How can I make my job advert more attractive?

Cream-of-the-crop candidates don’t have the same needs as most candidates looking for work. These top performers don’t just want another job; they want better jobs.

But most job ads are written towards candidates who need a job. These ads are overstuffed with skills, duties and responsibilities, and are often negative in tone. They simply do not inspire the best to apply.

Categorising candidates
One common way to classify candidates is determining whether they’re active or passive. Active candidates are aggressively looking for another job, and passive candidates are gainfully employed but open to exploring new career opportunities when they are presented. Some recruiters mistakenly assume that all passive candidates are great and all active candidates are not great, but you'll find some of each in both groups.

The best a recruiter can hope for is a great active candidate responding to an ad. But posting a typical ad won’t attract this person. You need a compelling ad that incorporates the motivating factors for top candidates, who accept jobs based on what they'll be learning, doing and becoming.

Better adverts
It’s not just the job that’s important; it’s the opportunity to grow on the job. Great ads need to capture this. The focus should be on the future, not the past. Skills and experiences don’t mean everything; activities need to be emphasised. Combine this with a job title that will grab their attention and you have a winning job ad.

Don't be afraid to put some personality into your job ad copy. Candidates will spend many hours trawling through hundreds of adverts, many indistinguishable from the next.

If they come across one with a:humorous, positive, forward-thinking and motivating tone this will not only get the attention of active job seekers, but they will also attract a few of the top passive candidates who are just browsing after a tough day.

And rather than just forwarding on a generic copy of their CV, if they can see that you have put thought and time into your job advert, they will be more likely to put the same into rewriting your CV so you can see their full potential. Better quality CVs make the selection process a whole lot easier.

Better opportunities
Virtually everyone is open to a situation that’s clearly superior to his current one. If you can convey that opportunity in your advertising, you'll be making great strides towards dramatically reducing your cost and time to hire, without reducing your standards.

Regardless of your sourcing medium (advertising, career fairs, referral and network programs, database mining, calling potential candidates, etc) it’s the attraction piece that’s most important.

You need to interest a top candidate enough that he is willing to endure the subsequent interview and assessment process. Advertising and sourcing programs need to offer more than just another job; they need to offer a better job so make sure that your grass looks greener.