Recruiters: 5 Mistakes You’re Making on Your Job Postings
Times are tough for recruiters these days. You’re overworked, underpaid, and (worst of all) you’re left with the impossible task of trying to find candidates who don’t seem to exist.
Put the whole overworked, underpaid thing to one side for a moment. Focus on the candidates. The job market is full of them. In fact, it’s probably more diverse and fruitful than ever before. So why are you struggling to find even one who fits the job, time and time again?
Perhaps the job market isn’t to blame. Perhaps you (yes, YOU) are! You and your job postings.
Think about it. Lots of candidates are on the job hunt, so you can’t use the old “the market is dead” excuse. If you can’t use that one, what are you left with? Not a lot, apart from the job postings you use to attract candidates.
You might think the actual job descriptions matter very little when it comes to recruitment. But they’re actually more important than you could ever imagine. (I work for a jobs board and write these daily, so I should know!) Every posting acts as a shop window for the job, you as a recruiter and the employer, so it’s important you get them right first time.
In this instance, first impressions count for everything. Lots of jobs are available these days, so if a candidate doesn’t like the look of one position, they’ll just move on to the next without a second thought.
As a busy recruiter, I know you don’t have tons of time to craft the perfect description for each and every job. Still, it might be worthwhile to reassess your approach. After all (sorry to be harsh), whatever strategy you’re using obviously isn’t working very well.
So, just what are you doing wrong when it comes to your job postings?
1. Your job posting lacks “deal breaker” specifics
I realize that sometimes you don’t want to include an exact city or salary on the job posting to protect the identity of your client. But by failing to provide candidates with specifics, you’re only painting a very faint outline of the job that’s available. This leaves the job open to interpretation and means candidates are more likely to dismiss it and move on.
Think about it; some states and regions are pretty huge. To give candidates a better idea of where the job is, narrow down the location a bit. And saying a salary is “highly competitive” is pretty much the same as saying the salary is “?” Candidates want to have a rough idea of how much they’ll be paid or, chances are, they just won’t apply.
2. Your sloppy job posting misrepresents the company
When adding positions to job boards or your own site, you’re probably in a bit of a rush (especially if you have several to upload at once). So it’s easy to see why mistakes get made. But sloppy mistakes like spelling errors can be enough to put candidates off.
Candidates want to know they’re applying for a job with a reputable, professional company—not one whose job postings are littered with typos or misspellings. Take a few seconds to run the description through spell check and make sure it’s properly formatted. Like I said before, it’s all about making a good first impression.
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