A compelling and relevant job title and post helps your job stand out from the crowd and make a great first impression. The title and content must be accurate and captivating to attract the most qualified candidates. These job posting best practices will help you succeed.
Writing Job Titles
- The job title must be searchable so use common industry terms. Targeted job titles are more effective than generic ones.
- Keep it short and concise. The ideal length is 80 characters or less.
- Avoid abbreviations (i.e. use “Senior” instead of “Sr”).
- Remove special characters such as *&,!:;”()
- Avoid all caps, internal terms, acronyms or job req numbers (i.e. use “Graphic Designer ” instead of “Graphic Designer III – 625041”).
To research popular job titles, check out the Indeed Job Trends report, a free tool (if you are a featured employer) that compares the top matching job postings based on job seeker interest and the number of matched jobs on Indeed. This tool helps guide you in choosing the most commonly used job titles.
Crafting Job Postings
- Ideal job post length should not exceed 2,000 characters but more than 700. Roles within this character limit receive 30% more applies. (Source: Indeed)
- Open with an introduction to your company and employer brand that highlights company culture and showcases why a job seeker would want to work for you. Avoid generalizations (e.g. work with great people, reward follows performance).
- Include the location or locations to optimize your job posting so it appears higher in job search results. If more than one, put the primary location as the job location.
- Accurately outline the core responsibilities and highlight day-to-day activities. This level of detail helps job seekers determine if the role is the right fit.
- Include job relocation assistance wherever applicable.
- Add a clear call to action (e.g. highly visible apply now button, information on how to apply)
A/B Testing
A/B testing is a simple, cost-effective way to optimize your job postings and attract more qualified candidates.
To run an A/B test, post two versions of the same job at the same time and compare their performance. This helps you identify which version drives better results. For example, you might keep one version with just an updated job title, while the second version includes changes to both the title and the job description. Be sure to include a “control” group as well — the original version of the job posting — so you can compare current results to historical performance.
Time frame: Run for 60-90 days across several job boards (e.g. Indeed, Monster, CareerBuilder).
Historical performance: Go back about 12 months to capture historical performance of job postings, including metrics such as searches, clicks, applies, apps, hires, etc.
Competitor data: Look at competitors in the same market advertising similar jobs to compare performance. Indeed provides a Local Search Insights report that shows a stack ranking of employers, based on click-per-job performance.
Job board metrics: Obtain job level metrics from job boards to analyze the performance during posting time frame (i.e. views, clicks, applies).
Post apply metrics : Analyze the number of qualified candidates by looking at application tracking system hire data that ties back to the particular job titles/requisitions to analyze conversion trends among different job postings.
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