I'm a big fan of Hugh McLeod's GapingVoid artwork. He spent ten years as an advertising copywriter before devoting his life to share his ideas in his scribbles. He raises some interesting questions in his art.
Job advertising isn't an art. It's pretty similar everywhere. A quick look on job search Indeed finds ad for:
- 12,548 unique opportunities
- 14,488 market leaders
- 240 once in a lifetime jobs
- 80,498 ads starting, "My client"
As recruiters we're often guilty of shouting about the roles we're recruiting for. We advertise roles like estate agents advertise houses. There are job ads out there which talk lots but say next to nothing.
I appreciate there are reasons why recruiters are sometimes coy about who their client is or every lasting detail on the job. But surely we can do better than the standard, "My Client, a market leader..."
There's a lot more room to tailor job ads to the person you're looking for. Think about your client. Think about the candidate who would fit best. Are they most concerned in flexible working or making partner? What's it like to work for your client?
One thing I've never seen in a job ad is a testimonial from an employee who's currently there. What would it be like if the person who the employee will sit next to wrote the job ad?
