How to Write a Job Posting in a Professional Way

A well-written job posting will attract the right candidates for the job by providing them a description of the job, the company, and the qualifications the candidate must possess to be the best fit. The job posting is the first impression a candidate will receive from your company, so it is imperative the job posting attracts the type of candidate you are searching for. Otherwise, you will be sifting through an endless number of resumes from candidates that may be less than qualified.

Steps for Writing a Professional Job Posting

The job posting will need to have specific sections that make up the posting. Each section will need to include professional, informative, and substantial elements to make the posting appeal to the right candidates.

Before you begin writing the job posting, you need to decide who the audience will be, how you want the tone to be read, and how long you want the job posting to be. Knowing these preliminary details of the job posting will help you save time when you are writing the posting for the job.

Take your own personal experiences into consideration when creating a job posting. Ask yourself these questions:

• What stuck out to you when you would read a job posting?
• What did you like (or not like) about job postings you would see?
• Would lengthy job postings turn you away?
• Would short job postings leave you wanting more?

Asking yourself these questions and combining them with an inventory of preliminary information will get you started on the right track to writing a job posting in a professional way.

Step 1: The Job Title

Before a candidate reads the first thing about the job, the company, or the qualifications, they will read the job title. The job title is what will attract a candidate to want to click the link to learn more information. It doesn’t matter how professional the job posting is written if no one clicks the link to read the post, so you must reel them in through the job title.

The ideal job title should include the exact name of the position and the location of the job or the name of the company.

Step 2: The Introduction of the Company

When a candidate opens the job posting, they should begin reading an introduction that will give the potential candidate an understanding of the company. This introduction should briefly describe the company, what the company does, and any goals or mission statement the company possesses. This portion of the job posting can weed out candidates that may not be the best fit for the job.

For example, some candidates may be seeking a job with a small, local company. When they read an introduction describing a job with a large corporation, candidates may decide to continue on their job search. Without this information, a candidate may apply for the position, only to realize at the interview that the job is with a large company and is not what the candidate is looking for.

A descriptive introduction with a clear representation of the company will help attract the right candidates to apply for the job. If you are looking for copywriting tips for making your content stronger.

Step 3: The Position

This section of the job posting should be informative, interesting, and leave the candidate feeling invested in the position with the company.

When describing the position, you need to inform the potential candidates of certain criteria. The candidate will need to know the requirements, responsibilities, details, and day-to-day operations of the job.

Examples:

• Full-time/part-time
• Education requirements
• Job duties
• Additional training/certification requirements
• Future responsibilities of the job

The description of the position should also pique the interest of prospective candidates. The description of the job should make a candidate decide that they want to attach themselves to this position with this company.

Step 4: The Benefits

This section should be broken up into two portions. The first portion should describe the benefits that are directly associated with the position itself. For example, if the position is full-time, you should list the benefits that are directly received from holding that position. This may be medical insurance, dental insurance, life insurance, 401k, and/or paid time off. If the position is part-time, then you should make sure the candidate knows what benefits will be offered to part-time employees, if any.

The second portion of this section should include the benefits that are offered to all employees. This may be discounts that are offered at local businesses, paid holidays, and/or annual cost-of-living raises.

The benefits portion of the job description is a section that has the ability to be the deciding factor for a candidate to apply for the position or keep looking elsewhere. Describing the benefits in detail will not only answer questions that candidates may have about the company, but it will also keep the candidate from asking questions in the interview that pertain to the company and the benefits it offers.

Step 5: The Ideal Candidate

Once you have listed the description of the job in detail, you will want to include a section of the job posting regarding what the ideal candidate for the job will look like.

This section will be focused on giving a brief description of what you are looking for in a candidate. To remain professional and not cause an HR nightmare, you will need to keep this section specific to the qualifications of the candidate. You cannot imply you are seeking a candidate based on their race, gender, age, ethnicity, or any disability they may possess.

Some examples of what to mention when describing the ideal candidate:

• Works well individually
• Works well with a team
• Should be organized, punctual, and meticulous
• Goal-oriented and driven
• Enjoys a relaxed yet professional atmosphere

Conclusion

These steps will help you create a professional job posting so that you can attract the right candidates for the job. If you need to see some job postings in action, you can take a look at some online platforms where jobs are posted. There, you can get an idea of what to do and what not to do when creating a job posting in a professional way.