How You Are Ruining Your Job Ads

Most Job Ads you see online today are redundant, insulting, and ineffective.

The purpose of a Job Ad is to find quality people to hire. Notice: I didn't say employees, I said people. This is a hiring process, not the Hunger Games.

The way you word and present your Ad is going to be the first impression of which potential future employees will judge the position. To get top quality candidates, people who know their worth, you need to start off with respect.

To get top quality candidates, people who know their worth, you need to start off with respect.

There should be no scenario where you say, "Send your resume/CV if you are up for the challenge." Someone who knows their worth will see that message for what it is: Insulting, demeaning, and immature. To 'goad' potential candidates is saying that you don't see their worth and are going to begin the hiring process by judging them.

Well, you can just put up a short description about the position, list the requirements, and call it a day right? Wrong!

Most requirements are redundant to finding an actual effective candidate. You need an employee who can handle the day to day of the job and perform tasks as needed or better. You also want someone who will fit in culturally and someone who is respectful of the office environment. A candidate should not need a BA in English to be an office manager at a publishing company. It's irrelevant for the position, and yet this scenario is all too common.

Here are more things that should not be requirements:

"Minimum 5 years sales experience at a related Software-as-a-service company" As someone who has effectively and productively worked in many different industries in sales, I know first hand how irrelevant that is. As a sales person, you need to know how to sell. Some industries vary on the procedures, processes, and needs, but at the end of the day, its all the same. By having this requirement, you limit out many great candidates for absolutely no reason whatsoever.

"Must have X degree in Y field from Z universities" In a lot of professions, higher education is necessary. Most, however, are not. I have met many successful writers, marketers, recruiters, business men (and women), managers, designers, digital designers, and much more, who have been as good, if not better than their degree holding counterparts. Talent and know-how can not be defined by if someone went to a university.

"Punctuality and Attention to Detail" Not only is this redundant, it's insulting. All candidates know you need to be on time and focused to keep your job. Now, in reality, you're telling great candidates that you are inexperienced with hiring people of their caliber and this position is much too basic for them. Any other basic qualities are included here. Such as: Organized, trustworthy, reliable, dedicated, etc.

You can say, but this weeds out all of the candidates who don't posses these qualities! Is someone going to come straight out in the interview and say, "I know you want someone who is reliable, but I'm great at a lot of other things, so I hope you still consider me as a candidate!" No. 99.99999999% of the time, that will not happen. Is it really worth alienating your great candidates so you don't waste 15 minutes of your time in a bad interview?

At the end of the day, you need people who can fill the vacancy and be productive and effective. Most requirements don't mean anything to the right candidates. Instead, post a full description about the vacancy, all the details about the position up front, including responsibilities, and ask that they send in their resume/CV. A great candidate will have already tailored their CV to explain how each experience prepared them for this role.

Finding great talent should not be this hard. But to be fair, you are bringing it on yourself.

Written by Jessica Bliliuos