Simon Benson

The Internet is littered with job ads. From both employers and agencies. And, when you come to hire someone, it seems like everyone else is looking for the same thing: a really good employee that helps the business grow. But before you can hire the right employee, you need to post the right job ad. So what can you do to ensure your job advertisement stands out from the crowd and actually attract applicants?

Once you’ve written one or two job ads, they can start to sound the same. To make your ads stand out, you don’t need to reinvent the wheel each time. But if all you do is simply change the job title and role responsibilities, leaving the rest of your ads the same, you’ll lose engagement from your audience. If you want to attract the kind of bright talent your business needs, your ads need to be punchy, detailed and stand out from the competition.

What candidates want to see when reading a job ad is detail. Anyone can write a generic, run-of-the-mill advertisement. One that talks about being a team player, entrepreneurial, and hitting the ground running. But who is this really appealing to? 

If you work in a candidate lead market where competition is fierce for talent, you need to sell your opportunity and business in detail. This is so candidates can already start to picture themselves in the role. It is an often-stated reality that good employees are hard to find. But, one of the reasons why leaders struggle is due to their job postings. Below are the key areas you should focus on with each and every ad you write.

1. Select an Exact Job Title

This is very important to get right and should be given sufficient consideration. I’ve had clients in startups calling and asking for CVs for roles like CTO or Product Director. When in fact, once we drill down on the requirements, it’s really a Head of Engineering or Lead Designer that they’re looking for. However, if you advertise a CTO role, guess what? You’ll get CTOs applying who are looking for the associated salary and responsibilities that go along with that title. 

Not every early hire in a startup needs a c-level title. So, if in doubt, go with the title of the next level below. This leaves you somewhere to go when you get to promotions and salary reviews. It also allows candidates to grow into a role as the business grows. Doing this will attract ambitious, key talent from other successful organizations where perhaps there isn’t the opportunity to move up.

2. List Clear Role & Responsibilities

Here you want to include as much detail as you can about what’s required and what the post-holder will be doing on a day-to-day basis. Candidates need to be able to picture themselves in a role to know if it’s something they want to do. This doesn’t need to be paragraphs of text; research shows most people reading job ads want easily, digestible information, so bullet points are fine, but make them specific, and avoid the generic. 

To achieve this, sit down and think about all the responsibilities of the role and make sure you include them. What will your Head of Sales be involved in besides running a team or department? If they’ll work alongside the marketing and product teams, be sure to highlight that, it may just be the variety that someone’s looking for in a career move. If there’s potential for the post-holder to shape their role in any way, make sure that you mention this too. 

People love to take ownership of their roles, and if someone’s looking to leave their current job as they feel they can’t move within the organization or feel they aren’t being listened to, this kind of detail could be very attractive.

3. Describe the Company Environment/Culture

Ask yourself, what’s it really like to work for you and your business? Is it a collaborative environment, a small team, what size is the office, do your employees socialize, do you have a remote workforce, or offer flexible working? Paint a picture of what it’s truly like to work for your business alongside the current team. This will really get engagement from qualified candidates. Some things may seem small to you. Such as Friday pizza in the office. But, these things help build a culture, team spirit, and bonds between your team. New employees want to know about that. 

Consider the following examples, which one is more attractive to a candidate? The first is the type of generic description I see all the time in employers’ ads, and the second actually gives some specifics:

• You will join an ambitious, hardworking team. We provide fruit, drinks, snacks, and a social program as well as the annual office trip. 

OR, another way to put it:

• You will be part of a 5-person team. 
• We work hard, support each other, and have breakout areas where you can grab a colleague to quickly sanity-check any ideas you want a second opinion on. 
• We provide drinks and snacks (from fruit to pizza) and love to socialize. 
• We have weekly drinks on Thursdays. We also do a monthly run if you’re a fitness fanatic (neither is obligatory!). 
• Our annual trip took us skiing last year. This year, we’re considering a city break. 

It’s a longer advertisement, sure. But, it provides actual detail and rises above the generic noise.

4. Mention Future opportunities

While the focus of your advertisement should be on the role you need someone to do for you right now, where will that role lead in the future? Most employers save this information for the interview stage, but why? You might not even get there if you don’t attract the right people with your ads. 

Be sure to include a sentence or two on future prospects. Or, you could even mention what a previous post-holder has gone on to do within your business. This way candidates can see that the role offers a future for them rather than just a job that needs doing for you. Lack of advancement opportunities is one of the main reasons why good employees quit their jobs. If your candidate is looking for a place where they can grow, mentioning those opportunities in your ad will catch their attention.

