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Is Your Job Advertisement Arrogant?

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Your job advertisement is more than a tool you use to fill an open position. It’s also the first impression of a potential employee with your company. That’s why it’s so important that your job ad says positive things about your company, and unfortunately, many companies write job advertisements in a way that doesn’t make a great first impression, and in some cases can be described as “arrogant.”

What Makes An Arrogant Job Advertisement?

There are several different ways your job advertisement can seem arrogant to the potential applicant. These include:

  • No Idea Who You Are

There are some companies that everyone knows. Google, Intel, and more, are all names that 80% of the country is aware of. But those represent about 0.1% of employers. Most other companies are a complete mystery to job seekers. Yet many job advertisements give no background, because they arrogantly assume that everyone knows their name.

Even though you think your name may be well known in an industry, some of the best talents may have no idea who you are, and you need to make sure that you’re talking about yourself, explaining what you do, and getting people excited about working for your company.

  • Talking Down to Applicants

Many job ads also use language that talks down to the applicant. They may talk about all of the things the applicant “must” have in order to work for you. But they only talk about what the applicant must have, and not what they provide. This is a form of arrogance, because it makes the employee think like they need to be “good enough” to work for their company. You want everyone to feel as though they are good enough, and then you can select the ones you need the most.

  • Extremely Detailed and Complex Job Ad

Similarly, a job advertisement that is extremely long, complicated, and asks the applicant for thousands of different requirements can also be seen as an arrogant ad by the potential applicant. While you may have requirements, the most complicated job ads say to applicants “we are so important that only those with all of these qualifications will be able to work here.” That’s rarely true, and is going to turn off some talent.

How to Make a Less Arrogant Job Ad

Your job ad needs to get people excited about working for you. It needs to talk about what you can do for the employee, how you benefit them, and more about who you are. Above all else, when writing the job ad it needs to emphasize the idea that the employee is seen as valuable, and should be written by those that know how important the employee is to the company. That’s how you’ll be able to write an inviting job ad for potential talent.

For more recruitment and branding tips you may contact us at info@employmentoffice.com.au or visit our website at www.employmentoffice.com.au.

5 Common Job Advertisement Mistakes

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Writing a job advertisement is not as easy as it sounds, which is why we offer job advertisement writing services here at Employment Office – advertisements that are known to attract the best applicants and find you the right people for the job.

For many, job advertisements are an afterthought. But the reality is that they are the only information that potentially amazing talent has to use figure out if you’re the job that’s right for them. You need to make sure that your job advertisement is as perfect as possible, in order to make sure that you’re getting the right people.

Mistakes People Make on Job Ads

Unfortunately, job advertisements are very prone to mistakes. The following are some of the most common mistakes people make when they write their job ads.

  1. Nothing About Your Company – The biggest problem that companies make is failing to say anything about their company in the job ad. Unless you’re a name brand like Google or Microsoft, there is a good chance the applicant knows little about you, and you need to make sure that they know who you are and why you would be a good employer.
  2. Unrealistic Qualifications – Another common problem is putting qualifications that are simply not necessary. For example, 5 years of experience for a role that barely needs 1 year of experience. This will turn off good applicants that may not pass your rigorous qualification process, even though they would be perfect for the job.
  3. Boring/Condescending Tone – Job ads should be positive, upbeat, and make people want to work for you. Ideally they should make the applicant feel like you want them, rather than simply a bland job ad written in a way that makes it sound as though the applicant would be “lucky” to work for you. Many job ads seem to be written as though they’re doing the applicant a favor, and that will turn off a lot of top talent.
  4. Block Text – Another common problem is simply the creation of unreadable job ads. Job advertisements are not unlike most forms of online writing – they need to have bullet points, subheadings, and short paragraphs so that the eye can easily scan for information that is important to the applicant.
  5. No Exciting Compensation – Top talent will always be looking for good pay, benefits, etc. If you don’t make any mention of them, you will be less likely to get applications. Even if you don’t pay very well compared to competitors, you should have something about pay and compensation that will entice them to your company.

Writing a quality job ad is an art form, and the above list are common mistakes that keep employers from finding the top talent they want. Contact Employment Office today to find out more about how to write a quality job ad and our job advertisement services.

For more tips on recruitment and employer branding you can contact us at info@employmentoffice.com.au or visit our website at www.employmentoffice.com.au.

All I want for Christmas is a new job

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Why employers should kick-start recruitment in December

As employers around the country prepare to wind down their recruitment functions in the lead-up to Christmas, it’s a sad fact that many of them are missing out on a golden opportunity to access top quality candidates looking for a change of direction.

The truth is that December’s charms in the office extend far beyond Christmas parties and Secret Santa gifts.  The last weeks of the year are often the perfect time to nab a star recruit.

Managing Director of Employment Office, Tudor Marsden-Huggins, says there are a variety of compelling reasons for companies to recruit at year’s end.

“Job advertising hits a real low in December, with many businesses winding down their recruitment strategy, and planning to ramp things up again in January.  It’s a common misconception that job seekers aren’t in the market in December, however the opposite is actually true.

“Recruiting in December takes advantage of the fact that many top performers have a certain amount of down-time in in the last weeks of the year, whether that’s through taking annual leave or due to a decreased pre-Christmas workload,” he said.

By recruiting in December, employers are also more likely to have top candidates to themselves.  The misconception that candidates aren’t in the market for a new job at that time means competition is significantly reduced.

“The best time to recruit is when others are idle and when candidates are most receptive to a discussion about changing jobs.  This is even more important for smaller businesses who struggle to succeed when recruiting alongside high-profile competitors.

“A decade ago, the festive season was a dead period for recruiting, mostly because job advertising in newspapers was significantly reduced until the end of January.  The introduction of online job boards, and more recently, the move toward smartphone and tablet applications has meant December is no longer the wasteland it once was for jobseekers.

“Candidates are now checking job boards daily and receiving job notifications via email, Facebook and Twitter, seven days a week, 52 weeks a year.  With ads appearing on job boards for up to 28 days, candidates can check for job opportunities at their leisure, including during annual leave.  It’s easy to send out your CV using Cloud-based software, so the previous drawbacks associated with recruiting during the Christmas/New Year period, such as being away from a computer, or not having access to job ads in your local paper, are greatly diminished,” Marsden-Huggins said.

There are other factors at play for candidates which may also provide some extra incentive to look out for new career opportunities in December.

“At the end of the year, many top performers take time to re-evaluate their current work and life situation and plan for the future.  Some may be wanting to get started early on a new year’s resolution, or perhaps the effect Christmas shopping and travel has had on their finances has made them look into a better salary.

“Whatever the candidate’s motivation, it’s clear that even though other areas of your business may be slowing down, December is definitely not a time to put your recruitment function on hold.  If you run a fast, clean hiring process, you can be making job offers before your competitors have even published their job ads in January,” Marsden-Huggins said.