Recruitment Advertising – Writing an Advert

• Thoroughly review the job description and person specification and ensure that the information is accurate before drafting an advert.
• Only use the job description and person specification as a guide - make use of the space you have available to really sell the job to prospective candidates.
• Make sure you are aware of any discrimination legislation when writing the copy for the advert, such as Race, Sex and Disability, as getting it wrong can be very costly.
• Sell the company, the role and the prospects - think about what you can offer that other companies or jobs cannot.
• Make the advert eye-catching - it can be worth using an advertising or design company to do artwork as this can help make the advert stand out from the crowd.
• Don't cram every word into the space available, often using less wording and more space can create much more impact.
• Consider the type of publications available, such as specialist trade magazines, and find out which ones are likely to be the most cost effective in terms of delivering tangible results.
• Don't measure the success of an advert purely by quantity - better to have five good candidates than fifty that are of no use.
• Clearly indicate how and to whom candidates should reply to, including a closing date when applicable.
• Remember to retain a realistic approach to the advert as over selling the job can be as bad as under selling it.
• The cheapest publications are not always the best, it's the quality of applications and candidates that count.