Employer Branding: Tips for Writing an Attractive Job Posting

In the highly competitive hospitality and restaurant market of 2025, knowing how to write an effective job ad is essential. A well‑written posting does more than describe the job, it reflects your employer brand, attracts the right profiles, and encourages candidates to apply quickly.

Who is your ideal candidate?

Before drafting your ad, it’s important to start by defining your ideal candidate persona.

The “persona” is a widely used concept in marketing. Sometimes we forget that recruiting is, in a way, selling a job. And one of the best pieces of advice in sales is to speak to one person instead of trying to address everyone.

What matters most is defining the typical profile you want to attract:

• Age, experience, education, technical and interpersonal skills;
• Main motivations: flexibility, career growth, team atmosphere, stability;
• Preferences for hours or type of establishment.

➡️ Example: “Server with upscale restaurant experience, seeking a flexible evening & weekend schedule.”

This step helps you write a job ad that speaks directly to your target candidate, with the right tone and elements that will appeal to them.

Once your persona is defined, you can begin writing your posting — starting with a catchy title that grabs the candidate’s interest.

Write a clear and precise title

The title is the first thing your candidates see. It should:

• Accurately describe the position.
• Include SEO keywords (e.g. “Server – Montréal – Evening shift”).
• Remain concise and attractive.

💡 Tip: Put yourself in the candidate’s shoes and use the terms they might search on Google or the job platform. That will increase the chances your listing gets more clicks.

⚙️ Handy tool: use tools like Google Trends to test different titles. Enter the job title you want to post and see how often that search was performed — you can adjust by region, time period, and even compare different titles.

Work on your opening hook

With the volume of job postings online, you absolutely have to make candidates want to read your ad.

💡 Tip: Feel free to look for inspiration from companies that are great at writing hooks for their job ads. Give a glimpse of what your company culture is like. Be creative and show your colours.

Describe the tasks and responsibilities

List the main tasks using action verbs (“prepare”, “serve”, “coordinate”):

• Mention specifics of the position: type of events, number of covers, team the candidate will work with.
• Indicate required skills and qualities.

➡️ Example: “Prepare and set tables for private and corporate events, ensure impeccable customer service, and coordinate with the kitchen team for smooth service.”

Mention salary and benefits

Being transparent about compensation is a strong advantage:

• Indicate a competitive salary range.
• Mention benefits: meals, uniforms, tips, ongoing training.
• This enhances your employer brand and builds candidate trust.

Highlight company culture

Candidates are looking for workplaces where they can flourish:

• Describe your values and vision.
• Talk about team atmosphere and type of establishment.
• Include employee testimonials or photos/videos to illustrate daily life.

💡 Tip: A candidate who can picture themselves in your team is much more likely to apply.

Optimize for local SEO

To maximize visibility of your posting:

• Include the city or neighbourhood in both title and body of the ad.
• Mention accessibility or local landmarks to help candidates imagine the location.

Examples of keywords: “Server Montréal Downtown”, “Kitchen Helper Hospitality Montréal”.

Specify schedule and flexibility

Candidates want to know if the job fits their rhythm:

• Clearly indicate working hours, shifts, and days off.
• Mention possibilities to work evenings/weekends.
• Indicate any flexibility options, if available.

Before publishing your posting, take time to proofread, and maybe have someone else review it: a simple mistake can cost you a qualified candidate. Each job ad is also an opportunity to showcase your establishment and reinforce your employer brand.

By applying these good SEO and HR practices and starting from the persona of your ideal candidate, you will attract qualified and motivated people, ready to join your team and contribute to your success. With these guidelines, you now have all the keys to write a truly attractive job posting.