Writing the
perfect job ad is an art form. You have to be able to cover an overview of your
business, the role itself, what is required in the role, your ideal candidate
and what's in it for the them, all without losing their
attention. The advertisement needs to be appealing and informative so the candidate wants to apply for the role.
When
writing an ad for a regular job board such as Seek or TradeMe, the task is made
easier by the fact your audience are actively looking for a job and will have a
longer attention span. However what about if you advertise on LinkedIn?
LinkedIn is
becoming more and more popular in recruiting circles as it is tapping into a
widely passive market. In fact only 20% of LinkedIn users are actively seeking
work. This means you are targeting a pool of skilled potential employees
already in stable jobs, and need to convince them to "jump ship."
There are
two way candidates browse jobs on LinkedIn. Firstly you can actively search by
keywords, functions and industries, and secondly, LinkedIn will match suitable
jobs to you based on keywords in your profile. The second is the most common
way to reach a passive market.
So what can
you do differently when writing a LinkedIn ad?
1. Be
specific with the job title
Don't be cryptic with the title. You need to say exactly what the job is. If you are after a Sales Manager, use that as your job title. Remember, we are matching keywords to previous jobs. "Chief Solutions Superstar" may be attention grabbing on Seek or TradeMe, but makes it hard to match keywords on LinkedIn.
Don't be cryptic with the title. You need to say exactly what the job is. If you are after a Sales Manager, use that as your job title. Remember, we are matching keywords to previous jobs. "Chief Solutions Superstar" may be attention grabbing on Seek or TradeMe, but makes it hard to match keywords on LinkedIn.
2. List
specific skills, qualifications, industry experience
LinkedIn will pull this from a candidates profile. Be specific about the previous experience and training, however if particular skills are not so important, don't go into too much detail. The easiest way to get around this is list "must haves," not "the nice to haves."
LinkedIn will pull this from a candidates profile. Be specific about the previous experience and training, however if particular skills are not so important, don't go into too much detail. The easiest way to get around this is list "must haves," not "the nice to haves."
3. Keep
it short, to the point and clearly state what's in it for the candidate
Remember you are dealing primarily with a passive market, so you need to grab their attention. Why would someone in a stable job want to leave it to come and work for you?
Remember you are dealing primarily with a passive market, so you need to grab their attention. Why would someone in a stable job want to leave it to come and work for you?
4. Make
sure your business has a company page on LinkedIn
LinkedIn gives your company the opportunity to build a profile page on their site. It is a quick way to give an overview of who you are and what you do. Back to the last point, you need to give people a good reason to apply and if you are advertising on LinkedIn without a company profile, you are selling yourself short.
LinkedIn gives your company the opportunity to build a profile page on their site. It is a quick way to give an overview of who you are and what you do. Back to the last point, you need to give people a good reason to apply and if you are advertising on LinkedIn without a company profile, you are selling yourself short.
If you are
not sure how to go about creating a profile page, Talent Propeller offers our clients a
service where they can build a LinkedIn company profile for you.
For more information on writing effective recruitment ads, contact us for a chat.
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