How to write job postings that outperform the rest – Tips and tricks on using online job boards for recruiting the best candidates for your company

Attempting to fill a vacant position can be an exciting time for your company. It can also be a real roadblock if not done properly. On the one hand, you get the chance to bring a new perspective with a fresh set of skills into your office. And, on the other hand, the job posting can sit without interest, leaving your company feeling frustrated and stuck with projects piling up until the right candidate comes along. There’s also another scenario, and that’s having the wrong candidates applying for your job posting. This can lead to wasted time and resources on both sides of the interview.

So how do you fix these issues and bring the excitement back to posting an opening? Simply put, you need to know exactly how to write your job posting so that it outperforms the rest. And at TriStarr, as one of the best staffing services available in the Lancaster area, we are well-versed in how to attract and recruit top talent through job postings. Below, let’s review some tips and tricks we use while utilizing online job boards to effectively get the most out of a job posting.

Give Your Job Posting a Desirable – and Frequently Searched – Job Title

The title you’re giving your potential employee matters. A lot. There’s a vast difference in search volume between Administrative Assistant and Office Assistant, as this recent article by Proven shows. Using tools like Google’s Keyword Planner will help you determine what terms are being searched for the most and will, in turn, give you the best chances of getting your listing to be a part of those search results. As a staffing agency, being able to zero in on effective job titles has proven to provide an extra edge for large and small businesses alike.

And while you can alter the name of the position within your job listing to be more enticing, you need to be realistic about what your target candidate audience is looking for.

Think Like a Candidate and Like A Marketer

Put yourself in a jobseeker’s shoes. What would you want to see in a job listing? You don’t want to overwhelm anyone with detailed tasks they may or may not perform on the job nor do you want the job listing to look like a supermarket receipt. Keep things short and simple and entice your possible recruits with language about your company’s culture, location, development opportunities, and work environment. If it helps candidates to picture themselves working for your company, it’s a stellar job posting. Get feedback from current employees and colleagues and take what they say to heart. This is where thinking like a marketer comes in handy and why it’s a crucial part of our job posting assessments. It’s important to think of a job listing as a way to sell your company to a candidate just as a commercial would inspire a viewer to shop at a store.

Make Things Easy for Your Candidate

As a staffing agency in Lancaster, we’ve learned many things, but this tip is always on our list. Making your job easy to apply for will increase your chances of candidates and recruits applying. If a job-seeker needs to search for the contact info to apply or they need to fill out a series of questions that can be answered by their resume, they may end up wishing they didn’t bother taking the time to jump through hoops when they’ve finished applying to your company. That’s why TriStarr has specific checkpoints throughout the application process to keep those lines of communication open and to help with any questions a candidate has along the way. Clear points of contact, someone to check in with candidates to assist them in the application, and accessible links to your site to learn more about the job (if necessary) will go a long way.

Choose Your Language Carefully

It can’t be stressed enough that job listings should be clear and concise. But it is good to note that having rigid language and seeming too close-minded can do your company a disservice. For instance, if you’ve stated in your job listing that you need a candidate with over five years of experience, but a worthy recruit has a strong record with only four years on their resume, you could be discouraging them from applying. Often, recruits and jobseekers check a job listing for one section first: the skills requirements. If they find there are too many skills required and they possess some but not all or that many of the skills necessary are so specific they feel their training hasn’t gone deep enough to match the requirements they may decide not to apply. Unbeknownst to them, those skills may not be the most important to the hiring staff and could be learned on the job. It’s best when separating skills into “required” and “desirable” lists that you don’t make the required list too comprehensive as to not scare away qualified candidates. At TriStarr, we work to make each listing’s wording specific to the company we’re working with and the recruits we’re looking for. It’s okay to set a list of required skills as an employer, but be reasonable in what type of talent you’re looking to attract.

Hire A Staffing Agency

Another way to make this easier on your staff and your company at large is to hire a staffing agency like TriStarr to do all of this work for you and present you with the most qualified candidates. There are a lot of moving parts that go into hiring and TriStarr is an expert in more than just recruiting candidates. Whether you’re looking for someone to weed through resumes to find you the strongest candidates to interview, or you’re looking to have the entire process from recruitment to hire to be managed outside of the company, TriStarr can meet you where your needs are. To have the most effective job postings, consider working with a firm that knows recruiting inside and out.

If you are a business owner or manager and would like to learn more about how TriStarr can assist with recruiting in temp staffing in Lancaster, PA,  administrative staffing or professional and IT staffing, click on our links for more information. If you are looking for a temporary or permanent position click here to apply online.

TriStarr is a Lancaster recruitment, staffing, and consulting agency providing temporary and permanent staffing solutions for clients in Lebanon, Harrisburg, Hershey, York, and Reading. Contact us online or call us at (717) 560-2111.