While writing a job description is the first step in the process of looking for candidates, it’s only one piece. It won’t matter how good your job description is if no one has the opportunity to read it. Promoting your job posting can help draw in a larger number of applications, and a widely distributed one is more likely to be encountered by qualified applicants.
Key Takeaways:
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There are several different websites that you can make use of. Some have payment plans, like LinkedIn and Zippia, while others just charge a fee, like Craigslist.
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Don’t constrain yourself to online sources. Ask incentives for your current employees to make recommendations, go to job fairs, and don’t be afraid to hire outside consultants.
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Writing an excellent job description is the best first step in your job promotion.
Paid Ways to Promote a Job
Putting your job posting in as many places as possible is an excellent way to reach a broader audience. There are both paid and unpaid boards and other sites to post your job description on. It’s best to make use of a wide variety of them, if possible. Here are some options to look into:
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Zippia. Zippia is a job board with far-reaching postings that helps job seekers connect with employers. Employers can post tailored job descriptions on our site and reach a wide variety of job seekers, helping you to find the perfect candidate.
Zippia offers three paid plans for job promotion. You can promote three jobs for $500 per month, ten jobs for $1,000 per month, or 20 jobs for $1,500 per month. Plans also include company branding and a customized company profile page.
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LinkedIn. Linkin is an excellent resource for career networking, advice, and socializing. You can get additional services as well if you pay for a subscription, including promoting your job posts. Their pricing varies greatly depending on how much you want to promote the job and where you are.
You can pay for features such as having your job post appear in search results – or even appear at the top of said results. You can also pay to have your post show up as recommended to Linkin users. They also offer alerts, both for candidates and for employers, when a candidate or job matches their interests.
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Craigslist. Being a jack of all trades, Craigslist also gives you the opportunity to post jobs on its website. For every location in the United States, the website charges a fee, ranging from $10 to $75 depending on the location.
While Craigslist doesn’t particularly tailor job search results or anything of that nature, it does reach a different audience. It is also less expensive than the majority of job boards and other services.
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Hire an SEO expert. Having a website is an excellent first step. If you don’t have one, you should certainly hire a web designer to create one for you. But even if you do, you should look into hiring a keyword specialist to help you make your website and job posting appear at the top of search results.
Most people don’t go past the first page of search results, meaning that if your website or job posting doesn’t appear there, they’re unlikely to be seen. How much hiring an expert will cost will depend on how much detail you want. You can just have your website optimized, or you can have them post job ads for you as well.
Promote a Job by Working With Others
Getting others involved in crafting and promoting your message is also an excellent way to spread your job posting more widely. While many job-related discussions and hirings have moved online, it isn’t exclusive. Don’t overlook in-person options.
There are several different ways that you can go about this.
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Employee referrals. While just asking employees to give referrals is free, it’s less likely to have much in the way of results. Most employees are careful about who they recommend working with for the same company. For one thing, they’re going to select someone they want to work with. It’s also embarrassing if they pick the wrong person.
To circumvent this, you should offer incentives for recommendations. Employees shouldn’t be punished if their recommendation doesn’t work out either, so long as it was made in good faith. Offering further incentives if the employee works out makes it so they’ll try harder to make sure the person works out.
Remember, your employees are an excellent source of information. They know what it’s like to work for the company and the sorts of skills and attributes that will allow someone to thrive there.
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Employment agencies. Sometimes called headhunters, recruiters, or employee placement agencies, these agencies focus on trying to match employees with employers. Hiring an agency can give you access to a wide pool of qualified candidates quickly, allowing for a quicker and more qualified hire.
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Career consultants. Most consultants base their fees on a percentage of the new hire’s salary. They are specialized in certain fields, meaning that they know what’s out there in the local talent pool.
That being said, there usually aren’t any restrictions on calling yourself a consultant, so be sure to ask for a guarantee or previous results before committing.
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Offer internships and externships. While an intern does actually do work for you for a wage, what they can do is limited, meaning that they won’t be as useful as hiring a regular employee. They’re also only there for a short time and require a training investment. Externs just shadow employees, so they’re cheaper but less useful.
