Answer me this folks, would you respond to the following personal ad?

“I’m a person. I am looking for a person. This person should be a person and fun. I am fun.”

If you answered yes, then I feel bad for you. There is nothing either informative or enticing about this. The only people who would respond to it are desperate or just as lame. Well, job postings follow a similar manner. In my search for a job, I remember cycling through hundreds of postings trying to find one that appealed to me. Amidst the giant cesspool of deceit, over-zealous companies, and just plain confusing and generic ads, some gems did stand out. The way a recruiter positions a job posting says a lot about the company and will lead to greater success in recruiting solid candidates.

A job ad needs to not only attract work seekers, but also sound good enough for those passive candidates to take a leap of faith out of their current position. Shaking your car keys and repeating the word “shiny” is not going to produce much feedback. A good job posting takes a step over the generic adjectives. Here’s an example:

Example 1:

Bad: Fun work environment

Good: Amazing group of people that like to laugh and socialize with each other just as much as they like seeing success in their work efforts.

A candidate could view the fun description as anything he wants to. This could be a bad thing, especially if he’s a serial killer; or worse, a serial resume sender. The good description will likely get the attention of all candidates and not just the ones that respond to anything out of desperation. It goes both ways, however. If the bad example somehow manages to attract the eyes of a good candidate, it still does not paint a suitable company picture. When he gets to the interview and sees that the company’s idea of fun is throwing grenades in each other’s cubicles, he might not be so inclined to take the job. It’s all about the details!

Job postings also fall short when they do not exhibit exceptional knowledge of the line of work. If the recruiter is posting the job, he needs to make sure it sounds like there is a good understanding of the work. Need an example?

Example 2:

Bad: Potential employee will need to use a computer to create a website. CSS and HTML knowledge is needed.

Good: Potential employee will generate a blog website using Wordpress. CSS coding must be utilized to create a unique template with company colors, and also HTML coding for posting buttons to share articles.

Candidates want assurance that they are taking a good risk. Attracting talented individuals requires one to cater to these needs. The company must come across as a sound investment, but lying to do so is not good either. A recruiter should show descriptions to the hiring manager before posting articles. Job seekers that I have discussed this with stated that they also like to see accomplishments and future goals of the company listed in the posting to build credibility.

The more detail given in a job posting determines the success it reaps. More credible candidates will flock to it if the information is present and the leap of faith is sound. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a personal ad from earlier in the reading to respond to!