In today’s ever-changing hiring landscape, the job ad still reigns supreme as the most common ways to attract talent. A well-crafted job ad elicits both curiosity and excitement from those who view it, whether those viewers are just casually browsing for a new opportunity or looking for more immediate employment.

For growing companies, the agile structure of modern job ads spells opportunity. Not only are these ads a vital part of recruitment, but they are also an excellent avenue for employer branding campaigns. A job post can simultaneously signal to the world a company’s purpose, value and strengths while also attracting talent.

Most of us are familiar with how the job post process works: Employers post an ad on a job board of their choice, which may be general or catered to a specific industry. Potential applicants scan the job board and click the ad if it feels relevant or interesting to them.

The goal of employers, then, should be to a) maximize those relevant clicks and b) convert those clicks into job applications.

Before getting into how these conversions can be achieved, let’s look at some context: the inner workings of a job board and the anatomy of typical post.

Posting an ad on a job board

Today’s job boards typically operate on a per-click basis; that is, employers pay a set Cost-per-Click (CPC) instead of the more traditional per-post payment.

The CPC structure on modern job boards allows the job poster to continually test, monitor and optimize their posts. This ensures they are capitalizing on the strongest points of an ad and eliminating any weak aspects.

Although optimizing job ads can be a simple process when using the right tools, employers do have plenty of areas to monitor and adjust on a regular basis. These include the typical variables found in job postings on job boards, such as:

• Job title – A short name for the open position
• Job description – An explanation of the position, often including job duties, skill requirements, company overview and (optional) salary range
• Location – Where the job takes place
• Call to Action (CTA) – The link or button a job seeker clicks in order to apply
• Destination URL – Where the job seeker lands after clicking the call to action

Each of these aspects of a job post should be specifically tailored for the job seekers that are most relevant to the employer. This can be achieved by following a few standard best-practices to maximize conversions.

Best practices for creating a job ad

The perfect job ad attracts relevant candidates, keeps them engaged and gives them plenty of reasons to click ‘apply’. That’s why employers should always keep the job seeker in mind when crafting a job post that truly converts.

A results-driven job ad will usually have the following components:

A relevant, searchable job title

Recruitment marketers who are looking to attract top talent must first understand the common search queries among their job-seeking audience. Relevant keywords should always come first in a job title to ensure they’re picked up by Google and noticed in search results. Keeping titles short and punchy gives job seekers instant knowledge about what they’re about to read, and offers a memorable preview of the content within in the ad.

A relatable company overview

Keep potential applicants engaged by crafting an informative, exciting company description. This should include its mission and culture – both of which the potential candidate could soon be a part of. It’s especially important to consider the applicant audience to avoid a mismatch in marketing language; if the ad copy appeals more towards young, recent graduates but the open positions require many years of experience, it’s time to re-examine and align for better results.

A concise, easily digestible list of responsibilities

This area gives employers a chance to define their needs, while also appealing to a job seeker’s ambition. In that sense, a responsibilities section shouldn’t be too heavy-handed on small details. Employers are better off streamlining this section to highlight the major tasks involved in a position, and sprinkling in details as needed. With a simple and purposeful list, job seekers can imagine themselves excelling in the role if it’s right for them.

A realistic summary of ideal skills and qualifications

Employers should take care not to overestimate the skills necessary for a job. Doing so can overwhelm potentially relevant applicants and act as a detrimental filter for an otherwise perfect job ad.

One of the best approaches to this important section is to divide it into sub-sections for ‘necessary skills’ and ‘nice-to-have skills’. Labeled in a way that’s on-brand and inclusive, this specification helps guide the job seeker through the various layers of qualifications. It then becomes easier for them to evaluate their potential fit and apply if desired.

URL Tracking and Optimized Destination Page

When crafting a job ad, don’t forget to consider the overall job applicant journey. Once a candidate clicks the ad’s CTA, the destination URL should not only make perfect sense, but also continue the engaging scenario primed in the job post. Ensure to track the URL and that the destination page is always in top shape through automated optimization.

Bottomline: Post, analyze, improve and repeat to get the most results from every job ad.

Employers might not hit all the right targets on their first post draft, even if it’s already live. That’s why it’s important to continue testing and tweaking job ads until desired results are achieved. Automating these tasks through the use of a DSP is the most effective way to achieve quick, job-specific optimization at scale.

As technology has evolved, the job ad hasn’t decreased in importance. On the contrary, it’s become an area for incredible opportunity. Companies now have the ability to make job posts customizable in real time and transform otherwise standard recruitment strategies into powerful, competitive advantages.

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About Spencer Parra

Spencer Parra is the VP of Product Management for advertising and data products at Radancy. In that capacity, Spencer and his team of product managers, program managers, data scientists, and data analysts work to develop products in a data driven mindset. As the leader of Advertising products, he works to bring a holistic full funnel approach to Radancy’s advertising technology stack with Programmatic Jobs at its foundation. Through data products, he tells the story of media performance via Radancy’s Metrics Gateway and helps ensure data is democratized through Radancy’s unified platform. Spencer came to Radancy from the Perengo acquisition in mid 2019 where he served as Lead Product Manager and a member of the founding team. With Perengo, he worked towards the vision of leveraging the same rigor and concepts from ecommerce advertising technology to the recruitment advertising space. Prior to Perengo, Spencer launched and supported in-app advertising products at Criteo as a solutions engineer. Spencer holds a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

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