Editor’s note: This article was first published in April 2012. Its references to newspaper circulation and job websites reflect recruiting practices of that time.
Lucky is the company that decides to run an ad looking for candidates to fill its productive roles. Besides having plenty to choose from (if you’ll allow me the irony), for some applicants the ad will first bring hope and, later, frustration.
Regardless of those feelings, and of how many job seekers are out there, the ad has to be an attractive enough lure for the best candidates for those conditions to respond. It is our best chance of getting people who share our values as a company to approach us looking for an opportunity. There will also be others who aren’t of interest, but the selection process will be just that: selective.
Steps before publishing a job ad
Before making our vacancy public, we need to consider all the options, such as:
- Whether we have other sources of candidates, such as interns already working in the department we need to staff, people who have previously sent us a cover letter and CV, or other recruitment sources we can turn to (universities or schools and colleges).
- Whether we want to outsource the process or our human resources department has enough capacity to handle the selection process.
- Whether we plan to include our company’s name in the ad or prefer a “blind ad”, one that doesn’t publish the trade or legal name of the company looking for candidates.
- Whether we understand and accept that online job sites may be useful for finding candidates for the position.
- Which media and dates we want to publish the ad in, taking into account the newspaper’s circulation and the best time for candidates: avoid exam periods and the beginning and end of holidays, as these are times that produce fewer responses.
Defining the position
Before taking any advertising step to find candidates, we must have the position we need to fill fully defined, in detail.
In that job definition we should specify the employee’s sex, education, the pay for the position, the expected start date, experience in similar roles, and what will be asked and expected of the person who joins.
The more detailed our definition of the position, the better we will be able to advertise it in the job ad and to stand up for it while looking for the best option during the selection process.
A good part of this work will pay off in…
Writing the ad and what it should contain
We need to grab attention with the job title. Always steer clear of “grandiose” titles that lead nowhere, such as “Wanted: technician in santonic matters”, which is like the sophisticated dishes at a luxury restaurant where we never know what we’re eating.
The title should let candidates recognize themselves: “Wanted: telecommunications technician”. Now we have every candidate with telecommunications skills reading our ad. Everyone else will skip it.
Then comes screening the candidates. The ad should state the education and requirements needed for the position: academic qualifications, age, years of experience, and the professional traits that define the role. These will be the key elements that separate candidates from the pile.
Besides explaining how to send a CV to the company, the rest of the ad should cover the skills that may count in the selection process, such as teamwork, people skills or attention to detail, and what the company offers the successful candidate, as the ad’s hook and the path to mutual benefit between candidate and company.
With that, our ad is ready. Next come screening and the selection process.
Featured image: Rondal Partridge, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
