Finding talent is a lot like fishing. You may look around at people fishing near you and wonder why they are being successful, and you are not. Well, the reason is simple. You need to be in the right place at the right time, and you need to be using the right bait.

In today’s labor market, the right bait is a well written job posting that is communicated to your target audience using a variety of communication channels. It must convey to job seekers what they will get from the company in return for working hard to achieve goals within the scope of the position they are applying for. In other words, it becomes a “what’s in it for me” evaluation.

A common mistake many employers make is thinking that posting the job description is all they need to do. After all, the job description tells job seekers everything they need to know about the position.

That’s true. However, a job posting and a job description are not the same things. While they both play a pivotal role in your recruitment efforts, a job posting and a job description serve different purposes.

A job posting is an advertisement. Well-written advertisements catch your audience’s attention and get them interested in the product. In this case, the product is your company and the open job.

Your job advertisement should catch the candidates’ attention and convince them to apply for your job. While you don’t want to oversell the position, a job posting highlights the most compelling and interesting aspects of the job, but the sizzle is what makes job seekers apply. The sizzle can include many elements of which some are listed below:

• Perform Cutting Edge Work
• Great Work Environment
• Company and Career Growth
• Outstanding Pay and Benefits
• Solid Management Team
• Work/life Balance
• Company Sponsored Programs and Activities
• Fun Place to Work
• Etc.

In addition to the sizzle, keep your job postings short and to the point. Be concise but don’t be dry in the presentation of your opportunity.

Once candidates reply to your job posting, keep them informed, engaged, and move them through a standardized evaluation process in a timely manner.

If you require any assistance with your job postings or other aspects of your talent acquisition process, please contact ASE’s Staffing Services Group.

Source: Flexjobs.com