5. Include Compensation or Pay Range

You don’t need to include the full remuneration package in detail. This is because it may be necessary to negotiate on certain points to secure that key player. However, by ignoring the salary, which so many employers do, you’re missing out on a number of applicants without a doubt. Salaries can, of course, be a sensitive issue. But by at least including a range it doesn’t waste anyone’s time. And, your applicants will be in the right ballpark when you come to agree on a salary. 

Besides salary though, include all other benefits you offer. Remember, money isn’t everyone’s number one priority. So if you provide equity options, extra accumulative holiday, flexible working arrangements, childcare, training, etc. make sure they are in your ad.

6. Describe the Ideal Candidate

This should really go without saying, but be clear about which skills and experience are essential for the role and which are desirable. Few employers find that 10/10 person. Most hire someone pretty close with the ability to grow and become that 10/10 person. So, while you have your ideal wish list of what you’re looking for, be honest with yourself about what is essential. And understand what is just a “nice to have”. 

If you haven’t written a job ad before, also be sure to seek advice on the language used. This ensures you aren’t being discriminatory in any way without even realizing it. You don’t want to miss out on that perfect candidate because they were put off by poor phrasing or implied discrimination.

7. The Personality of Your Business

Once you’ve got all the key information down, your ad will probably be very informative but most likely devoid of any “voice” or personality. Think then about your business, what is the company culture and vibe like? Perhaps it is a formal environment where everyone is expected to wear suits but if it’s not, you want to get your voice across in the ad. 

There’s nothing wrong with using humor in ads. I’ve seen some genuinely funny ones, or simply a relaxed, informal style might best represent your culture. Whichever way, if you can give your ad a tone and voice that really represents you and your business, you’re well on your way to creating unique ads that will attract the right people.

 

This article was first published in 2019 but has been updated and expanded.

Article Tags:

Company Culture · featured · Find Your Way · Grow your business · Leadership

Article Categories:

Find Your Way · Grow Your Business · Leading Your Team · Your Mindset

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7 Tips for Writing a Killer Job Ad to Find the Right Employees Republished from Source https://startupmindset.com/7-key-tips-for-writing-a-killer-job-ad/ via https://feeds.feedburner.com/startupmindset

Along with making your first sale or landing your first customer or client, one of the most exciting milestones for a new startup is hiring your first employee. Finally, someone other than the founders will be joining you. Helping to make the dream of your future success a reality by putting in the hours and hard work to realize your goals. However, the importance of investing time in this process should not be underestimated. If you thought you’d just place a job ad and sit back and choose from the applicants flooding your inbox, think again.

Arguably, the first hires a startup makes are among the most important. This is because, depending on their successes, these will be the people to lay the foundations for further hires in the future. They will also allow you to continue to grow and scale your business. So, when you’re in a position to start interviewing, make sure you’ve given the following key factors sufficient consideration. Doing so will give you the best chance of finding the right people.

 

1. Know the Qualities You’re Looking For

There are many great qualities of good employees. A good employee has a great attitude, is capable of doing their job well, is organized, and is punctual. Good employees can also be the team members who work the hardest, contribute towards team unity, and, may also work well without needing much supervision. We would all love to have a loyal team of employees with all of these qualities. But you may need to settle for just a few of them.

Before hiring your first employees, consider the qualities you are looking for in a team member. Here are a few of the questions to ask yourself:

• What qualities are important for the position as well as the culture of the business?
• Which qualities will help the business grow?
• Which qualities, if absent, will hurt the business most?
• Are skills more important than talent?
• Is promptness more important than the ability to execute a task?
• Is personality important due to customer interaction?

 These questions will help you understand which qualities you need for your business and which ones are not as important. Once you’ve identified the qualities you are looking for in your first employees, it is time to focus on their role within your company.

 

2. Identify the Areas Where You Need Support

No one knows the jobs you need doing more than you. This is because, most likely up to this point, it’s been you who’s been doing them. One of the great things about starting your own business is that you get to see how every aspect of the business works. From sales and marketing, to finance and legal. How well you can perform or manage each and every one of these functions, though, is questionable. 

You, therefore, need to decide which areas you need the most support in. You will also need to ask yourself, “Will appointing someone to this role help my business grow, or is it a ‘nice to have’?” The first hires you will want to make in your startup will be people who can ease your workload, and at the same time drive the business forward. Remember, you’re working towards the goal of having a business that functions even when you’re not there. So, perhaps hiring a barista at this stage over a sales or marketing executive is not the right move.

