Have a look at the following advertisements, which were taken from Seek in March 2007 (they are real with only identifying factors removed – one by an employer and one (shock horror) by a professional recruitment company)
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Have you ever looked at the list of ingredients on the side of a cereal box? It looks like this:
"High fructose corn syrup, calcium carbonate, malt flavoring, artificial flavor, ascorbic acid and sodium ascorbate (vitamin C), niacinamide. To maintain quality, BHT has been added to the packaging."
See the similarities? Can you imagine a marketing campaign where Kellogg's tries to sell cereal with a one-page ad of ingredients?
Or this one IT SUPPORT / HELP DESK Full time position for IT Help Desk person who will be based at xxxxxxx. The position will commence as soon as possible and will be a temporary ongoing position with a view to permanency after an initial probationary period. This advertisement is probably worse than the first as it demonstrates complete arrogance on the part of the advertiser. It also shows the response they have had thus far has been unsatisfactory and requests that previous applicants do not apply. They were not able to attract quality candidates in the first round of advertising and based on the above advertisement they will have a hard time attracting a higher quality of candidate. You need to make it about them — not about you To write the most affective job ad, you need to perform a thorough job analysis, and you can find articles about doing just this here on this website. The key to marketing is to know your audience and to get them to do what you want. The purpose of the job ad is not to tell the world how great your company is, or to demand a set of skills; it's to sell, sell, sell! You are selling your opportunity in a saturated and competitive market. This is an ad, so apply some age-old marketing principles and allow the ad to work for us. Focus on two things: 1) stressing benefits; and 2) a call to action.
The role of ICT Help Desk is challenging both socially and technically, as the successful applicant will be in constant contact with both staff and students. To do the job successfully the applicant will need to have strong communication skills and a willingness to develop their technical skills.
The ICT Help Desk will be the phone contact for in-house customers, across both campuses, referring calls to internal ICT Support Officers. The position includes call management, first level support and other help desk activities.
The successful candidate will possess some customer service experience as well as knowledge of MS Windows XP operating environment.
Previous applicants need not reapply.
To get true value from your advertising you need to be able quickly take your list of ingredients, apply some basic marketing principles, increase your response rate, and increase the quality of your applicants. Your ad will help filter and recruit for you, decreasing time spent on junk resumes, increasing speed-to-fill openings, and maximizing your return on ad dollars.
You need to make it about them — not about you. Job ads tend to focus on what you need, not what they gain; that doesn't work in a tight labour market. You need to stand out amongst the crowd and penetrate deep within their minds.
Always keep your audience and what motivates them in mind. You want them to pick up the phone and call you today. Spark their imagination so that they are excited to learn more.
Once you revamp your job ads, candidates will be more interested now that they have a clear picture of what the challenges and opportunities are. Rather than reading the side panel of a cereal box, they'll feel they're reading about a potential new and thrilling life. Lastly, they'll be motivated to act, and you'll make it easy for them regardless of where they are or when they see your ad!