Your job posting or advertisement helps you to connect with candidates who may be a good fit for a role you’re trying to fill. While some people distinguish between job posts – online advertisements – and job ads that are published in print, the terms are synonymous. The word “advertisement” indicates that you are sharing information in the public domain. This could be print advertising, but these days, most job advertising occurs online. 

Just as advertisements for products can be enticing, effective job ads will attract your “target market,” in this case, people with the right skills or qualifications to fill your vacancy. With more candidates to choose between, you stand a better chance of finding the best possible person for the role. 

Understanding job posting advertisements

A job description is an internal document that describes the duties of an employee, the required skills, the key performance areas they are responsible for, and how performance will be measured. Although you wouldn’t use a job description as the wording for an advertisement, you will use it as the basic source document from which you craft it.

How people find online job ads online

One of the most common ways people find online job ads is through organic search. This means that they use their browser to search for available jobs online using specific keywords. By using these keywords, you increase the likelihood of your advertisement being found in organic search results. 

If you want to be extra sure that people searching for work online will see your ad, you can decide to sponsor it. To show up in search engine results, you would pick a very relevant keyword or keywords matching relevant users’ search intent. Then, you would pay for your ad to be featured in search engine results pages for your chosen search terms. 

Remember that people also do internal searches on various online job boards. The keywords you use will be important here, too.

Where to place job advertisements

Job boards

There are hundreds of dedicated job boards that recruiters use to post their ads online. Some of them handle all kinds of work and attract broad audiences. Others target specific professions and even specific audience demographics. To get good reach, you will likely choose several job boards to host your advertisements. 

Social media

Professional platforms like LinkedIn are the obvious places to advertise jobs. But Facebook, Instagram, and even TikTok, could also be good places to advertise. In this case, you’re targeting people with specific interests, and you might adjust your keywords a little to reflect that.

Because most social media platforms are not narrowly focused on job search, paying to appear in feeds helps to get your post noticed. You can target your advertising using the tools these platforms provide. 

Your website

Some job seekers search for companies within their fields and look for vacancies advertised on company websites. Or, they may see a job ad elsewhere and verify it by visiting your website. It’s an excellent place to advertise since you can include much more information than you would elsewhere. You also have greater control over the appearance of your advertisement. For example, you can add enticing images. 

Print advertising

Print advertising isn’t dead yet. Newspapers still reach large target audiences. Trade-oriented publications have lower circulation but reach an audience that may be relevant to your recruitment drive. For example, if you are seeking healthcare workers, you can advertise in publications they use to keep abreast with developments in their field. 

Digital advertising is more widely used than print. The latter is generally costlier than online advertising and has less reach. As a result, response rates are generally lower. Consider whether print offers opportunities for your campaign and weigh its costs against its potential benefits. 

How to write an effective job advertisement

Some, very standard, things have to be in your job advertisement. Then, there are points to highlight so that you actively attract keen applicants – even those already employed, also known as passive candidates.

The basics

Bare-bones basics that are fundamental to a successful job advertisement include:

• The name of the company and perhaps a little background information
• The job title – don’t get too creative here, it must be searchable 
• Where people will work, for example, remote, hybrid, or at a specific location
• A brief description of the job and its responsibilities
• Any required qualifications or specific skills you’re looking for in candidates
• A salary range 
• How to apply

Remember: never specify anything that isn’t completely necessary. The more requirements you list, and the less clear they are, the less likely you are to attract applicants. Research shows that women, in particular, are less likely to apply if they don’t meet all the criteria listed.

Points to highlight to attract top talent

Certain very important points that might help you to attract high-quality candidates are often omitted from job ads. Just as you attract customers with a value proposition, you can craft an employee value proposition that makes your job advertisement stand out from the crowd. Points that will help you to attract ideal candidates include:

• Company culture and values
• Professional growth and opportunities
• Flexibility, perks, and benefits

Check out your competitors and then outdo them

Recruiters face a competitive job market – especially if they’re looking for people with scarce skills. View employment ad samples with a focus on advertisers who are trying to attract candidates similar to the ones you’re targeting. 

Chances are you will find some very generic-looking ads that are strikingly similar to one another. You can’t present a unique employer brand by following this pattern, so they’re a good example of what not to do. All the same, you can pick up a few basics and use them to your advantage. 

Next, think about things that will encourage qualified people to engage with your ad. A friendlier tone, care in avoiding gendered language and a focus on how your workplace supports employees will draw more people into your recruitment funnel. 

Where to post job advertisements for maximum reach – and how to do it

How to post a vacancy on LinkedIn

Posting a vacancy on LinkedIn is very straightforward. Simply go to your home page, click the “jobs” icon, and select “post a job.” The rest is like filling in a form. Simply complete the relevant fields. Once you’re done, LinkedIn will ask you how you want to be notified when people apply and offers you the option of adding some candidate screening questions. Then, it’s just a matter of indicating your daily and total budgets and clicking “post.”

However, LinkedIn will not actively promote your job post. To optimize visibility, you will have to pay for LinkedIn to showcase it more prominently. Unfortunately, most recruiters do this, so if you fail to promote your post, it will rank lower in search and is unlikely to attract much attention. 

How to post on Google Jobs

People search for jobs using specific keywords. Will they see yours? Google Jobs helps you by making it possible for its bots to crawl and classify your ad so that it appears in organic search. This allows you to drive traffic to your website or a third-party site. To achieve this, you must implement the structure recommended by Google. Some third-party sites do this for you. 

How to post a job on Facebook

Go to your business profile page. This brings up your posts, and below that, a “What’s on your mind?” query. Select it. Now choose “create a job.” Enter your text and a post description such as “we are hiring,” select an image if desired, and post it. Your ad will appear as a Facebook post on your company’s timeline and it will be added to Facebook Marketplace. 

To get more reach, you can pay to boost your post by targeting specific locations or demographics. But do be cautious with this. Some applicants may be willing to relocate, for example, and there are women who are very effective in traditionally male professions. 

Use a programmatic job advertising platform for greater reach

There are hundreds of job boards that could be right for job posting. Choosing the right ones, managing budgets and campaigns, and checking results can be a laborious process. Automation offers a solution. 

Choose a platform that helps you to post and manage job advertisements from a single interface. You’ll be able to target your campaigns more effectively, using boards that charge you for featuring your ad based on duration as well as those that are pay-per-click. You can view real-time results, modify your strategy, and achieve more reach for less effort and lower costs. 

Key points to remember when posting job advertisements

Both the content of your recruitment advertisements and your media buying strategy will affect the success of your advertising initiative. Begin by developing job advertisements that engage readers, making them eager to stand a chance of working for your company. 

Deliberately craft inclusive adverts that will attract a diverse applicant pool, allowing you to attract and shortlist the very best applicants regardless of factors like race, age, or gender. Once you are satisfied that you have crafted a job advert that stands out, it’s time to get the word out. 

Using our job distribution platform, you can manage your campaign effectively, ensure you remain within your budget, and get wider reach for less investment. With an extensive applicant pool to choose from, you’re sure to find the ideal employees you’re looking for. Together, we prove an important point. When people team up with tech, they achieve more while focusing their uniquely human skills where they matter most.