The Perfect Job Advert: The UK Education Sector

The Perfect Job Advert: The UK Education Sector

In my opinion, having the right people is the greatest asset an employer can have. Research shows that hiring the right people significantly increases the chance of an organisation achieving its set goals and objectives. With the right employees, the output is optimised, and the collaboration within the workplace is colossally improved. In turn, the reputation of the brand, organisation, company, or learning institution is enhanced, bringing about better performance. However, it is worth noting that employees are not simply stumbled upon and recruitment needs to be approached in a considered manner.

An employer must put in the effort to acquire the right employees, who can deliver the results they require to be successful. In their bid to capture the right employees, employers use a wide range of techniques. Job advertisements are the most common forms of recruitment in the UK education sector and there is now a wide range of platforms available, including newspapers and magazines, digital media and social media. Critically, not all these options yield the correct results.

Modern employers are not interested in just getting someone through the door; they are in search of the best cultural fit for their organisation, department and team. It is crucial for employers to be focused on their advert' quality and appropriateness because it determines the quality of their hire. This factor cuts across all industries, including the education sector as the quality of the organisation’s output depends largely on the quality of the workforce, in this case: teachers and other education professionals. Therefore, when looking for talent in this sector, great care has to be taken when recruiting, especially when coming up with the job advert.

What does a Perfect Education Sector Job Advert Look Like?

In the UK the education sector is among the largest industries in the economy. This has led to the education sector being a significant UK employer that is always recruiting new talent, whether in the public or private sectors. The education sector has turned to digital adverts to hire new talent, a trend that is not going away any time soon. The biggest test now lies in the creation of such adverts, to make sure that only the qualified and most appropriate people are recruited. Writing job adverts in the education sector is not as simple it might sound because each word needs to be considered as valuable. The overall message is equally important. The following points will help achieve perfection in drafting a job advert aimed at attracting high calibre educational professionals for any post in the education sector.

Use a suitable and clear job title

When running a recruitment campaign for any post in the education sector, it is important to note that the job title is the first step to attracting the right individual. The title should be particular and accurate in that it does not confuse the applicant or the search engine on the job board. It should also not be over creative or twisted so much that it becomes alien to the potential recruits. A quick job title search online will allow you to see if you are along the right lines.

Mention the salary

This is the aspect that many education sector employers get wrong. Most potential recruits have their expectation and goals in terms of the amount they want to be paid and yet it is quite common to use “competitive” as the salary on a job advert.

Mentioning the salary sets the record straight so that only the interested candidates will proceed with the application. This saves you both time and resources that could be otherwise spent on interviews. When salaries are mentioned, candidates who show interest in the job are more likely to be sure that their skill level is up to par (Garzone, 2018).

Describe the exact work location

The location of the work is extremely important when crafting a job advert. The advert should precisely indicate the institution's location in a clear way, usually a postcode works best for this. Some applicants prefer working at a specific office, while others like the flexibility to work from home. Considering what level of flexibility you can allow before you recruit is important so that you attract the right people. When the exact location is mentioned, applicants are given a chance to do their analysis and decide whether they want to work in that location or not. Planning is essential, so it is important to know the location details of the work area before proceeding with the application.

Give details about your organisation

It is always a recommended practice to give the details of the organisation that is in search of teachers or any other professional in the education sector. Some brief information regarding the recruiting organisation should be included in the advert to help applicants get a clear picture of where they are going to work if they get recruited. This will help them do their private research about the organisation and know a few details about it, which will help them determine if they want to continue with the application or not (Belin & Wang, 2010). This will eliminate the inconvenience of successful recruits not liking the modes of conduct or culture of the organisation because they did not get enough information early.

Spell out the roles and responsibilities

The education sector is packed with highly specialised careers, words, and acronyms. When writing a job advert, it is good to list all the roles and responsibilities associated with the post being advertised. The aim of the advert is to get the best person for the role. To ensure this happens, a list of all the tasks to be undertaken by the successful recruit should be highlighted. This will enable the interested applicants to know what they are going to deal with if they are successful. It would be wrong for an applicant to be surprised when their roles and responsibilities are explained to them and realise that they were not prepared for them after they finally get the job. It is a waste of time and resources that few organisations can spare.

Explain the key job requirements

This is the part of the job advert that acts as a filter. It separates the qualified potential recruits from those who are not. This section should exhaustively bring out the tastes and preferences of the employer in terms of the qualifications of the talent they are looking for. There is no point in having a room full of interviewees then the employer realising that none of them possesses a key skillset or qualification that is a major requirement of the job. Outlining the exact requirements will ensure that only the qualified candidates show interest in the post and take part in the recruitment assessments.

Include the expectations and challenges, if any

Apart from the roles and responsibilities, a job advert should also clearly state the expectations of the successful candidate. Also, it is important to indicate any challenges likely to be faced by the successful candidate. The hiring manager often knows best the nature of the job or the conditions under which it is done. This includes its difficulties or challenges. A good example is the common phrase, "must be able or willing to work under pressure." However, this is not detailed enough to give the job hopeful an accurate and clear picture of the common challenges or difficulties likely to be experienced (Read, 2018). A good example could be “should be able to teach a large class of students". This provides the truest picture of the pressure, challenge, or difficulty.

Indicate the benefits and perks

Many employers or institutions conducting recruitment of new talent routinely avoid this section for fear of falling short of their competitors. However, this is not usually the case as most organisations have strengths and weaknesses in their benefits packages. Perks and benefits excite applicants and increase their willingness to take up the job and give their best. This is a great section to show of the benefits of working for your organisation, in some areas you will be weaker than other organisations and in some you will be stronger.

Conclusion

The education sector is vast, and the careers within this industry often require high specialisation and qualifications. This regularly makes it more important than other sectors to make sure that when writing a job advert for a post it should be detailed enough and have enough effort put into it. It should contain details like the exact place of work, what is expected of the successful candidate, and much more. This will save the employer the costs of attracting the wrong applicant, who might be unqualified or unprepared to take up the job. Final tip: A good job advert should finish off with a call to action (CTA), which tells the interested potential recruits what to do to proceed with the recruitment process.

References

Belin, K., & Wang, Y. H. (2010). Job Adverts á la 2010: A study of content, style, recommendations and students thoughts and perceptions.

Garzone, G. E. (2018). Job advertisements on Linkedin. Generic integrity and evolution. Lingue e Linguaggi, 26, 197-218.

Manna, D. (2008). Strategic Aspects Of The Importance Of Employee Management. Journal of Diversity Management – First Quarter. 3. 10.19030/jdm.v3i1.4975.m

Read, C. (2018). How to craft an advert that's just the job. In Practice, 40(9), 420-421.

Reeves, R. K., & Hahn, T. B. (2010). Job advertisements for recent graduates: Advising, curriculum, and job-seeking implications. Journal of education for library and information science, 103-119.