Every January, the hiring rush begins. Lots of employers are advertising new vacancies and there’s a tonne of online hiring posts to compete with. In the first month of 2024, nearly 867,000 vacancies were posted online. That’s a lot of noise, but it’s also a lot of potential!
The surge in adverts also leads to an uptick in candidates (at last!) with lots of people making New Year resolutions to change careers for the better. So, if you’re back to work with roles to fill, how do you cut through the chatter and make your jobs stand-out and appeal to the right candidates?
Here’s a mix of quick wins and my own personal insights on how to make your job adverts stand out – helping you create ads that don’t just get noticed but also attract the right candidates.
My 3 Top Tips to Get the Basics Right
#1 – Job Design
Make sure your vacancy isn’t a wish list of mismatched duties or unrealistic experience requests. Candidates will quickly scroll past if your expectations seem out of touch or a combination of multiple jobs that don’t exist in that form outside of your organisation.
Instead, focus on creating a role that aligns with market standards and appeals to the type of person you want to attract. Search for similar roles online to ensure your job title is relatable, your responsibilities are well-defined, and your person specification is realistic. A well-designed role and succinctly communicated ad is far more likely to hit the mark with applicants and encourage them to click ‘apply’.
#2 – Set the Right Salary
While pay isn’t the only thing candidates consider, I can honestly say it’s the first thing they look at. If you want them to pause and read on, you need to be specific about what’s on offer, including details about bonuses, commission schemes, pay reviews, and any other financial incentives.
I can’t emphasise enough how important it is to do some quick research before you go live —what are your competitors offering? Even if you recruited the same role 3 or 6 months ago, wage inflation means things have moved on. Check again to see if you’re still in line with market expectations. If you can’t compete on salary, highlight other perks, like flexible working, career progression, or unique cultural benefits (see below).
#3 – Make It Visible
Think about where your ideal candidates are searching for jobs and ensure your advert is there. Whether it’s specific job boards, social media channels, or niche communities, visibility is key.
To increase your reach, incorporate relevant keywords and SEO best practices to ensure your advert ranks higher in search results. Don’t forget about accessibility — your advert should be mobile-friendly and optimized for various platforms to maximise engagement. And remember that over 75% of candidates will abandon their application if it takes more than 15 minutes to complete.
How to Make your Job Adverts Stand Out Creatively but Authentically
As a recruiter with (let’s just say a lot!) of experience, I can safely say that the companies attracting the best candidates aren’t necessarily the ones with the biggest budgets—they’re the ones who know how to tell their story.
To give a quick example, six months ago, I worked with a small tech business in South Manchester who were struggling to recruit and started to consider how to make your job adverts stand out. They couldn’t compete with industry leaders on salary or perks, but they had a unique story to tell: an owner managed business doing the right things in the right way, and a close-knit team that truly cared about innovation and each other. Instead of listing responsibilities and requirements in their job advert, we talked about their Friday hackathons, their “no-blame” culture, and how their trainees had a track record of becoming team leads within two years.
The result? A flood of applications—not just any applications, but from people who were genuinely excited about joining their team. (From here, we went on to make sure their candidate communications, interview processes and onboarding kept that story going, but that’s a blog for another day!)
My lesson here is simple: don’t just describe the job; tell candidates what it feels like to work with you. Put yourself in their shoes and ask yourself, “What makes your role unique?” If your answer is vague – ‘we’re a good company’ or ‘we have a great team’, you might need to reconsider how you communicate this in an authentic, consistent way.
What Candidates Want to Hear
Culture Matters
A candidate once told me they applied because the advert said, “We care more about the right attitude than the right CV.” That simple statement said it all. Your job advert is an extension of your brand, so think about how your language reflects your company culture. If you’re innovative, quirky, or community-focused, let it shine through.
Team Traditions
If you’ve got a unique tradition, like going out a walk in the hills with your team once a month, include it in the advert. Share testimonials from current employees or success stories that showcase your team environment. Remember, candidates will often check out your social media presence before applying. Ensure your feed reflects the values and personality you want to convey.
Be Transparent
I recently helped a client write an advert for a tough sales job. We didn’t sugarcoat it: “This isn’t for everyone,” we wrote, “but if you thrive on challenges and love hitting targets, this could be your dream role.” That honesty drew in the exact type of candidates they needed. People want to know what they’re signing up for. Be upfront about salary, benefits, and even the challenges of the job.
Summary
The January hiring rush is an incredible opportunity to find people who can transform your business. To take advantage of it, take some time to really think about how to make your job adverts stand out and approach your ad campaigns with the same care, creativity and planning you’d use in any other aspect of your business.
After all, your job advert isn’t just a list of duties—it’s an invitation to be part of something bigger.
If you’d like to have a chat about reviewing your job adverts, connecting with the right audiences and reaching target applicants, I’d love to hear from you. Get in touch here.
