The state of recruitment advertising

Most job adverts tell people what the employer wants. Almost none explain why anyone should leave a job they're already in.

I’ve had a large bone to pick with Australia’s recruitment industry for over 15 years.

Specifically, with job advertising (aka recruitment advertising).

The recruitment industry, on average, still behaves like it holds the keys to everyone’s careers. It’s as if we still think we’re doing everyone a favour by advertising jobs.

Except, we couldn’t be further away from what’s happened outside of our world. 

What we appear to have forgotten is, since the internet was born, the way people buy, even choose jobs, has changed fundamentally.

We’ve yet to adapt to this way of thinking.

How would you rate recruitment advertising in Australia?

The Rejected or Selected Podcast recently covered the dire state of recruitment advertising.

Simon Carabetta and Deany Jaghdour kindly invited me on to share some thoughts on the subject. They asked me how I would rate the state of Australian recruitment marketing right now. (Ten being great, one being poor).  

On reflection, 1.5 out of 10 was probably ambitious. Why? Most recruitment advertising is still written from the employer's perspective.

Jump on any job board and look at the way 99% of adverts are structured. It’s wall-to-wall coverage of top-down writing.  

• Job descriptions posing as job adverts (they’re not the same thing)
• Most of the ad is reminding people what they’ll do all day
• Long lists of bullet points outlining what’s needed and wanted by the employer

That’s also what the intended audience sees. Why would they care about any of this when it’s not speaking their language?

What these ads never answer is why somebody already in a job would leave for another? 

The result? Hundreds of job applications with a low percentage of suitable people. Fine if quantity is your KPI. Not so good if your intention is to fill a vacancy with the right person.

Five recruitment advertising mistakes employers still make

I’ll share some evidence that points to several problems. All of them are fixable.

The question isn’t about when we’re going to fix them. It’s whether we have the appetite to see things from the candidate’s side, and then do something about it. 

1. Most recruitment advertising still describes the job instead of selling it

Why would a fully qualified project manager want to be reminded about what a fully qualified project manager does all day?

They don’t want to read long lists of responsibilities, requirements, and then a generic company paragraph. They don’t care about that.

What they do care about is what’s in the job for them. 

Tell them how they'll benefit.

2. Most companies compete on salary because they can’t articulate value

Many employers don't research their target audience. If they did, they’d know what motivates the people they want to hire.

Despite what we’ve told ourselves for decades, people don’t move jobs purely for money.

People care about interesting work, opportunities to develop their skills, and supportive leadership.

They also care about learning new things, career progression, rosters, even the food on site.  

Pay is still important, but everyone in a job expects to be paid.

Describe how your job is better than the one they’re in.

3. Culture isn't a buzzword

Throwing in a line like, “We have a great culture” doesn’t tell anybody about your culture. It also mirrors how everyone else describes theirs.

People reading ads want to know about how teams work together, how people are promoted and how often, and how decisions are made.

They also want to know how leaders back their teams in moments of difficulty, and what tech a company uses.

Is that too much to write about?

4. Recruitment advertising is still heavily one-dimensional

Effective job ads can perform two roles.

They don’t just attract people to jobs, they help to build mental awareness of a brand.

According to the Ehrenberg Bass Institute, at any one time, only 5% of our target market is in active buying mode (or job switch mode). So, what happens to the remaining 95%?

If they connect with our ads, they’ll build cues about our companies. The type of cues that bring them back when they’re about to join the 5%.

Posting adverts and hoping the right folks will apply is tail wagging the dog stuff.

5. Recruitment advertising still isn't treated as marketing

We still see it as a tick box exercise. The type of work we just want to get off our desks as fast as possible. Except, every interaction somebody has with our company changes their perception of us.

That isn’t admin. 

A job ad is often somebody’s first interaction with our company. So, we should see it as an opportunity to stand out. To build trust. To bring our company (our brand) front of mind.

Final thoughts on recruitment advertising

If you’ve reached this far, I owe you an apology.

If you were slightly put back with the score of 1.5 out of 10 earlier, see it as an opportunity to do something to move it higher. We all have to.

The next time we ask why the right people aren’t applying, we have an opportunity to look in the most obvious place. The job advert. 

And then?

It depends if we’re willing to stand out and help candidates make a choice by improving our job advertising.

Because right now, they don’t see many alternatives.

Struggling to explain exactly why somebody should leave their job to come and work with you? Get in touch. I've a few ideas I can share with you. 

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