Guide to Post a Job Opening Online

Employee retention starts with an effective job ad.

By Candis Hidalgo

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If you're an employer in charge of hiring, I don't need to tell you that recruiting the right employees for the job can be a challenge. You've no doubt experienced the torment of weeding through dozens of applicants only to choose one that, a week later, you discover isn't right for the job. While there's no magic formula to hiring the perfect employee, there are essential tips to keep in mind for your recruiting success.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Make Your Job Ad Look Attractive

Job seekers are relentlessly peering through countless newspaper classified ads, online job ads, and referring e-mails in search of their dream job. The first impression that your online job ad leaves can be priceless. Consider the look, colors, font size, and other aesthetic features of your ad - will it make a job seeker want to learn more, or even apply on the spot?

I recommend: Be creative yet tactful when creating your online job ad. Too many colors and/or pictures can make a job ad look tacky and unprofessional. You may want to consider pre-designed job ad templates from an internet service provider. This can save time and make the process simple and effective.

Choose Your Wording Carefully

Using the right words in your job ad can produce truly qualified applicants - using the wrong words can work against you. For instance, words such as "energetic" will probably attract younger applicants, while words such as "experienced" tend to attract a more mature audience. Also, be sure to mention the benefits of the position along with the requirements.

I recommend: Get creative with descriptions, do some research on your desired audience, and be deliberate with your content. Here's a good article from Poynter.org about writing an effective job ad.

Post Your Job Ad Online

While the more traditional methods of advertising your job opening are not obsolete, they do not offer the control and flexibility of an online job ad. Putting your job ad online is a definite start in the right direction when it comes to targeting a particular audience and reaching the largest amount of job seekers. However, even this can be limiting if you rely only on one job posting board - it limits the reaches of your job advertisement to only the job seekers visiting that particular site.

I recommend: The best way to achieve real job ad exposure is by putting it on multiple online job posting sites - this increases your job ad exposure to it's maximum potential. To save time and simplify the process you can use a job ad posting service that submits your job advertisement to dozens of these online job boards automatically.

Tips & Tactics
Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

Do some research on what your target audience is. Who do you want to attract with your job ad?
Read other online job ads from companies similar to your own. What are they doing that might be effective for your own job ad?
Don't overlook the power of the internet; most job seekers today are looking online for jobs. Make sure your job opening is there for them to consider.

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