You have about 14 seconds to capture the attention of a potential candidate before they move on to the next job posting. So how can you capture the attention of job seekers while conveying everything they need to know about your company and open positions?
Keep it short and sweet
Job titles, descriptions, and application processes should be kept short and sweet. With mobile job searches on the rise, it is important to ensure that all aspects of your job posting are optimized for mobile devices.
According to Indeed, the optimal length for:
- Job titles is 35 characters
- Descriptions is 700 – 2,000 characters
Application processes should be optimized for mobile devices and be void of any potential friction points. On a mobile device, 21% of candidates will drop off if the application process is over 3 pages long. If an application process requires a job seeker to create an account or sign-in, 60% of job seekers leave the application process at this point, according to InFlight.
TIP: Unsure of how your mobile application process looks? Try testing out your application process on a mobile device and fill it out as if you were a candidate. Keep track of the number of pages you are required to go through and how long it takes you to complete.
Include what matters most to job seekers
As a current employee in your organization, in your opinion, what is it that makes it a good place to work? According to a recent Glassdoor survey, some of the most important things to today’s job seekers are perks and benefits, commute time, pay, work-life balance, and flexibility. It is extremely important to highlight these items in your job descriptions to help attract candidates and set yourself apart from your competitors.
Words matter
The words that you use in your job descriptions can impact the SEO (search engine optimization) of your job and could potentially deter candidates from applying to your job.
For the best SEO performance, think about what words you would use to search for your position on job boards. Outside of inputting the job title, the words could be related to skills, certifications, or responsibilities. For example, to find a Client Success job, candidates could be searching for Customer Service, Client Support, or Client Service to find the job they want to apply to. It is important to include these words or phrases in your job description to increase the keyword relevancy of your job. Keywords and search terms may also vary by location, so tools such as LinkedIn Talent Insights and Indeed Market Insights can help provide recommendations on job titles and keywords to use based on each publisher’s data.
It is important to review your job postings and keep an eye out for any gender-biased keywords. According to ZipRecruiter, job postings that include gender-neutral words and phrases receive 42% more responses. Tools such as Ongig and Textio can help analyze your job descriptions and provide recommendations on edits to make your postings more gender-neutral.
Get Creative
Write your job descriptions to tell a story about who you are as a company and the person you are looking to join the organization. The best job descriptions are ones where job seekers can envision themselves in the role and at the organization rather than running through a list of bullet points.
You may also want to check out this blog post: “How to Write, Optimize, and Test Effective Job Postings.”
If you are interested in testing out the storytelling format of job advertisements, reach out to our team to discuss A/B testing job descriptions and our Job Advert creative service.
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