Most business owners will need to employee extra staff during their time with the company. But how do you write an effective job advertisement that will entice in the sort of people you are after?

It is important to craft you ad well and to think carefully about your copy before you put pen to paper. Just as a CV creates a first impression of a candidate, a job advertisement will create a first impression of your company therefore it is imperative that this first impression is a positive one. Carefully ad copy will also ensure that you get good match answers to your job ad – there is nothing worse than having hundreds of irrelevant CVs to wade through!

So, here at MoneyTowers, we have put together 10 questions you should ask yourself before you write that job ad.

1. What is the job?
You may know what the job title is, but are you being clear about exactly what the job will entail? Make sure you understand the duties of the post – the better you understand the job role, the clearer you job ad copy will be.

2. Who do I want?
What sort of candidate are you looking to attract? It is useful to think about who your ideal candidate would be – what sort of person they are, how they fit in in the company and how they would work within the team. You can then word your ad as if you were speaking to this candidate.

3. Skills Base
What sort of skills does the job require? Will they need qualifications? Remember that good qualifications are not an indicator of workplace ability and sometimes people without qualifications may be a better fit for your company than someone who has a raft of qualifications.

4. Experience
What sort of experience are you looking for? Are you prepared to train the person? It is common on ad copy to state the minimum number of years’ experience you will consider, along with whether you are prepared to train the candidate or not. However, it is worth noting that experience, once again, is not everything and sometimes a candidate who learns quickly and can be moulded is better than one with years of experience but who will not fit in in the company.

5. Extras?
It is worth asking applicants to include their non-work activities as this gives a good indicator of the sort of person they are and can sometimes indicate their social skills and attitudes. It is also worth asking for a hand-written cover letter to gauge their basic literary skills.

6. Number of Responses
How many responses are you looking for from the ad? In some respects, this will depend on how senior the role is – senior roles will often attract less applicants than junior roles. Remember that it is better to get 10 top quality applications than 100 poor quality applications. If you have written your ad copy well, hopefully all the applications you receive will be well targeted.

7. The facts
Consider what facts you need to include in your ad copy. At the very least you should include the name and location of your company, the job title, and a brief description of what the job will entail. It is also advisable to include any special requirements, the last day for applications, and how to respond to the advert.

8. The Company
The ad should give an introductory feel to the company. If possible, use your company logo in the ad, and where applicable, the company slogan or motto. The use of font is also important – use a clear font which everyone can read; Fancy fonts may look pretty but some people may find them hard to read. Your choice of words is also important – you can inject a little fun into the ad, or you can make it serious. It is advisable not to make the ad too fun otherwise you may lose some credibility and be seen as a joke.

9. Standing out from the crowd
You need to make you ad stand out from the crown, so how can you do this? The first thing to do is look at your direct competition – what do their ads look like? What are they offering? Try to make an attention grabbing headline and make sure you mention any top benefits such as management training or a high number of holiday days.

10. Proofreading
Put yourself into the shoes of your ideal candidate; read the ad you have just written and ask yourself if it is an ad you would apply for. Get several people to read through the ad and ask for their suggestions for making the ad better.

Popularity: 21% [?]