By Rhiam Mentis (IHR Intern)
With unemployment rates at an all-time low and an 18.5% increase in job vacancies across Australia (ABS November 2021 quarter), many employers are struggling to attract quality candidates and hiring new staff to fill their positions. So, how can employers improve their recruitment strategies to attract more desirable candidates?
Job advertisements play a big role in attracting quality candidates, there are specific techniques to writing an engaging job advertisement that can assist in attracting quality job seekers, below are our tips:
Advertisement Aesthetics
Employers are not marketing specialists, nor are graphic designers, but the aesthetics of a job advertisement plays a great role in attracting viewers, therefore it is worth paying attention to how your advertisements look.
The ad needs to be appealing with a careful choice of font, colours, alignments, dot points and moving features. On average our attention span is only 8 seconds which means, job seekers will make an initial first impression of the company according to how the information is presented from the first glance.
Lack of Information
There is a direct correlation between lack of information on a job advertisement and ineffective recruitment.
According to Signalling Theory (Spencer 1973) it explains that ‘When faced with uncertainty or incomplete data, decision-makers draw inferences on the basis of data or cues that are readily available’. This means that providing more information to the job seeker will direct them to information you want to present about your organisation, rather than them making assumptions of their own.
Employers should use the job advertisement to influence the candidates’ early attitude about the company, this would play a great role in the person’s attitude towards the company in later stages as well. Presenting quality information will not only attract the right candidates, but also help retain them.
Millennial job seekers
Millennials are now looking for meaningful work, not just a job that pays the bills or offers a good salary.
Millennials look for different aspects of an attractive job that offers:
- Purposeful work, where they can feel that they are contributing and fulfilling their intrinsic motivations for progression and success, can they see themselves grow within the organisation?
- Rewards are also very important as they not only are looking for a job with an attractive salary, but also seeking additional perks such as; bonuses, allocated parking spots, ping pong tables, free gyms, travel, promotions and so on.
- But most importantly, candidates are now looking for positive workplace culture before anything else, millennials want to feel that the business is inclusive, supportive, friendly and generally a pleasant place to work (but really – don’t we all want that?!)
So what should I include in a job advertisement?
A Carefully Written Job Description
We advise that employers include a carefully written job description that explains the position using key words that attract specific type of applicants.
Explain what the benefits of working in your business are
Advertise your values, mission, and goals as an organisation, and touch on additional policies you might have such as, flexible work hours for parents, working from home options, an hour lunch break and so on.
Be concise
Be clear and concise about who you want as the perfect candidate. Skills alone are not enough for an applicant to be the right fit for your organisation, think about what attitudes you are looking for?
Overall make your job advertisement clear, concise and aesthetically pleasing. Ensure that you are explaining the role and the expectations but also present your business characteristics and why it would be great to be a part of your business.
If you need any assistance with job advertisements, or strategically advertising on your behalf, please contact us below.
Integrated Human Resourcing is an outsourced HR firm based on the Gold Coast, Australia. Contact us here or call 5613 1846 / email: info@humanresourcing.com.au