How to write a good job advert

How to write a good job advert

Understanding how to write the perfect job ad will make all the difference when it comes to attracting the candidates you need. From being transparent with your roles’ responsibilities and salary to writing engaging ad copy, below we’ve listed some of Talos360’s pointers on how to write a job advert that attracts your ideal candidate:

1. Be transparent 

The number one rule for writing a job advert is to include the salary. Did you know that 48% of job hunters won’t apply for a role if the salary isn’t advertised, according to research carried out by Talos. This means almost half of potential candidates are simply ignoring your job advert over one missing detail.

Make sure to remain transparent with job seekers; list the expected salary wherever possible. This will boost engagement with your job ads, driving more high-quality applications to your vacancies.

2. Share your values

When writing the best job adverts, you should show candidates what your company offers over similar employers in your sector. This is what makes your vacancies stand out from the rest and helps to secure more key talent for your business.

This may relate to your unique workplace culture, workplace benefits package, or innovation in your products and services. Why should candidates apply for your role specifically?

Find out what makes your current employees choose you over any other employer. Shouting about these advantages when writing a job advert can help to solidify your employer of choice status.

3. Keep your job advert simple & direct

Learning how to write a good job advert doesn’t need to be complicated – in fact, overcomplicating the ad can have a huge effect on its success. Keep things simple and to the point; make adverts easy to read and absorb for job seekers.

90% of candidates now use their mobiles to apply for work. This makes it crucial to optimise your job adverts for handset users. Knowing how to write a job advert for mobile users involves understanding that applicants won’t want to scroll for too long, so keep things short, snappy and engaging, and you’ll be off to a good start.

Whilst you’re writing your job adverts, consider your careers site too. As much as 35% of applicants come directly from internal career sites. If you’re using a career site builder built into your applicant tracking system, ensure your site is mobile-friendly and accessible. 

4. Choose the right job advertising platforms

There’s no point in writing a job advert that won’t be seen by your intended audience – you’ll be wasting your organisation’s time and money too. Are you using the job boards to advertise your vacancies? Is your applicant tracking system integrated with the right job boards? 

When hiring for specialist roles or high-volume recruiting, spread listings across industry-specific job boards. This will help to attract candidates with the skills and experience required, rather than overloading you with unsuitable applications.

Utilise social media platforms to attract new candidates. It’s likely that your company’s online following already contains potentially compatible talent; this is a powerful and cost-effective resource for recruitment campaigns.

5. Make the next steps clear to candidates

A key component recruiters often miss when considering how to write a good job advert is making the next steps clear to the candidate. How do you want to receive applications? Neglecting this simple piece of information can massively affect the number of applications your vacancy receives.

Make the next steps clear to candidates; where should they send their CV/application? Will you provide a contact form within job ads, or should they head to an external link to apply?

While it may sound like an obvious part of any job advert, it’s all too easy to leave out this key detail when promoting your vacancies.

6. Insert AI into your job adverts

With most advanced applicant tracking systems in in-house recruiters can utilise generative AI tools to write optimised, tailored and specific job adverts. ATSs like Talos ATS utilise AI agents to assist recruiters in writing job ads, saving substantial amounts of time. 

Using AI to write job adverts and job descriptions will enable recruitment teams to churn out laser-focused, inclusive ads, but like with all AI tools, the result will only be as good as the prompt. Be sure to include all the information you can from job responsibilities, company benefits and salary. 

Job advert checklist 

What should you include in a job advert? Successful recruitment advertising is all about selling your employer brand to new talent. Here are five things you need to include when writing future job adverts:

1. Include the salary

A huge 49% of candidates won’t even consider a role if the expected salary is not stated upfront. This means you could be losing out on up to half of your potential candidates – all because of one missing detail. Despite this fact, many employers still disregard this crucial element when writing job adverts.

Make sure to project salary estimations in your job adverts. This will increase the number of high-quality applications you receive, making it quicker and easier to fill vacant roles.

2. Culture

Company culture matters – an enormous 86% of candidates prefer to work for a company whose values closely align with their own. What makes your company an ‘employer of choice’ for top talent? Why should candidates choose to work for you over any other employer?

Without a unique selling point, you’ll struggle to compete with the wide range of opportunities currently available to candidates. Your USP can include anything from your everyday office environment to your team spirit/atmosphere. Shouting about your company’s culture also helps you to attract the most compatible talent for your roles – candidates whose values match those of your current workforce.

3. Employee value proposition (EVP)

Your Employee Value Proposition (EVP) is the collection of values and incentives given to your colleagues in return for their hard work. This may include private healthcare, bonus schemes, staff socials, or flexible working initiatives.

Your EVP is part of your employer brand’s unique selling point. Survey your employees to find out which incentives/benefits matter most to them – these are the factors you need to promote across future job adverts!

It’s also important to research the incentives offered by similar employers in your sector. Is there anything they’re offering to new employees that your company isn’t? How can you improve your EVP to best compete with these employers?

4. Learning & development

A fundamental part of the ‘career ladder’ is finding strong progression and development opportunities. Candidates are rarely looking for stagnant job roles – they want to see how your opportunity will benefit their career going forward.

Shout about your company’s learning and development opportunities in future job adverts. This adds value to your vacancies, incentivising potential candidates to join your team. 

5. Career progression 

When recruiting for junior roles, for example, make it clear to candidates where this opportunity could take them in the future. How will your company support them in their career progression? This is a huge selling point – especially for younger, less experienced applicants at the beginning of their careers. 

6. Company values 

Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) is a huge part of any strong recruitment strategy. Highlight your company’s inclusive values in order to attract a more diverse range of talent to your vacancies.

Does your company have a ‘diversity pledge’? What are you doing to make your hiring process fair and accessible to those from minority backgrounds?

Include this information in job ads, careers sites, and across your brand’s social media channels. Failing to approach this topic may dissuade otherwise ideal candidates from pursuing your vacancies.

7. Company benefits

In such a competitive job market, your benefits could be the deciding factor between you and a competitor. Make sure your company benefits are front and centre in any job advert. Just as listing your salary is important, sharing how your business is in investing and giving back to your people is a job advert must-have. 

Remember to include job adverts that are actually worth mentioning. Early finishes, flexible working, healthcare cash plans, and mental health support are all popular employee benefits – free fruit and ping pong tables in common areas are not. 

8. Role requirements

No one wants to be presented with a list of 1001 ‘necessary’ requirements. Unfortunately, publishing an endless list is common. Our advice: Rephrase this section of your ad. Instead of requirements, place the candidate firmly in your ad, renaming the section… ‘What you’ll have: 

• You’ll possess great interpersonal skills’ 
• You’ll have a knack for building relationships.
• ‘You aren’t afraid to make decisions’
• ‘You have previous experience’

But keep this section short and sweet: No more than 8 – ideally less, and keep everything positive

Master how to write a good job advert with Talos ATS

Want an easier way to attract, hire, and retain new talent? Talos ATS is an all-in-one hiring platform, combining all the tools you need to recruit quickly and effectively.

Our applicant tracking software provides multi-platform job posting, making it easy to optimise job adverts, and choose the most effective platforms for your vacancies. The advertising suite enables you to track the success of your campaigns in real-time, helping to bring more key talent to your business.

The platform includes:

• CV screening tools
• Multi-job boards poster
• In-built careers site builder
• Tools to help you define your employer brand and EVP
• AI job advert writing assistant
• Unbiased, science-based candidate assessments
• Automated reference checking, including DBS checks
• Remote interviewing software
• Intelligent interview insights
• Employee onboarding suite
• Real-time, AI-powered talent analytics 

Check out the easy way to attract and hire compatible candidates: