To attract talent in the “new normal,” where talent priorities have evolved with the workforce, organizations must realize that the formula to drive job posting engagement has changed from the traditional go-to market copy.
Unless your organization is a household name, chances are that when a job seeker clicks on your job posting, it’s their first time engaging with your brand. But what does this re-imagined job posting look like and how do you get talent to engage?
The information below will help your team design a job posting that works right now:
What makes the best job posting? What to include:
Amid a candidate-driven market, it’s critical for organizations to offer competitive and attractive motivators for why talent should join their teams.
Before listing the core requirements and competencies of the opportunity, the top of every job posting should include:
1. Remuneration
2. Benefits Summary
3. Flexibility
4. Compelling reasons
5. Job role requirements
1. Remuneration
Talent comes with the expectation of being compensated fairly for their skills, and a recent study finds 70 per cent of professionals want to know what that dollar amount is before entertaining any conversations with a recruitment team.
Is your rate card or salary guide up to date to ensure your organization can offer competitive compensation?
2. Benefits Summary
As Return-to-Office policies, remote work models and COVID-19 mandates begin to take shape, how do you highlight your organization’s stance on things that matter most to talent?
For instance, with remote work the new norm, Ping Pong tables and free snacks in the office lunch room are no longer an attractive benefit. Within your benefits section, consider aspects like:
• Profit sharing options
• Medical, disability, life and pet insurance
• Paid vacations and unlimited vacation days
• Use of a company car
• Pensions and stock options
• Flexible child care accommodations
• Retirement and pension plan contributions
• Tuition assistance or reimbursement for employees and/or their families
• Company discounts
3. Flexibility options
Flexible work options, such as remote and hybrid work models, have accelerated to major selection criteria when seeking new opportunities. Flexibility is now just as important as compensation for talent when choosing where and how to work – with 67% and 68% respectively citing each as ‘very important’ in our Voice of Talent report.
These priorities must be top of mind when looking to engage talent and must be listed at the top of your job posting.
4. Compelling reasons
Compelling reasons are similar to company benefits, where employers must use incentives to sell the opportunity. A job posting should define, at a minimum, three compelling reasons to entice engagement. These selling points can include:
DISRUPTION: You have a product, service or technology that is revolutionizing how something is done.
PURPOSE: Why does your company exist? What is the value to its employees and customers?
CULTURE: Depending on the generation you are seeking to hire, culture plays a large part in selling the candidate. Here are some key items to address. Culture considerations include:• Flexible work and work-from-anywhere options
• Accommodations for workers with children
• Opportunity to work with award winning clients
• Upskilling and re-skilling programs
• Learning and Development programs
• Career advancement programs
• Social Responsibility initiatives
• Work tools and technology stack
• Rewards and recognition programs
Company growth: Did you win a new contract or acquire a company in an expanding industry?
Voice: Many jobseekers look for new positions as they feel their voice/opinions are not being heard by their current employer. Share how this is possible at your company.
- Work/Life balance: The pandemic showed us that work can be completed at home. Most employees have family considerations that can impact their work performance. How does your company address this? Do you allow flexibility? Are you a firm 9 a.m to 5 p.m. employer?
5. Job requirements
Now that the job posting has the components to sell your company, it’s time to list the actual requirements for the role.
Aside from duties and responsibilities, consider: Are you recruiting for a skill or a degree? Are you interested in experience or a post-secondary education?
For instance, if you’re looking to fill a Software Developer role, do you require a four year degree in computer science or will you accept a candidate with a coding certification and two years’ of in-field experience?
Amid the rise of the skills economy, it’s important to understand the impact of your candidate requirements, as your organization’s preference will either limit or expand its talent pool.
Other considerations
Keep it concise
An effective job posting will find the balance between providing enough details about the role and company, while being kept to a minimum. Indeed job board reports that job ads kept between 700 and 2,000 characters receive up to 30 per cent more applications!
Consider including a video
Digi-Me finds that video job ads are 53x more likely to appear on the first page of Google searches and can improve a candidate’s understanding of a job by as much as 300 per cent! Video job postings will also appear more engaging on job sites.
Avoid contribution to experience inflation
A misleading job posting is a mistake that not only contributes to experience inflation, but also leads to creating a negative candidate experience. For example, a major frustration entry level job seekers encounter is searching for an “entry level” job, clicking on the job posting and discovering he or she will actually need 3+ years’ experience for that job.
When creating job postings, it’s important to “say what you mean.” The best job ads are are transparent as well as attractive.
What’s it like to work there? Harness your Employer Value Proposition (EVP)
Part of an organization’s wider employer brand, an EVP is comprised of the compelling reasons for why a candidate should choose your organization. An organization’s EVP is essentially what an employer will offer in exchange for skills and experience. What will it be like working for your organization in an in-office, remote or hybrid work model and what benefits will you offer?
The Voice of Talent: Return to the Office Report
Procom recently surveyed over 1,000 knowledge workers to gain an informed perspective on the ever-changing workforce and the new priorities facing talent right now. The Voice of Talent includes insights into what full-time and contingent workers expect from employers in 2022.
Access your complimentary copy to discover how to attract talent right now:
