Red Flags In Job Adverts
Pitch Consultants
Specialist Marketing, Creative, Digital, PR and FMCG Recruiters based in Birmingham and Manchester.
Writing a job advertisement can seem like the easiest thing in the world… You just write what you’re looking for right?
Wrong!
The job advert is one the most important parts of the hiring process. It’s how you’re going to hook in all those amazing candidates… so why would you want to give them a bunch of red flags at stage 1?
We recently asked our candidate community what their biggest red flags are when applying for a job. The kind of things which make them think “no thank you”. Here’s what they said …
+ No salary displayed
64% of our community said that not displaying a salary is a huge red flag. Whilst there could be a valid reason for not displaying one, for job seekers it implies either you’re underpaying your staff or you’re not certain about what you’re looking for.
If you consider it from a job seekers perspective, you could have the best job and advert ever, but without a salary how are they going to know if their financial needs could be met by the business? This paves the way for less applications and more time wasted during the interview stages if potential candidates are looking for a higher salary than you’re willing to offer.
+ Dual roles
A Graphic Designer/Account Manager or a Marketing/Business Development Executive. Though some roles have cross overs, advertising an opportunity as a dual role can be a turn off for many candidates, especially at a more senior level.
Dual roles promote the idea that the business doesn’t quite know who they’re looking for and makes potential applicants question whether they’ll be stretched across the two disciplines.
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+ Confusing language and terminology
Keep it simple. If applicants have to Google what it is you’re promoting or asking for, then you’re not communicating your needs in the right way.
+ Overused phrases
“A good sense of humour”
“Hit the ground running”
You could mean well by these phrases. But honestly, they’re overused and often conjure up negative thoughts about the company.
A good sense of humour – What does this even mean? I’m sure no one ever thinks they have a bad sense of humour!
Hit the ground running – Does this mean a new starter gets little training and support and is simply left to crack on?
Try to steer clear of these phrases if you don’t want to raise red flags to potential candidates about your business and company culture.
Brand Consultant
2 个月Don't forget ?? "fast paced environment" = it's so fast you won't have a chance to get anything completed before the next task is thrown at you and if you can't cope it's not our fault because we put it in the JD ?? "Ability to juggle and prioritise multiple projects at once" = see above ?? "Must be able to work under pressure" = see above and don't complain about your mental health ?? "We are just like a family" = Still owned by the founders or nepotism. People in charge haven't got the expertise but are unwilling to step back and let the people they hire use their skillset. ?? "Amazing culture" = Sadly for me, this is the biggest lie and red flag of them all. The language used in recent years by companies wanting to appeal to a younger gen and using the terms 'amazing culture' are often trying too hard to sound good, have a high turnover of staff and are not actually looking at how they treat their employees. We know that every candidate searches the hell out of any company they are applying for, let alone if you are at further stage interviews, and in doing so, you quickly find the real voices of businesses from current or past employees. Don't waste your time writing waffle in the JD, let your employees do the talking.