One of the key components of ensuring your recruitment activities are effective is how well your job advertisements work to attract the type of talent you are looking for.
Remember, all advertising is about AIDA (Attention, Interest, Desire, Action)
Ensure your job description is accurate and up to date with only relevant information
Remember you are trying to grab the attention of the most suitable candidates. Your language needs to talk to those people as intimately as possible, so they think you are talking directly to them.
Start your ad with a sentence such as “You are a mature and self-reliant Property Manager looking for a fresh start with a highly regarded and well-established office that can provide you with the inclusive culture, support and future growth you are looking for to elevate your career to the next level.”
The specifics of this sentence are important (in red). Exactly what are you looking for? Is it a BDM? Do you need an ambitious BDM or are you more in the market for a stable one? Are you looking for a hunter or a farmer? Be specific and emotive.
What sort of business are you and what would attract this person to you? If you are looking for an ambitious or hungry BDM, then you might be offering a startup role or a new challenge of some sort. If you are looking for a farmer type, it could be because you don’t need to grow a lot and you are a landmark brand.
What are you offering this ambitious BDM in your startup role that is going to appeal to them? If they are truly ambitious and are attracted to a startup then they will probably be attracted to a role that they can get paid well for results or have the autonomy to do the things they know will work.
The next paragraph or two should expand on the opportunity and increase the interest in the job. What are you offering that sets you apart and why should that appeal to them? Talk about what they will love about the role and the company.
Similarly, then desire. We want them to want the job. Talk about the rewards, whether they be monetary or career, flexibility, recognition. Different things will appeal to different types of applicants but again you should know this from the job description.
If you know your ad will bring in a lot of responses, qualify your ad with some requirements to reduce the amount of work at the vetting stage. Ensure these qualifiers are real and separate the must-haves from the nice to have.
Tell them what they have to do. If you want a covering letter, tell them. Ask for Action today to create urgency. Remember you are competing for their talent so you want to get them first.
