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Article 3. Three Tips For Writing Better Online Job Ads

By Paul Quinn, © 2002

Writing a job advert to appear in print media and an advert to appear on an Internet job board are quite different propositions. Yet all too often, consultants cut and paste their print ads to appear online and then complain about the high number of low quality responses they receive online.

Here are three tips taken from Quinntessential's 'Optimising Online Recruitment Advertising' workshop to help consultants improve the quality of online ad response:

1. Include a salary in the job title or teaser.
According to US-based site Headhunter.net, job postings on their site that include salary information receive 42% more views and 41% more applications than those without (or those advertising the salary as "negotiable"). Why hide the salary in the body of the job copy when this information does not appear in the search results screen of sites such as Seek.com.au? Clearly state the salary in the job title or teaser and increase the number of candidates clicking thru to view the full details of your job.

2. Don't abbreviate.
Why abbreviate on the Internet when you are not charged for space? There are also times when using abbreviations ensures that your job will not appear in a candidate's search results. For example, if a candidate types "Management" and you have abbreviated this in your advert to "Mgmt", your advert may not appear in their search results.

3. Make good use of the teaser.
Teasers are short descriptions at the beginning of your advert that spark the candidate's interest and curiosity. They are also essential to master because most job boards list search results in a "summary format" - that is, with only your job title and a teaser showing. Too many candidates start their online ads with something to the effect of: "This company has a turnover of $250 million and considers itself a leader in its field". Who cares? Why not try and entice candidates to click thru to your full advert. For example: "Grab the smelling salts! This $60K Assistant Accounting opportunity will knock you out! Click here to find out why…"

Please e-mail training@quinntessential.com.au for more information about Quinntessential's 'Optimising Online Recruitment Advertising' half-day workshop for consultants.

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