You only have a few seconds to capture the attention of a candidate for your open roles. JobTarget has 10 tips to help you get the applications you want to drop into your inbox.

1. Who’s Your Audience?

An instrumental piece for attracting candidates is understanding who your audience is and what they will most likely respond to in your messaging. Developing a candidate persona is the perfect way to know how to engage with them.

A great way to start working on a persona is by analyzing your own hiring data which can help identify the top job titles, locations, background information, and experience levels you’ve had the most success with. These are fantastic indicators to help develop future hires.

Other areas to consider when creating your candidate persona include: 

• Knowing the personality characteristics and interests of your candidates

• Researching the types of certifications required to perform the position’s tasks

• Understanding the social media platforms or online career sites your candidate may frequently visit

Once you have an idea of the type of candidate you want, you can craft your job titles and descriptions with top keywords related to the position and your data. The keywords will increase your open roles’ search relevancy on websites, so candidates can find them faster.

2. Common Job Titles Go Far

If job seekers aren't easily finding your open roles, it may have to do with the job title. You may think a job title should be exciting and fun, which it can be, but you should incorporate the standard title, or it could hurt how well your posting performs. An ideal job title is one a job seeker can find easily when searching job boards. Avoid using job titles that contain company-specific jargon. You’ll be able to reach more candidates by making sure your job title is one that has been standardized across your industry.

3. Create Descriptions with Style

When writing a job description, your opening line should be engaging and to the point. List key information with short sentences that provide an overview of the role. This would include skills, qualifications, job responsibilities, and who the position reports to. Remove any potential language that has nothing to do with the description like “superstar” or “perfectionist.”  By doing so, you’ll enhance the performance of your job advertisements and increase the number of applications you receive.

4. Candidates Love Benefits

Job seekers search for powerful motivators when choosing an organization. Keeping that in mind, your postings should mention healthcare benefits, bonuses, stock options, if there is a childcare program, flex time, remote or hybrid opportunities. You can even describe fun perks such as discounts from other companies on sporting events, restaurants, movies, etc.

5. Goals, Growth, and Responsibility

Job seekers want to know their responsibilities and what’s to be expected of them before joining your organization. Providing samples of measurable performance goals in your job description can give your candidate an overview of what work life will be like. You can explain how the job contributes to business objectives and how it can lead towards advancement. Recruiters can find out much of this information by speaking with business owners and understanding the position in more detail.

6. Brand Importance 

Candidates look at an organization’s reputation, corporate responsibility, diversity and inclusion, mission statement, and more when considering making a move. You want potential candidates to create a connection with your brand messaging and envision themselves working at your company. It’s a perfect way to express what your organization stands for, and what sets it apart from the competition.

7. Culture Fosters Creativity

Cultural fit is extremely important when it comes to job seekers and employers. For job seekers, if the culture is a bad fit, it increases turnover. For employers, it can increase your cost-per-hire, resulting in wasting time and resources. Defining and promoting your organization’s core values helps job seekers know who and what you represent. It gives meaning to individuals who want to be a part of something bigger than themselves, fosters creativity, and increases employee workplace retention. Highlighting your organization’s unique cultural traits and vision goes a long way.

8. Social Media is Your Friend

Leveraging social media can help paint a picture of your organization in a candidate’s mind. You can use social media for creating organization profiles and job posting opportunities so that the right kind of candidate sees it. For example, LinkedIn offers company pages that allow you to broadcast news about your organization and work environment and post job openings. So as potential applicants are browsing their newsfeeds, they can also stay updated about your organization’s job listings. It’s also a place where you can join groups specific to the positions you want to hire.

9. Go Mobile

Did you know that, according to Glassdoor, promoting jobs in a mobile-friendly format can increase the number of applications you receive by 11.6%? Optimizing your application process to be mobile-friendly can make a difference. If your job posting and application process isn’t mobile-friendly, you could lose out on those candidates.

10. Video Helps the Recruitment Star

Along with social media and being mobile-friendly, taking advantage of video technology is an ideal way to recruit talent and show you are making strides as an organization. If you have the capability to use video testimonials from current employees or accept video cover letters, you’ll show innovation and certainly spark interest from job seekers, especially from Generation Z and Millennials.

Do it Right the First Time

With so many options to attract candidates, it’s essential to create your job ads and make them effective the first time. Impressions last, so before you create a post that can potentially generate negative results, make sure you explore all the options at your disposal to get it right the first time. You’ll not only save time, but you’ll also save money.