- Clearly State Your Requirements: Spell out “must haves” and “nice to haves” very clearly. Make it clear that experience in a certain area is a “must have,” but experience using a specific technology is a “nice to have.” It’ll improve your chances of finding the right candidate for the job significantly. For example:
- Ability to deliver 70-plus projects per month, on time, under budget.
- Must have five-plus years of healthcare experience.
- HTML5 coding is a plus.
- Tell Candidates What You Need to See from Them: Communicate what you want to see in a portfolio or resume. Their choice to ignore it or nail it will give you an idea of how they will perform in the job.
- Ask Job Seekers to Do More Than Push the Send Button: Request a blurb on why they’re a great fit for this position, or ask a relevant question that they can answer as part of their job submission. You’d be amazed at the additional details you could discover that might not translate in a standard cover letter.
- Give a Timeframe: Whenever possible, try to let potential employees know when you’re prepared to fill the position. If your candidate is as good as you think, other companies will notice, too. Time is of the essence!
- Follow Up: There is nothing worse than being ignored after interviewing at a company — especially those that have had several interviews, often with high-level decision makers that indicated they were the top candidate. Please do not give anyone the silent treatment — it’s unprofessional and rude.
So, being very direct about your needs, requirements and expectations of potential candidates in your job ads will greatly improve the quality (versus quantity) of talent. Don’t fall into the trap of writing ads to weed out weaker candidates. Write them to attract the stronger ones. People are the most important asset in any company, and a successful, long-term commitment begins with attracting the right candidate.
For what it’s worth … I ran creative departments for 30 years and found I got the best leads when HR let me run ads written in my voice, not the company voice. They usually began with something like, “Help! I need…” and carried on from there. Takeaway — It was a CD running the ad, not a company. And from the tone, prospects could get a feel for the type of person they would be working for.
Thanks for sharing! I bet you got better candidates,too because they got a better idea of what the job was about.