However, these expenses give you a first look at promising candidates coming out of college. While not all of them will choose to come back to work for you, you can offer incentives for the ones that you believe would be an asset to the company. They’re likely to take you up on it if they have a guaranteed job they’re already somewhat familiar with.
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Job Fairs. While job fairs don’t charge employers to attend – they want as many as possible, after all – they do cost money. Any travel expenses are the responsibility of the company, as well as the salaries of the representatives you send. Many companies will also buy and hand out basic merchandise – such as mugs with their company logo on it.
Job fairs allow you the chance to encounter a different audience, as well as build a network. For this reason, they’re a worthwhile investment, especially as you can build a rapport with other companies that attend them, potentially sending talent one another’s way.
Write a Top-Notch Job Posting
Your job posting is likely going to be the candidate’s first exposure both to your company and to the open position. While doing this by itself won’t spread your message more widely – though making use of search algorithms will – it will make it so that people who get that message are able to make use of it. There are several things to consider when writing your posting.
Hiring an expert in SEO is also a great idea for your job description. You’re going to want it to show up in web searches if you have it on your website, and even if you pay for promotion on job boards, you still want the search engine to pick up on it when people search for something similar.
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Who are you trying to reach? Presumably, you’re looking to reach your ideal candidate, but who are they? What kind of job are you hiring for? If you’re looking for someone straight-laced, then you don’t want to be too creative in your job description. If you’re looking for someone outgoing or creative, you may want to do the opposite.
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Where is this going to be posted? This is important because it determines who it’s likely to reach. If you’re putting an ad in the newspaper, you probably want to be more traditional with it, due to the audience. If you’re hitting a niche job board, then you may wish to tailor it more strongly – or be more creative with it.
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What do job seekers search for? While this is a generic question – of course, they want good pay and benefits and a culture they’ll fit into – it can be specific in terms of what does your ideal job seeker look for? If you’re too specific with it, then you may not get many applicants, but it’s a place to start.
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Keep it short. There can be exceptions to this rule, such as if it’s a complicated job or if you’re looking for a particular type of candidate. But remember that the majority of people who are looking for a job end up reading a lot of job posts. If yours is lengthy and makes it difficult to find the relevant information, they’re likely to give up and move on.
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Rewrite and edit. This is a place that’s easy to get tripped up. You might write an excellent job post, but if it has typos in it, then a number of job seekers might decide to look elsewhere. Make sure that your job description is clear, concise, and error-free.
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Maintain professionalism. While creativity can be an excellent way to reach a larger audience, don’t forget that this is professional communication. You’re inviting people to apply to work with you. If you’re too colloquial or make jokes that can be taken the wrong way, then you’re likely to turn people off rather than encourage them to apply.
Paid Ways to Promote a Job FAQ
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Should you include pay and hours in a job post?
Yes, you should include the pay and hours in a job post. While it isn’t paramount and not every job posting does it, it ups the likelihood that you’ll get applications. Many job seekers are looking for something specific, either in terms of salary or hours, and if they don’t know if you meet that, they’ll likely keep looking.
Also, put yourself in their shoes. If you were looking for a new job and came across a job description that left out the hours or salary, what would you think? For the hours, you might assume it’s a usual 40-hour workweek, but you won’t be able to guess if it’s a competitive salary or not if it’s omitted.
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What is a candidate looking for in a job?
Most candidates are looking for a competitive salary, a sense of fulfillment, and a culture they can fit into. Work is a huge part of Americans’ lives, meaning that most people are hoping for a job that’s more than just a paycheck.
That means that you should include salary information, a description of what they’ll be doing, and allusions to the company culture.
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How important is culture in recruiting?
The company culture can be very important in recruiting. Some of this is an extension of the company’s brand. If your business has a good reputation and brand, then more people will likely apply, and vice versa.
It’s also recommended to try to put some of the company’s culture into the job post itself. Most job seekers will take this into consideration when they choose whether or not to apply. They’ll see if the tone of the job description makes it seem like the sort of place that they’d like to work.
Author
Di Doherty
Di has been a writer for more than half her life. Most of her writing so far has been fiction, and she’s gotten short stories published in online magazines Kzine and Silver Blade, as well as a flash fiction piece in the Bookends review. Di graduated from Mary Baldwin College (now University) with a degree in Psychology and Sociology.
