Why Your Job Ads Aren’t Working – And How We Can Fix Them

Are you having trouble finding the right applicants for your job vacancies? If you’re writing job ads that aren’t making the right impression, the chances are that you’re making errors that are turning off the best candidates. Getting your job ads right will ensure that they hit the right mark and inspire talented professionals to apply to join your organisation.

Here at Careerwise, we have many years of expertise in the recruitment industry, and we know how to craft job adverts that really work. We can take a look at your roles and your adverts and identify the problems, helping you to get better results.

What is Going Wrong with Your Job Ads?

If you are not getting the response you want to your job adverts, it’s time to take a look at the potential problems and figure out where it’s going wrong:

1. Where are you advertising? It’s impossible to attract the best candidates to interview if they are not seeing your job ads! Many companies post excellent job ads on the wrong platforms and are surprised when they don’t get the responses they were hoping for, and this is an easy problem to fix. The first step is to find out where your ideal candidates are looking for jobs and start advertising there.

2. Who are your job ads aimed at? If it is unclear who you are trying to appeal to, you will not connect with the audience you want. If you want to appeal to talented professionals, you’ll need to create adverts that tell them what they need to know and inspire them to apply, so it is well worth investing the time in getting this right! Research will help here, so find out where your target audience is and take a look at what your competitors are offering to see whether your job ads are falling short because there are better options available. If this is the case, you may need to go back to the drawing board and consider what you need, adjusting the job spec and salary package to reflect this if necessary.

3. Is your ad too long? A boring or over-detailed job advert will put off many interesting candidates, especially if they can’t find out the essential details quickly. Your ad should be clear and concise, laying out exactly what you are looking for and describing the precise nature of the job and your business. You should include any specific skills required, such as programming knowledge, for instance, and enable the applicant to get an understanding of your organisation and requirements.

4. Are the details correct? You will only be wasting your own time and that of your potential applicants if you put out ads that are not correct, so make sure that you have checked all the details, including salary information and essential criteria, before you post your ad. This will be the first encounter a potential candidate has with you, so it is important that it is professional and clear to provide a good first impression.

5. How’s your language? It’s vital that the language you use in your job ads is inclusive, and this is not as straightforward as it sounds. Gendered language, for instance, is very easy to slip into and will have a negative impact on your hiring process. You can use AI tools to check your language for implicit bias, such as gender bias and ableism, and this will help you to open up your playing field and attract better candidates.

6. Are you optimising for SEO? There’s no denying that SEO has a big influence on what your target audience sees, so you will need to think about whether your ads are optimised for the job sites you are using, as well as for search engines. You will need to use the right keywords to stand out from other ads, and we can help you to make your ads more effective.

7. Do you know how your ads are performing? If you are not tracking your metrics, it is likely that you don’t know who is seeing your ads or where they are seeing them. It is crucial to make the most of the platforms available to you and adjusting your job ads to make them stand out will involve analysing the way they are impacting with audiences. Once you understand how your current ads are performing, you can consider adjusting the structure, style and tone to create the results you want.

Writing an Effective Job Advert

Writing a job ad that engages the right people isn’t as simple as it sounds and our recruitment consultants can work with you to optimise your hiring process for success. For job adverts that draw in the applicants you want, we recommend that you:

1. Make it clear. It is imperative that readers understand exactly what the job you are offering is all about, the essential skills required and the nature of the position, including whether it is full-time, flexible or negotiable. Use keywords and short descriptions to make sure the details are clear.

2. Include essential details. If you would like your applicants to have knowledge of several programming languages, for instance, or to have many years of experience in their field, it is important to state this clearly so that you do not waste their time and yours. It is a good idea to lay out the essential requirements and any desirable extras so that potential applicants can see the relevance of your role to their skillset and experience. You should also include the salary information, as leaving this out will lose you several applicants who are frustrated by this.

3. Write well. Your job ad should be easy to read and this means using concise, effective headings and well-crafted text to describe what you are looking for. Do not leave it to AI as you will lose the human touch and this will put potential applicants off. Keywords are crucial and identifying these is a great place to start.

4. Don’t use jargon. Studies often show that jargon is off-putting to job seekers, so try to cut it out wherever you can. Jargon is often used to keep a job description vague, and this is not helpful for candidates, who will simply not bother if they don’t understand what you are looking for. Keywords and specific industry terms are not problematic, but you should ensure that you are clear about what you need.

5. Show off your company culture. When you are looking to attract the right talent to your organisation, you will need to share insights about your company culture to appeal to potential candidates. You can outline the nature of your organisation and its ethos and give details about the benefits and opportunities you offer to employees, letting potential applicants know that your company has plenty to offer.

Of course, it’s also important to consider where you are advertising and who is seeing your ads, and these are just some of the things we can help with. We’ll take a look at your target candidates and help you to craft the perfect advert to bring them to your door.

Work with CareerWise to Find New Hires

If you are recruiting for job roles in Ireland, we can help you to find the best candidates and confidently appoint the top talent. At CareerWise, we have many years of expertise in the recruitment industry, and we can assist you throughout the recruitment process.

Here at Careerwise, we work with local, national and international organisations to optimise the recruitment process. CareerWise is Ireland’s leading specialist recruitment firm, based in Cork, Shannon, Galway, Mayo and Dublin. Contact us online now or call us on +353 (0) 21 206 1900 to arrange a consultation.

Gillian Murphy

(Marketing Manager) CIPD – Shannon Office

At CareerWise Recruitment, Gillian has dedicated herself to mastering the intricacies of digital media. With a keen creative insight, she crafts and oversees a dynamic content marketing strategy that captivates and engages. Her strategic marketing and project management skills enable her to grasp overarching goals and pinpoint the steps necessary for timely, cost-effective project fruition.

Gillian’s background is rooted in a vast multinational telecoms firm, contributing over nine years in Finance/HR and Project Administration roles. Additionally, she brings a wealth of knowledge from five years in editorial and desktop publishing.

Her academic credentials include a study in Personnel Management at the University of Limerick, complemented by a diploma in Business Studies.

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