Posts Tagged:Writing Job Descriptions

5 Examples of “Complex Words” That Hurt Your Job Ads

Posted by & filed under Writing Job Descriptions.

Every word in your job ad counts. But your job postings often have complex words or phrases you don’t need  — they sound more like legalese than a job advertisement.  Replace or cut these complex words/phrases and your job ad’s apply rate can see a major boost. You’ll also often see an increase in good candidates…. Read more »

Skills vs Needs

“Needs”-Based Job Ads Outperform “Skills” Job Ads by 14%

Posted by & filed under Job Ads.

I love job ads. I just found a study on them that I feel silly for missing. Sorry! It shows that speaking to a candidate’s needs in a job ad gets you 13.6% more applicants than focusing on the skills your job requires. In other words, focusing on THEM beats focusing on YOU. Not only… Read more »

Diversity candidate reading EEO statement

How Unreadable is Your EEO Statement?

Posted by & filed under Diversity and Inclusion.

Thank you to the 15,000+ people who read my 10 Samples of an Effective EEO Statement. Let’s dig deeper into the readability of EEO statements! Did you see how an effective job ad should be written at the 8th grade or lower? Were you as surprised as me at the power of writing in Plain English for busy… Read more »

write a job description graphic

How to Write a Job Description Like an Ad Copywriter

Posted by & filed under Writing Job Descriptions.

You have to do better than a “copy-and-paste” of an old job description to write a job description that stands out and engages the best talent. Many of you still use job descriptions written by someone with little to no marketing skills. Or perhaps copy-and-paste the JD from an unknown source. Let me give you… Read more »

Colliers Adds Employee Value Proposition Taglines to Job Postings

Posted by & filed under Employer Branding.

Real estate powerhouse Colliers International has a new “Power of Be” employee value proposition in its job descriptions. The opening 2 sentences of some of their latest U.S. job posting includes 3 words about what the candidate has the potential/power to “BE”.  E.g., “Be the expert” “Be a team player” “Be ambitious” Check out the… Read more »

3 Tips from U.S. Acute Care’s Branded Job Descriptions

Posted by & filed under Job Descriptions.

You can see 3 nice job description features below from new hospital organization U.S. Acute Solutions: 1. A picture of every office (hospital) This is an easy feature that every hospital group should consider since candidates want to picture where they work (and most hospitals have a quality picture of their location). The same applies… Read more »

7 Tips to Writing a More Effective Job Description

7 Easy Tips for Writing a More Effective Job Description

Posted by & filed under Writing Job Descriptions.

1. Job Description Length In our research, the optimal length of a written job description is 550 to 750 words. Many candidates lose interest after that. One exception to this: If your job description copywriting is truly incredible, you can get a quality candidate to read 1,000+ words. Note: Check out our free Job Descriptions Guide… Read more »

How to Write Job Descriptions that Attract the Right “Persona”

Posted by & filed under Writing Job Descriptions.

In a society flooded with job applicants and a low unemployment rate, I look for any edge I can get when writing job descriptions.  I have a policy to write my job descriptions at least as well as a candidate writes their resume! But reorganizing and updating an outdated, stiff job description is no easy task. Even… Read more »

How to Write a Job Description (as Told by a Microsoft/Lockheed Veteran Sourcer)

Posted by & filed under Job Descriptions.

Tens of thousands of recruiting/HR pros per month do a Google search on one of these terms related to “How to Write a Job Description ?”  Google Search Term # of Monthly Searches  job description template 7,920  how to write a job description 1,920  job descriptions samples 1,056  how to write job description 849  writing job descriptions 246… Read more »

Writing An Effective Job Ad With A Talent Acquisition Pro

Posted by & filed under Job Descriptions.

I’ve really enjoyed getting to know Scott Birkhead recently. In addition to his role as Director Talent Acquisition at Korn/Ferry Futurestep, he has run his own career coaching business, is an enthusiastic student of direct marketing gurus like Perry Marshall and Dan Kennedy and is a job ad guru. We got to talking about how… Read more »

Words that are used in the best job descriptions

7 Steps to Writing the Best Job Descriptions

Posted by & filed under Job Descriptions.

Writing job descriptions may be the single most important thing you do to attract quality talent. I recommend you use the 7 steps/sections below when writing your job descriptions. I’ve also included 20 examples of how leading employers create their job descriptions. Note: If you’re looking for an automated way to write/rewrite job descriptions, check out Ongig’s new Text Analyzer… Read more »