how to write an effective job ADVERTISEMENT
The best techniques for writing effective job advertisements are the same as for other forms of advertising. The job is your product; the readers of the job advert are your potential customers. The aim of the job advert is to attract interest, communicate quickly and clearly the essential (appealing and relevant) points, and to provide a clear response process and mechanism. Design should concentrate on clarity or text, layout, and on conveying a professional image. Branding should be present but not overbearing, and must not dominate the job advert itself. This article relates mainly to designing and writing job adverts to appear in printed newspapers an magazines media, although the principles apply to other media and methods. The information must be communicated effectively one way or another to the target audience.
Job adverts and recruitment processes should follow the classical AIDA selling format: Attention, Interest, Desire, Action.
This means that good job advertisements must first attract attention (from appropriate job-seekers); attract relevant interest (by establishing relevance in the minds of the ideal candidates); create desire (to pursue what looks like a great opportunity), and finally provide a clear instruction for the next action or response.
Job adverts and recruitment processes should follow the classical AIDA selling format: Attention, Interest, Desire, Action.
This means that good job advertisements must first attract attention (from appropriate job-seekers); attract relevant interest (by establishing relevance in the minds of the ideal candidates); create desire (to pursue what looks like a great opportunity), and finally provide a clear instruction for the next action or response.
what not to include in a job ADVERTISEMENT
- over-designed graphics (distracts and slows reading)
- extravagantly presented layouts and words (distracts and slows reading)
- difficult to read quickly or at all for any reason
- font (type-style) too small or too large
- capital-letters (upper-case)
- lots of words in italics - they are a lot more difficult to read quickly
- strange-looking or fancy fonts
- printed in daft colours or tints against a coloured, patterned or picture background
- clever or obscure headlines
- coded and idiosyncratic communications
- too much technical detail about the job or the company
- too many words - they are a real turn-off - keep it simple
- uninspiring, boring descriptions of roles and ideal candidates
- too much emphasis on the job and not enough on the person
- adverts in reverse (mirror) or upside-down (not permitted anyway by most media)
- weird advert box shapes, for example wide and flat or tall and thin
- huge half-page or whole-page or double-page spreads - a waste of money