A job specification and a job advert have different jobs. Treating them as the same document is one reason an advert can contain plenty of words and still give a good candidate very little reason to apply.
Whether you recruit directly or use an agency, you need a clear brief. An agency can help you challenge it and turn it into an advert. It cannot read your mind.
Get the job specification straight first
The specification is your working document. It should explain the purpose of the role, the main responsibilities, the reporting line, working arrangements and the experience needed to do the work.
Start with the job you have agreed in Part 1. Do not copy every responsibility from the previous employee’s career into the next person’s job. Ask what the business needs now.
Be clear about location, shifts, travel and any genuine requirement to attend a site. If a qualification or authorisation is necessary, explain why. Separate that from a preference which you would happily trade for the right practical experience.
This document also gives you the basis for assessing applications and interviewing. If the criteria keep changing, candidates are being judged against a moving target.
Use the 5/3/1 approach
Here is the conversation I want you to have with the hiring manager.
What 5 things are important to the role?
What 3 things, out of those 5, can you not train, but you can coach and develop?
What is the 1 crucial thing, out of those 3, you really need the most, in order for the candidate to be successful in this role?
That is my 5/3/1 approach. It forces a decision about priorities rather than allowing every desirable item to become “essential”.
It does not mean the candidate only has to meet one requirement. Nor does it remove a legal, professional or safety requirement. Those still need to be met. The point is to distinguish the central capability from things somebody can learn with proper support.
Be honest about that support. If nobody has the time or knowledge to train someone, do not advertise a development opportunity and then reject everybody who needs developing.
Now write an advert for the person reading it
Your advert is there to help a suitable person recognise the opportunity and decide whether to speak to you. It is not an internal filing document with an “Apply now” button attached.
Use a job title the right people will recognise. Explain what they will work on and what makes the role interesting. Give enough detail to distinguish your job from every other engineering vacancy with the same title.
“Excellent opportunity with a leading company” does not tell me much. What is the work? What responsibility will I have? What problem will I be helping to solve? What will I learn, and who will I work with?
You do not need to cram your entire company history into the opening paragraph. Give the reader a reason to keep going.
Tell people what matters before they apply
State the salary or an honest range where you can, together with the working location and arrangements. Explain the package accurately. Do not pad it with benefits that are simply the legal minimum, or suggest that a discretionary benefit is guaranteed.
If there are shifts, regular travel or a particular working pattern, say so. Hiding an important detail may produce more applications, but it does not produce a better shortlist.
Write requirements around the work and evidence of being able to do it. Avoid unnecessary restrictions or language that excludes people for reasons unrelated to the job. Keep genuine essentials visible and the useful extras in proportion.
A good advert helps some people decide the job is not for them. That is useful too.
Make the next step straightforward
Tell people how to apply, who will see the application and what happens next. A named contact or an initial conversation can help where the role needs explaining.
If you can consider a LinkedIn profile or a conversation before a full CV, say so. If you need a particular document at this stage, explain it. Do not make people enter the same employment history repeatedly without a good reason.
Check the application route yourself. Can somebody find the contact details? Does the button lead to the right place? Is there a way to ask for an adjustment to the process? An advert is not finished just because the wording looks tidy.
Put the advert where the right people may see it
Different roles need different routes. A relevant job board, your own network, a specialist recruiter and a sensible social post can all have a part to play. Casting a bigger net is not much use if it is in the wrong part of the ocean.
Choose the route for the people you need to reach. Do not assume that paying for another listing will solve an unclear brief or an uncompetitive package.
Advertising is one part of recruitment. Some suitable people will not be actively searching. That deserves its own discussion, but it does not excuse an advert that fails to explain the job.
Check it against the brief
Before it goes out, ask the hiring manager to read it as a candidate would. Does the advert describe the agreed job? Are the priorities, pay and working arrangements consistent with what you intend to discuss at interview?
If you would be uncomfortable defending a promise to the person who accepts, change it now. Then use the same brief when reviewing the applications.
The Employer Recruitment Pack contains further tools. For context on reaching people who are not actively looking, see why good candidates stay put. Next: Part 3 — working with recruitment agencies.
