How to attract the best candidates with job adverts

3 August 2011

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Employers trying to recruit new staff are being inundated with unsuitable candidates, but struggle to fill vacancies as talented individuals choose to stay put, according to a recent survey. Read our recruitment tips to improve your job adverts and attract more top quality candidates.

Research from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) has shown that three quarters of organisations have seen an increase in the number of unsuitable candidates for job vacancies, whilst more than half said that competition for talent is even greater.

Follow these top recruitment tips to attract and select the best candidates:

Stand out from the crowd

If your job advert is going to print, make sure it is well-designed and eye-catching so it jumps off the page and sticks in the mind of jobseekers. In print and online – use an attention grabbing heading and don't be afraid to put a little bit of your company's personality into it; prospective candidates want to get a good idea of the place they could potentially be working.

Don't be vague in your advertisement

If you want to persuade someone that leaving their current role to come and work for you is a good idea, you need to give them enough information to make an informed decision. By all means, keep the advert short and sweet, but include links to further information including a clear job description and person specification so the applicant knows whether the job is suitable for them. Being specific about what you're looking for should cut down on the amount of unsuitable applicants who think ‘I could probably do that'.

Find out more by reading our tips for writing effective job adverts.

If you have a clear job description and person specification, this also has the added benefit of making it easier to select candidates for interview by matching their applications to your chosen criteria.

Sell your company

Your job advert is just that, an advert, so treat it like you would any other promotion. Tell prospective candidates why they should come and work for you? Are you a growing, employee-friendly company? Do you invest in your staff's career development and training along with a great benefits package? If so, tell them about it. You could also ask your existing employees what attracted them to apply and use this information when writing the advert.

Do your research

Look at recent job adverts for similar jobs; how much do they pay? How much do your competitors pay their staff? If you're trying to attract the best talent but you're paying the same salary you did ten years ago, you may be pitching the job at too low a level and that's why you're getting applications from unsuitable candidates.

Don't just rely on traditional recruiting methods

Advertising jobs on recruitment sites, with agencies and in local newspapers are still the main channels for finding new employees, but you could also try alternative methods such as letting your professional contacts know that you're recruiting and ask for referrals or using social media to spread the word.

Also, if you're hiring for a specialist job, consider advertising in professional publications or websites rather than general ones. This will guarantee you a more targeted audience and more relevant applications.

Would you apply for the job?

Before you put the advert out there, put yourself in the shoes of a potential applicant and ask yourself, if you were your ideal candidate, would you apply for the job? If the answer is no, then you need to go back to the drawing board.

To ensure that you get your recruitment practices right, members of the Forum can access free or discounted HR templates including a job application form, interview and job offer/rejection templates. For more information on recruitment, call our member helpline on 0845 130 1722.