To attract and hire high-quality candidates, you need an effective recruitment process from start to finish. If your hiring process is poor, you might find yourself simply filling positions and missing out on the great benefits the best candidates will bring to your company.

To make a good hire, you must consider every candidate’s touchpoint. The first of these touchpoints is your job ad, so it is essential to be aware of the mistakes to avoid when writing job adverts. Your job description forms the basis for this, so it needs to be meaningful and compelling if it is to stand out from others and bring in the job applicant you need.

IN THIS ARTICLE:

We discuss the common mistakes to avoid making when you advertise a job.

You Post A Meaningless Job Title

One of the most common mistakes people make when creating a job advert is choosing job titles that have little meaning or are hyper-inflated. A convoluted job title tells potential employees little about the position. A good job title will effectively describe the role and include terms applicants may use when searching on job boards, job sites in the UK, or social media. 

For further guidance, read Choosing The Right Job Title and How To Advertise A Job On Social Media.

It is also crucial to check your job titles for spelling mistakes. Spelling mistakes will hurt your visibility with search engines, and your jobs will not appear on Google for Jobs.

Advertise on Google Jobs for Free

You can explore the topic of Google Jobs further by reading our other articles, including Advertising Jobs On Google – The Benefits Of Being There and How To Advertise Your Job On Google Jobs.

With phrases like ‘executive’ being used for low, mid, and senior positions, it will help if you state the salary range below your job title. Defining the average salary will help candidates recognise the seniority of the role, meaning only qualified candidates will apply, saving your hiring manager time and hassle.

The Job Advert Has A Non-Specific Job Description

Job descriptions should give potential applicants a clear overview of the role. A common mistake is creating too much text, filled up with clichés, buzzwords, and phrases such as ‘we are a forward-thinking company,’ which tells the target group little about the duties and responsibilities of the role.

We recommend that your job descriptions make it absolutely clear what part the employee will play in your company. You should define job duties, their purpose, and how they contribute to your organisation.

Read: How To Define What People Do In Their Jobs and How To Write A Job Advert.

Spelling errors and poor grammar will also deter the best talent. When writing job adverts, put your text through a grammar tool such as Grammarly to avoid mistakes and aid word choice, increasing engagement, clarity, delivery, and style.

You can simplify writing job adverts by exploring our 800+ job description templates, which you can convert into a job advert using our job advert template.

The Job Ad Has No Details On Flexible working

The Coronavirus pandemic brought flexible working options to the fore, and work from home and remote jobs have become popular with many workers. You may deter candidates if you do not show potential employees your flexibility and provide vital information on your remote and hybrid working policies.

Your Job Requirements Are Too Vague

Adding a list of generic skills or qualifications without context can hamper companies hiring efforts. It helps to inform candidates how their skills, degree, or other qualifications relate to the job. For example, asking for a computer-literate person could mean almost anything. Should the ideal candidate be able to send an email, use a spreadsheet, or set up an e-commerce site?

Other mistakes to avoid include not stating how many years of experience are required or the preferred degree subject.

Your Company Story Is Confusing

It is easy to focus on the core aspects of your organisation, such as company history, location, services, and products. However, to attract great candidates, give them greater insights by describing your company’s objections, vision, mission, and industry standing.

For example, we have identified that people want to work for a company whose values align with theirs, including focusing on sustainability and the environment or local community issues. Along with flexible working and money, values are a significant deciding factor for any person considering a position with your company.

Read Why Should SMEs Build An Employer Brand.

You Have A Poor Call To Action

Your job ad should end by summarising the best aspects of the role and your business and state the next step for the candidate. The following steps might be sending their CV to your email, and you should avoid posting a generic email, such as Outlook or Gmail, instead of a company email.

It will also help you find the right candidates if you include links to other valuable resources, where they can find out more about you and the role. These might be links to your company careers page, social media, or videos that show what it is like to work in your team.

We offer guidance on company career pages in our article; What Should Be On A Company Careers Page.

You Do Not Use An Applicant Tracking System

An Applicant Tracking System (ATS) is filled with helpful tools and automation that facilitates hiring managers and recruiters. For example, an ATS can:

• Automate job posting
• Provide admin and interview scheduling tools
• Send out rejection emails and job offers
• Create recruitment reports
• Import and export CVs
• Enable HR teams to track progress and exchange feedback
• Create a searchable talent pool database

Learn more about how our applicants tracking system can help you post and manage your job ad and hiring team by reading Centralising Recruitment With ATS.

You Overpay For Advertising

Of course, your job advert needs to appear on multiple job sites to attract a suitable number of candidates and diversity. However, your recruitment process can become extremely costly if you advertise on numerous sites yourself.

We recommend using a job boards reseller to fix your advertising costs and access many general and niche job boards at a fraction of the price you would pay to post on these individually.

Find out for yourself by viewing our job board advertising packages here.

Conclusion

When writing job advertisements, aim to be relevant, accurate, and concise. Review you job advertisement and ensure that each statement either sells the job and company or are key duties or benefits. There is time to explain the more-intricate aspects of the role during the job interview stage of the hiring process.

Employer Resources

To create excellent job advertisements and recruit the right person, explore our crucial employer resources:

• A Guide On How To Hire Employees
• How To Advertise A Job
• Flat Fee Recruitment Solutions

Job Ads FAQs

Next, we answer your questions on what makes a good or bad job ad.