A job posting or job listing is essentially an advertisement that’s meant to sell candidates on the job. The ad needs to entice the job seeker to have them think, “Whoa, this job sounds great, I want to be doing that!” But sometimes because employers are so close to the position they need to fill or how their organization operates, businesses might miss the mark when it comes to crafting job advertisements.
As we continue to find it challenging to hire, here are the most common red flags that you should avoid including in your job postings that may be disengaging candidates.
1. The job titles are obscure or too creative
Job titles that boost employee moral are plentiful but these creative job titles aren’t always doing the organization or employees any favors. These job titles while they may make sense internally, to the outside world, they can come off as confusing. For example, an HR Manager is searching for job titles like “HR Manager” or “HR Director” and not the position called “Happiness Manager”. So, when you don’t get many applications, consider what the job title is. If you love your fun titles, use them internally only and use more formal, traditional titles externally.
2. Not including the salary range
Saying the pay is competitive may not be enough for job seekers to apply. Saying that the salary is “competitive” is subjective and interpreted by everyone differently. Which can be a positive or a negative depending on the candidate.
3. Lowered the bar on requirements, but only on paper
At the moment, it’s a job seeker’s market and the competition to hire is fierce, so in order to open up the candidate pool many organizations are lowering the bar in terms of the requirements typically needed to perform the role. For instance, maybe a master’s degree isn’t necessary or the number of years of experience can be lowered. However, if you don’t actually want someone with less experience, you may be making more work for yourself and sending the wrong message.
4. Not including soft skills
Soft skills aren’t always included on a resume and you won’t know what someone is like, until you speak with them, but you can save yourself time, by including in the job postings the specific soft skills or traits you are hiring for. Yes, knowing how to code as a software developer is necessary, but what if you’re looking for a software developer who’s going to be working behind the scenes, in the middle of the night? In addition to the hard skills of a software developer, you also should be seeking some specific soft skills and traits. Include, in the job posting that someone who’s a night owl or lives in a different time zone, would likely thrive in this position. This is a specific requirement or trait that you wouldn’t find on a resume, but can certainly help recruit the right kind of candidates.
As a company looking to hire great candidates it’s all about knowing how to attract the right people and avoiding these red flags is a great start.
Nexxt is a recruitment media company that uses today’s most effective marketing tactics to reach the full spectrum of talent – from active to passive, and everything in between. Learn more about hiring with Nexxt.