HR officers and internal recruiters would generally like more job applications from people who are suitable. People generally start by writing an informative advert. Then they post the advert on an appropriate job board and hope. However, adverts sometimes fail to attract relevant job applications in the numbers required. It is true that salary, location and some other factors can influence applicant numbers. However, something much simpler is often overlooked.

To improve results we must understand how jobseekers find jobs on job boards. Most jobseekers want to see relevant results when they search for jobs on a job site. If the jobseeker is looking for catering jobs in the local area, they don’t want to see IT jobs or Tecahing jobs.

Relevance is determined in different ways by each jobsite and they don’t generally give you that magic formula. So what can you do to optimise your adverts so that they are seen by more of the right people? If you can get that right you should receive more relevant job applications.

Here are some top tips to lift your job adverts further up the search results.

Choose the right Job Title

It may seem simple, but use an industry recognised job title that people will search for. We know that some employers like to create special titles for their workers, but the world down’t know them. Use a title like “Cleaner” rather than “Sanitation Operative”. This one correction can give your advert a much greater chance of discovery.

Repeat the Job Title

The search ranking of your job can be influenced by your liberal use of its job title and other words / phrases throughout your advert. The more you mention a job title, the more likely it is that your advert will be appear in search results. But, beware the job board anti-spam detection. If you go too far, you may hit the spam detectors and that will diminish your ranking. A reasonable target is to repeat the job title 3  times per two hundred words.

Tell jobseekers what the job is

It sounds basic, but many adverts start by describing the employer or what the employer requires of the jobseeker. That is a no, no because jobseekers read a job advert like recruiters read a CV. In fact, they don’t read it on a first pass! They qualify whether they should read your advert by scanning it.

To get more job applications, you need to spell things out quickly. Jobseekers want to know what the job is, so make sure your first sentence delivers that information. Tell jobseekers what your job is, the scale of it and why you are recruiting.

Don’t start with your “We are a lovely group of people with high commitment to our staff” story. Instead, start with “We are looking for an experienced chef to work in team of 6. Reporting to the head chef you will be preparing Italian classics with a twist for a over 150 covers during weekdays and Saturdays … ” – you get the picture.

Avoid adding Contact Details

Job boards can react badly to email addresses, web addresses and even telephone numbers in your adverts. This is particularly relevant for free job postings on Indeed and others. They want to track jobseeker behaviour and count the number of application clicks. Directing jobseekers away from the job board will work against this and you. Indeed diminishes an advert in search results if you include an email address or URL.

Your advert should read easily

Split your advert up with titled sections and bullet lists. It makes your job advert easier to read. Don’t forget that your advert isn’t being read word for word. Jobseekers scan it to find the information they need to qualify their interest. If you make it easy for them, you might get more job applications.

If your job board prefers plain text, use capitalised text for headers and a character of your choice for bullets. The best Applicant Tracking System will do this for you automatically.

Order of sections might be:

• A summary of the job
• A summary of the minimum / ideal criteria for applicants (education / skills / experience etc.)
• Remuneration summary
• About the employer
• About the recruiting process (optional)

The titles for these sections could be:

• The role of Chef
• Skills and experienced required to become our Chef
• Chef salary and benefits
• About our restaurant
• How we recruit for the role of Chef

By including the job title in some oft your section headings, you will also help to improve your advert’s ranking in search results.

Avoid dirty formatting

Avoid horrible formatting when copying from Microsoft Word. Job adverts look unprofessional when fonts, paragraph structures and colours change erratically. Again, the best Applicant Tracking Systems will manage this for you automatically. Alternatively, copy the text to a plain text editor like Notepad before uploading to your job board.

Job Analysis

Use a job analyser built on these and other useful rules. CVMinder ATS has one. It calculates a score, highlights areas for attention and gives remedial advice for each advert.

Among other measures, the CVMinder Job Advert Analyser reviews:

• The structure of the job title
• Job title discovery in the advert body
• Whether attached documents might double up on information collection
• Dirty formatting
• The length of the advert
• Sentence length
• Use of headers and bullets

Want to know more?

CVMinder ATS is an award winning Applicant Tracking System. It manages recruitment from advertising thru on-boarding and is so simple to use. CVMinder ATS is low cost and perfect for employers in Care, Education, Hospitality and other markets.  It also helps you to get more job applications by helping you to optimise your adverts. If you want to know more, then please contact us for further details.