How to attract talent in under 8 seconds

8 seconds – it’s all you’ve got​

​It took Usain Bolt 9.58 seconds to set the 100-metre world record. Your job ad has 8 seconds. 8 seconds to catch a candidate’s attention as they land briefly on your job advert before swiftly swiping to the next.​

So, how can you keep candidates engaged and focused on your job ad?​ You MUST understand the following:​

• The laws of candidate attraction​
• How to write for your audience ​
• What you can do to capture passives​

On your marks.​ Get set. Go.

How to improve your job adverts 

1. Get your messaging right​

​With only 8 seconds to spare, your messaging will be crucial. Here’s 10 messaging commandments you must follow to create engaging job adverts that stop jobseekers in their tracks. 

• Imagine your ideal candidate: Your advert is going in front of people ​with emotions who want to be persuaded – make sure you cater your ad to them. 
• Do a complete selling job (part 1)​: Provide the details to keep a candidate’s ​attention. Make them belong.
• Aim for relevant surprise​: Give the candidate a glimpse through the office blinds by promoting your employee value proposition.
• Appeal to deep emotions:​ Decisions are made on emotion. So, pack your messaging with lots of ‘you’ and ‘your’.
• Tell of a disaster turned triumph​: Use your storytelling powers to inspire curiosity through your employees’ journey – make sure to add plenty of employee testimonials.
• Clear and simple copy:​ As Churchill said – ‘Use simple words everyone knows, then everyone will understand.’ Don’t fill your job advertisements with unnecessary jargon. 
• Don’t be a bore:​ There’s thousands of mundane, boring adverts out there; don’t add to them.
• Do a complete selling job (part 2):​ If you’re pulling together brilliant messaging, ​you need to shout about it through social media as part of your social media recruitment strategy.
• Steal from the best​: Don’t try to be a genius. Mozart once said –​ ‘I’ve never tried to be original in my life.’
• Write to the ideal prospect​: Let your candidates know you’ve received their application form. 

2. Place your ad where it can be found

No matter how good your messaging is, if you place your job advertisement where no one can see it – you’ll be lucky to have even 8 seconds.​ In short, you’re wasting your time. ​

To mitigate, consider the following:​

• Where are passive candidates likely to see your advert?
• Where does the person you want to attract spend time online?

You could even try a multichannel approach – consider using job boards via a multiposter​, developing a careers site​ or to embrace a broad social media strategy.

3. The time is right

There’s a time for everything.​ Even a day and time to post your perfect job ad. Understanding the habits of your candidates is half the attraction battle.​ Once you know – your ad enters the 8-second attraction game…

How to write for your audience​

1. The good, the bad and the ugly​

​76%​ of recruiters admit that attracting the right candidates is the most challenging aspect of recruiting, and it’s not difficult to see why.  In just 8 seconds, candidates will establish which category your ad falls into…

The good:

• Sense of belonging​
• Salary included​
• Benefits front and centre

The bad:

• Extended job description​
• Endless list of requirements ​
• Way too wordy​
• It’s a bore fest​
• It isn’t mobile-friendly

The ugly:

• Poorly structured​
• Overuse of jargon buzzwords​
• Overemphasis on gender​
• No reference to company culture​

2. Get the title right​

​What use is a good job advert if you’ve gone with the title Mortar Logistics Engineer when, actually, you’re looking for a labourer?​ The short answer: None.​ SEO is vital in ensuring your job ad stays on top of the pile. ​

Therefore, use a relevant title, ensure your title isn’t any longer than 40 characters​ and repeat the job title five times within your advert​.

3. Avoid buzzwords​

Talos360’s Talent Insights Specialist Tim Clifford advises: “Say what you mean and cut the waffle – you’ve only got 8 seconds. Don’t waste them on meaningless buzzwords.​”

‘We’re looking for a wordsmith warlock capable of conjuring vocab magic that bamboozles, entertains and attracts…’​

​Don’t labour the point. If you’re looking for a copywriter, say so. ​Here are some of the most overused and painful buzzwords we see all the time in job adverts:

• Innovator
• Dynamic
• Empower 
• Ninja 
• Superstar 
• Leverage
• Passionate 
• Results-orientated 
• Fast-paced 
• Self-starter 
• Versatile

4. Use the right tone​

With 8 seconds to stop candidates in their tracks, the tone of your advert is absolutely vital. ​ After all, candidates are 2-4 times less likely to apply if the tone of your job advertising doesn’t match your brand tone of voice.