 

3. Clearly Define the Responsibilities of the Job

Once you’ve decided on the function that this person will be responsible for, you then need to scope the role properly. And, in the process, produce a job description. Start by listing all the responsibilities that would fall within this position. Include everything relevant, but don’t just add everything that needs doing in the business. Remember, you may be happy to work every waking hour of your day to get your business off the ground. But, that doesn’t mean your employees will want to give up their lives to do the same. If your job description is too varied and tries to cover too many bases, you’re setting yourself up to fail in finding the right person.

For example, if you’re hiring a salesperson, don’t expect them to be equally involved in hands-on product development. You’re looking for someone with experience or a skill set that will perform one of your functions really well, you’re not unicorn farming. Once you’ve put together a clearly defined job description ask yourself, “does this person exist?” You can always sanity-check with a few keyword searches on LinkedIn and look at a couple of profiles to see if there are people out there doing what you need them to do.

 

4. Map out the Future

Now that you know what you’re looking for, think about where this person can go within your business. It may seem really attractive to new employees to join your business right now, but will these individuals still be with you in 12 months? Three years? Five years? Just as you most likely have a roadmap and business plan for the future, employees also like to know where their jobs can take them, so don’t overlook this stage. 

Think through the logical career progress of your new roles and map out a career path. You don’t need to get bogged down in the details of each point at which a promotion would take place. But, it’s a good idea to have an idea of the responsibilities of each future progression so that it’s clear from the start what goals your new employees need to be aiming for.

 

5. Prepare to Interview and to Be Interviewed

Once you’ve got your shortlist of applicants, you now need to be prepared to interview and select the right person. Don’t think you can just wing it over a quick coffee, you need to present your business as a professional organization that someone who doesn’t have your same emotional attachment would want to join. Just being an “exciting startup” won’t cut it anymore–there are exciting startups on every corner these days–so think about what makes you unique and how you set yourself apart from your competition. Imagine that your closest competition will also interview the same individuals, how are you going to sell your opportunity over any other companies that your candidates may speak to?

If you’ve already written a job description and scoped the career development for this role, you’re halfway there. Now you have to think about how to succinctly get your company values and culture across to someone you’ve never met before. You have to do this in a way that would make them want to get on board with you. Committing the next few years of their career to helping you grow. As much as you’ll be interviewing candidates, they’re going to be interviewing you. So be sure to provide an excellent candidate experience. Do this so that even if they’re not successful at getting the job. They’ll leave telling family and friends what an exciting and promising business you have.

 

6. Making the Right Choice and Executing it Well

Once you’ve conducted your interviews, had the candidates meet other team members, a co-founder or you simply met them a second time yourself to sanity check your impressions, you now need to decide whether to make an offer.

The key things to consider in deciding if someone is the right hire come down to a couple of factors. Firstly, their ability to perform the role. Are you hiring raw talent with potential that you’ll need to train? Or, is this someone with proven experience that can “hit the ground running”? One thing’s for sure, you can’t teach work ethic, so make sure they possess this in abundance. Secondly, cultural fit is very important. Even if it’s just you at this stage as the founder, think about the company culture and values you want your employees to embody. Be sure your new hires see eye-to-eye with you on this.

Finally, you want someone with passion and enthusiasm for your business and brand. In the final interview, ask them if they can sell the opportunity back to you. This will quickly expose whether someone has a genuine interest in joining your business. If they come across as passionate and knowledgeable about your business (based on what they know so far), then you’ve found yourself a great first hire. Just be sure to have the employment contract ready to send out within 24 hours. Don’t risk losing a star employee to the competition just because you forgot about this fundamental step.

Conclusion

Good employees can sometimes be hard to find. It may be the job market. But it can also be your approach to hiring. Use these steps in finding the right first employees for your business. This will lay down the foundation for your growing team and will help you skyrocket your business’ potential.

 

This article was first published in 2016 but has been updated and expanded

Article Tags:

Business Opportunities · Company Culture · featured · Find Your Way · Grow your business · Leadership · Productivity · Your Mindset

Article Categories:

Find Your Way · Grow Your Business · Leading Your Team · Sales · Your Mindset

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6 Key Things to Consider Before Hiring Your First Employees Republished from Source https://startupmindset.com/things-to-consider-before-hiring-first-employees/ via https://feeds.feedburner.com/startupmindset