Writing An Effective Internet Job Posting

By Brian Weis, Recruiters Network

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Internet Recruiting is more than just posting your newspaper ads online. Newspaper ads are bland, full of abbreviations and often too short to market the position or company effectively. Unlike print advertising, with Internet job postings you do not pay by the line or the column inch. This allows you to completely present the employment opportunity to interested candidates. Some career sites have length restrictions but with those sites there is sufficient space to write a fundamentally good job posting.

The following is a template to help write effective Internet Job Postings.

1. Job Title

This is one of the most important sections of your ad. Why? The title is one of the first things a job seeker will see. In most career sites, when a job search is performed a list of results is returned – usually containing company name, location and job title. What differentiates your posting from the hundreds of similar jobs? If you are going to attract candidates you will need to grab their attention. Do it by writing creative job titles. For example instead of writing just Sales Representative or C++ Programmer. Try spicing it up a little – Super Star Sales Rep Needed! Or C++ Programmer (Big Bonuses)

These job titles will stand out and attract a higher response then plain job titles. Try it for yourself. Post the exact same job but choose different job titles then track which add drives more resumes.

2. Company

Provide insight on your organization including:

• Brief description of the organization.
• Products and/or services your company provides.
• Define your corporate culture.
• What type of training and career path they can expect.
• Why your company is a good place to work.
• Work Environment (Examples: Casual, formal, team focused, telecommuting, flex hours, etc)

Even if your company is widely know you should include this section. Providing this information is helpful in "selling" your company to candidates.

3. Job Description:

Candidates want to know what they will be "actually" doing in this position. Provide a comprehensive description of the position including:

• Detailed overview of the responsibilities the position entails.
• General scope of work.
• Will they be part of a team, managing a team, or working independently?
• Reason for opening? (Growth, expansion, new opening, etc.)
• Role the position and department has within the organization.

When the job seeker is finished reading this section they will have a mental picture of the type of work they will be doing.

4. Requirements or Qualifications

Outline skills required for this position. Differentiate between the actual required qualifications and the "it would be if you had these" skills.

• List requirements and the desired or minimum number years of experience.
• Work experience.
• Education or certifications needed.
• Soft skills (Examples: time management, organization skills, leadership, communications skills, willingness to travel, etc

It is easier to read if these qualifications are in a list or bullet format. Helpful hint: if you are cutting and pasting your ads in to on-line job posting forms. Use dashes (-) or asterisks (*) rather than bullets. Most online forms have troubles converting word processing bullets in to HTML.

5. How To Apply

A job posting is not a job posting without this section. Choose the ways you want to receive resumes.

• Email – The fastest and easiest way to receive resumes.
• Fax Number
• Phone Number
• Mailing Address
• Website – Offer link to the home page or the employment section within your website.

Many career sites have electronic application forms for candidates to apply for your positions. If they do not it is highly recommended to include an email address and provide specific instructions what format the resume can be accepted. For example, Please email resume in MS Word or ASCII format to hr@xyzcompany.com.

6. Keywords

This section is the most important! Your job ads will never be found if job seekers choose words that are not found in your ad. In the above example what would happen if an individual searches on Account Manager and California. Your sales job will not be part of the results. In each of the sections include keywords in your ads and incorporate them in the ad.

It would be more effective to have a separate section for keywords. List the common words individuals might search. This will significantly increase your hit ratio or the likelihood your job ads will be listed.

Example: Your job posting is for an Accounting Manager

Keywords: Accounting, Accountant, CPA, Certified Public Accountant, Finance, CFO, Accounting Manager, Finance Manager, Director of Finance, Accounting Director.

This template should be used for effective Internet job postings. Start with you newspaper ads and expand, expand and expand. Using these techniques will give you a higher response rate then reposting your newspaper ads online. Job ads that are targeted, descriptive and attention grabbing will help achieve a successful Internet Recruiting Strategy!

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Article reprinted with permission by Brian Weis, President of Recruiter's Network, the Association for Internet Recruiting located at http://www.recruitersnetwork.com.