​How to perfect your tone of voice to capture jobseeker’s attention:

• Make the ad about them – more ‘you’ and less ‘our’, ‘us’, and ‘we​
• Don’t copy and paste from a previous ad​
• Match your employer brand tone of voice​
• Bring your EVP to the force 

We found that 65% of candidates​ are frustrated by anonymous job adverts, so give the people what they want and add a personality to your advertisements. 

5. Create a sense of belonging​

​Everyone wants to feel that they belong. So, use your first paragraph to connect with prospective candidates…​

​When writing your first paragraph, remember to: 

1. Put the role into context for the applicant
2. Tell the candidate how they’ll fit in
3. Tell the candidate who you are, not what you want​
4. Make the jobseeker feel they already belong​

6. Putting the ad together 

Constructing a good job advertisement doesn’t have to be difficult, you just need to follow the right process: 

• Job title – get it right. If you want an accountant, say so. 
• Concise opening paragraph – tell the candidate who you are – not what you want 
• Summarise the benefits package – and don’t forget to mention salary here too!
• List the essential requirements only – keep it to 6-8 requirements max
• Summary – go over all the essential points and make sure to answer any questions

Here are some more of our top points to consider when writing your job ad:

• Always include a salary – leave it out and you could lose your candidate!
• Absolutely no jargon – they’re as bad as job ad buzzwords
• Mind your language – use strong verbs and no gendered lingo
• Make it mobile-friendly – to write the perfect job advert, we recommend you use no more than 700 words
• Avoid buzzwords – Buzzwords kill your candidate’s attention 
• Check it before you send it – Get another pair of eyes on it 

What can you do to capture passive talent?

When 70%​ of the global workforce is composed of passive talent, using emotions in your adverts is a way for you to get behind your audience. The right use of emotion demonstrates that you have their back.

1.  Do use emotive words or phrases​

​How you write your ad and the language you use will determine how it converts passive candidates…​

Use words and phrases that:​

 1. Compel

• ‘Apply now’​
• ‘What’s in it for you’​
• ‘Be part of the journey’​
• ‘Want a better future?’​

2. Urge

• ‘What are you waiting for?’
• ‘Don’t miss this opportunity’
• ‘Take advantage…’​

3. Curiosity​

• ‘Discover’​
• ‘Imagine’​
• ‘Join us’​
• ‘Picture yourself’

2. Put benefits front and center​

​Just as important as selling your company or culture is detailing what employee benefits candidates, passive or not, will receive.​ As important as detailing the salary, benefits demonstrate an employer’s dedication, appreciation, and investment in their people.

45% of employees believe life insurance to be the most important benefit, but that’s not the case for everyone. We recommend that you ask your current employees what benefits they’d like, and if appropriate, implement them.

3. Rephrase ‘requirements’ 

No one wants to be presented with a list of 1001 dreary responsibilities – particularly passive candidates.​ You MUST rephrase this section of your ad.​ Instead of requirements, place the candidate firmly in your ad, renaming the section…​

‘What you’ll be doing…’​

Under this section, keep your subsequent ‘requirements’ short and sweet.​ No more than 8 – ideally less, and keep everything positive…​

​Something like this, for example:​

​’You’ll build long-term relationships, delivering excellent client outcomes.​’

An endless list of requirements doesn’t just harm your chances of attracting talent, but keeping them too. A reported 67%​ of employers believe retention would be higher if candidates had a clearer picture of what to expect about working at the company before taking the job. 

So, keep your requirements to essentials only – you have plenty of time to get into specifics in your interview stages. 

4. Always include a salary​

Remember, you have a candidate’s attention for 8 seconds. 4 of those will be spent scanning for the salary. ​When you’ve put so much effort into your ad, why wouldn’t you include a salary?​

​Don’t give passive candidates such a simple reason to pass over your advert.​ If you want to stand a chance of capturing their attention for longer than 8 seconds…

• Always, always, always include the salary​
• NEVER use the dreaded cliché: Salary negotiable​
• Make use of salary bands to widen the search pool​

Be a part of the 50% of UK companies that include salary details on all their job ads and attract the best talent out there. 

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Attract the talent you need with Talos ATS

Using our market-leading people tech you can streamline your candidate attraction, engage talent from the get go and secure the talent you need.

If you need any help with your recruitment advertising, candidate attraction or hiring strategy our award-winning applicant tracking system is here to help. Our extensive list of ATS features allows our ATS to connect your business with the right talent. These include:

• Authority to recruit
• Multiposter
• Access to free and premium job baords
• AI job ad writing assistant to write bias-free ads
• Recruitment concierge service for those hard-to-fill roles or volume recruitment
• Automated CV screening tool
• Tools to help define your employer brand
• Easy-to-use, accessible career site builder to showcase your employer brand
• AI-powered talent analytics to find the prefect candidate