Get Rid of JATS (Job Ads That Suck), Join the Movement!

By Dan Ridge, Senior Contributing Consultant, Q4B

I would like to think that our recruiting and management team at Q4B started something. A few months ago we decided to target a part of our recruiting process in an effort to improve the end results of the process. We noticed that this part of the process is a part of every recruiting organization’s process and that for years and years and years we have all been doing it the same way, with pretty much the same results.

The part of the process to which I refer is the job ad, the job description, the job order call it what you will. We all take them we all use them in our recruiting efforts, we all post them to our job sites, to job boards and to our social media channels. Sometimes we get results, sometimes we do not. Chances are good that we do not really question why we do it, or if we do question the effectiveness of this effort it is usually a question of how many responses, not so much the quality of those responses.

We at Q4B have made a decision to change the way that we manage this part of the recruiting process. We have made it our mission to rewrite all of our current job postings and to only post new job descriptions that we have written, using the information that we gathered during our needs analysis with the client as well as information from the client and the client’s web site. In other words we want to get rid of JATS!

And here are our reasons. We feel strongly that our candidates, the candidates that we want to eventually present to our clients deserve better. We feel that they are our customers, just as our company clients are our customers. Our company clients are hiring us to find them top talent. The job ads, the job descriptions that we post should reflect that and should be written in a way that they attract that quality of talent. We would suggest that easily 99.9% of all job ads that are posted are an insult to the very talent that the ads are seeking to attract.

I said earlier in this post that I would like to think that we at Q4B have started something. In truth, we are not the first to suggest this and hopefully not the last. Lou Adler has been preaching this idea of getting rid of job description for years and replacing it with Job Profiles which certainly have much more meaning and carry much more weight in determining which candidate would make a great hire. More recently, there have been some great articles on this topic, from Maren Hogan to Eric Gaydos to the surveys that are run by the folks at CareerXroads.

As recruiters we have a unique opportunity to change this part of our recruiting process, the job ad, the job post and how it is presented to our candidate audience. If it is done well we should immediately see an improvement in the quality of candidates who respond to the postings. And with better quality responding, our jobs would become much more enjoyable and rewarding.

So, are you ready to join the movement? Ready to order your T-shirt, arm bands and posters? Ready to take this to the Street?

Oh, wait, I haven’t told you what those letters stand for have I? I wouldn’t expect you to join without knowing what you were joining. So here it is. Our movement is called Get Rid of JATS and the JATS stands for JOB ADS THAT SUCK!

Are you in?

Comment by Daniel F Ridge on August 9, 2012 at 9:40am: Thanks Terrence and welcome to the movement! I intend to put something together regarding how we can make this happen on a consistent basis, not just one recruiter berating his colleagues, but many and many recruiters berating their colleagues. Remember the Kennedy speech,"If not now when? If not us then who?" The time is now so Let's Get Rid of JATS!

Comment by Ruthie Appleby on August 10, 2012 at 7:02am: yep, yep, yep... we are living in a new world as sales reps..and people see ads and all the see or hear is blah , blahibity , blah...buy me...and they are like gag , yuck ,...going someplace fun...especially on the internet... You gotta engage with the people and knock em off their socks... a little... start some speed up and go with it... example... Say you want to do a selling of say one of my companies ...Mary Kay... you gotta horse around a little... say to everyone.. hey put your dog up on my facebook page using the Mary Kay virtual makeover...then start making jokes ...like oh he'd look even lovelier if I could give him satin paws...(you know the satin hands stuff..) then you have to engage your other friends say you run over to twitter ... I am @R47R there and facebook I am http://www.Facebook.com/RuthieLive you say... on twitter...hey @ChrisVoss (he's a good guy) come on over to facebook and see my friend Natalie Ruth She's a great gal too.. her dog... then you go over to you tube and you talk to say to Ed Bassmaster and say hey Chris come over and see my dog...and you jot over to twitter again and say @CosMermaid... how about putting your fish up... you get them involved.. and then ask say Junior of Juniors wacky world to do a video of himself on Ustream doing a skit on how he's using the virtual makeover...and you get everyone here interacting with each other...so it becomes a event... and then you bring it into the real world...say you invite 20 girls who have been involved with the action on Facebook and you skpe it out for all to see and yadda yadda...or you do the reverse and do it in the field and bring it to the net... all said.. Welcome to the new world of sales and ads, and actors, and comedians.. people that don't cross the bridge are going to miss out on the sales in the future ... and be a part of other people's stuff...help them so they help you ...yadda yadda.. this will put tons of money in your pocket and leads galore... don't get on here as often as I would like.. but feel free to contact me anytime http://www.MaryKay.com/RuthiePople.. been a top recruiter, seller, etc.. for few companies...but these days...relaxing with a new marriage, have a college graduated son who is thinking of getting married ... take care of my senior mom , and I raise chickens and peacocks and tore off all the wallpaper in my kitchen and dining room ...worked for Lazboy before so I want to remodel learned some decorating tips from them too...and oh yes... I am a big church person...used to work at a church in my 20's and have 4 sisters and 2 brothers and I am 49 years old...yadda...yadda ...you get the picture...you can't sell a thing to anyone without making them a friend first... I hope we become lifetime friends...for real contact me... :) always ready to learn - Ruthie Pople

Comment by Sandra McCartt on August 10, 2012 at 6:27pm: Why do i feel like i just experienced a speed trip?

Comment by Ambrish Kochikar on August 11, 2012 at 9:13am: The tipping point may have been reached. There are way too many JATS out there and I pledge to do my bit to stop contributing to the malaise. Thanks for the nudge, Dan!

Comment by Daniel F Ridge on August 11, 2012 at 10:10am: Thanks Ambrish I appreciate the comments and anything that you can do to Get Rid of JATS is welcome. This movement is gaining strength and someday in the future young recruiters just coming into the business will want to know about JATS and ask their mentors (like you) why companies wrote job ads that sucked. And you can tell them stories and tell them that you helped get rid of them. It will be quite a moment for you. Thanks again!

Comment by Karl Deitz on September 13, 2012 at 2:11am: Super post Dan!

I've read some shocking ads but very refreshing to see when recruiters put the time, effort AND creativity into engaging ads. I'm trying to get my own movement going for JATDNS through Recruit Write Now - we've been sticking to the equation sh*t ads = sh*t candidates so enthusiastically testing the opposite - bring on the shirts!

Comment by Daniel F Ridge on September 13, 2012 at 9:51am: Thanks Karl and let me know what color, size and quantity you want to order! Perhaps Recruit Write Now is the perfect way to spread the word and keep the movement going. Thanks!

Comment by Terence on September 13, 2012 at 9:57am: I'm fully behind you and have been spreading the word so much i'm now being referred too as the "Ad Police" in the office, the only thing is i'm quite keen for other company's to continue with JATS as they make ours look so much better !!

Comment by Daniel F Ridge on September 13, 2012 at 2:51pm: Terrance thanks for the comments. Take a look at Karl Deitz's comment above and check out his company Recruit Write Now - I have looked at the web site and I think it is the perfect starting point for the JATS movement. I just need to talk to him about adding a tab for products so that we can begin offering JATS or JATDNS t-shirts and other promotional products. Drop Karl a line and let him know what you are doing for the Cause!

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