How to write an effective job posting | Managers at Work

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“I was reviewing the resumes of some candidates for a job we have open on our team and realizing that the candidates we’re getting are not matching what we really need in the role. So, we’ll probably have to advertise it again. But when I look at our job posting, I wonder who will actually read it and if it’s too long.”

We know you’re not alone with this concern. Lots of managers complain about a mismatch between what they advertise for and what they get. The problem is that a lot can rest on a job posting these days.   Qualified candidates will move on if they don’t see quickly — and specifically — how their skills or backgrounds or experiences might align with a particular job; and then, the company loses an opportunity they might have had to attract qualified candidates.

At the same time, though, companies want to make sure their postings are effective, drawing the right candidates and clearly describing the basic responsibilities of the job — as well as the company’s culture and values — and doing it in a way that the organization is presented in a positive light. It’s not easy to consolidate all that in a job advertisement or posting.

To be clear, we’re not talking about the job description that companies use internally, only the job posting — the marketing tool designed to “paint a picture” of what it’s like to work for your company. Whereas a job description might contain a list of responsibilities, a job posting should excite jobseekers  about working there. As the people at the human resources firm Insperity put it, a job description might say: “make 20 cold calls per week,” but the posting might say: “You’ll call on our C-suite level clients to explain our new supply chain technology.”

“The whole point of a job ad is to get people interested so they apply,” says Eric Derby, a talent acquisition consultant and founder of The Software Scout, Inc.  “The longer the ad, the more people self-disqualify, especially women and minorities. Adding a long section about the company before a long job description, for example, is not especially helpful.”

A recent survey of employers by Indeed confirmed the mismatch problem, with some 62 percent saying their biggest hiring challenge is receiving too many applications from unqualified candidates, pointing to  ineffective job postings.

In the Indeed survey, some 42 percent of employers reported revising a job advertisement after it was posted because too many unqualified candidates were applying. An additional 25 percent of employers revised the ad because none of the candidates were qualified.

One of the criticisms recruiters hear is that many postings lack clarity. John Morgan, a Rochester-based recruiter for Procom, said on LinkedIn that he’s heard complaints that “most descriptions lack a clear description of what the person will be doing, a list of objectives to be accomplished and compelling reasons to join the company.”

“Instead, they tend to be overloaded with buzzwords and skills listed. This lack of clarity can leave jobseekers feeling uncertain about the role and whether it’s the right fit for them.”

Ann Seigler, talent acquisition manager with Superior Plus Energy Services in Rochester, agreed that qualifications lists tend to be “overstated” and therefore are “limiting” to underrepresented populations. “They should be more competency-based,” Seigler says.

In addition, salary bands can be very misleading, and postings often don’t describe the environment or culture accurately. “I try to work with managers to help them target the right audience and then add some verbiage on why we have the right culture,” she says.

Words like “team-oriented” and “people-oriented” don’t mean much to candidates as those words can describe lots of companies, according to Indeed, which recommends using specific examples, such as “regular company and team offsites encourage a tight-knit workplace” or “open office layout promotes collaboration, conversation and teamwork to drive results.”

These issues didn’t surface years ago, back when newspapers carried employment ads and companies would pay for advertisements for jobs they were looking to fill. Some ads were just a list of positions while others described the company and gave a very brief description of jobs they were looking to fill, Derby says. “Ads were expensive, so the marketing people kept them focused.”

Once the World Wide Web took hold, companies started posting their job descriptions on websites and job sites without a lot of emphasis on marketing. “Job banks and ATS software made this worse as companies could easily just post a job description,” he says.

“More recently companies have started to realize that just posting the entire job description is not just boring but ineffective. So, postings allow some description of the company or values or vision in front of the long job description. While this is an improvement, it really misses the mark.”

Another complicating factor in 2024, Derby notes, is that many job-seekers want to work for a company that “adds value to the world.”  So, it can be helpful for a company to talk about the positive impact they are making. But that shouldn’t take up too much space in a posting. “As a whole, the entire ad needs to be kept short and engaging,” he says.

The Indeed survey validated that with 52 percent of jobseekers saying the “quality of a job description” including spelling, grammar, formatting and description of the role, is very or “extremely influential” on their decision to apply for a job. The format should be easy to read, mobile-friendly, with headings and information organized into bullet points, the survey said. And everything should be proofread for spelling, grammar and punctuation.

Derby says he suggests three to four sentences or bullets about why the company is a great place to work including social impact, and two to three sentences or bullets about the most important aspects of the job. He also recommends including a line about company benefits and an EEO statement.

When you’re reviewing the posting, don’t ignore the job title. “If your business uses titles such as “marketing ninja” and “data guru” in online job postings, it may be at the expense of finding qualified candidates,” says the report by Insperity.  “Using these types of whimsical job titles may lighten the mood in the workplace. But job seekers will likely search using titles like marketing director or strategic data manager which means your posting won’t appear on their search engine results page.”

And watch your use of buzzwords. Words like ‘self-starter,’ ‘leverage,’ ‘execution,’ ‘outstanding growth potential’ and ‘viral’ do little to explain the position or what a candidate’s life will be like if they work for your company,” the Insperity report noted.

“Cliches and slang may also carry unintended connotations or have different meanings for different people. For instance, ‘fast paced’ may be interpreted as ‘too much work for too few people.’ And ‘be your own boss’ may sound to candidates like their supervisor will never have time for them.”

Remember that online job postings are only part of the process of selling your company to  prospective candidates. “It’s equally important to have a strong web presence—and that your job posting and website both accurately reflect your company culture and mission. If you pass first inspection with a brief, engaging job posting, you must be ready for your candidates’ next move – a visit to your website and social media profiles,” the Insperity report added

“If you haven’t put in the resources to have a modern website or update or social channels, candidates may assume you won’t invest in their success either.”

Managers at Work is a monthly column exploring the issues and challenges facing managers. Contact Kathleen Driscoll with questions or comments by email at [email protected]