal access to jobs. Keep this in mind when writing the job ad.

Sources and Citations

See also

• Calculate Your Worth As an Employee
• Be Popular at Your Office Job
• Stay Productive at Work Without Missing Sports Events
• Communicate Clearly Within the Workplace
• Turn Your Office Cubicle Into Your Personal Sanctuary
• Write a Status Report
• Work Smart, Not Hard
• Improve Your Concentration
• Look Busy at Work Without Really Working
• Stay Awake at Work

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