How to write a great job ad (with examples)
Many businesses hiring now are up against strong competition. Finding the right employees isn’t always easy, but it starts with a great job ad.
A well-written job ad will help you attract great talent and promote your company as a great place to work.
We’ve created these job ad examples to help you attract the right staff and make your hiring process easier. No matter the role you’re hiring for, these examples will help you write your own great job ad:
There can be challenges to get the right people applying. Sometimes this can be a direct result of job market factors, but the way you write your job ad is also very important. Let’s look at the two most crucial parts of your job ad:
Short description
When a job seeker is searching for a job online, the job search results are the first thing they’ll see on your job ad. Job search results will only include a small amount of information from your ad, so thinking about how your job ad appears is important. Things to consider here are:
Job title: This is the first thing that attracts someone to your job ad. Avoid using jargon or internal titles. Job ads that use industry-standard titles are more likely to be seen by candidates.
Salary: Salary is one of the most important factors for candidates when they are looking for a new role. In fact, there’s a 47% increase in job applications when salary is shown on a job ad, according to SEEK data.
Location: Add the suburb your workplace is located in to get the most relevant candidates viewing your ads. For jobs that require travel or allow flexible working conditions, we recommend selecting the most central suburb location applicable within your broader area.
Additional selling points, if available: If possible, it’s good to include additional selling points beyond title, location and salary to help candidates understand the range of benefits the job offers.
Use the Laws of Attraction drivers to find out what appeals to candidates in your industry.
Where applicable, highlight the features of the job that will appeal to candidates, as it helps motivate them to apply.
This could be working from home for some of the week or highlighting monthly team lunches or social time on Friday afternoons to show a great work culture.
Short summary: Include short, direct statements by using action words. Highlight the size of the team and include a key skill that’s required in the role.
Long description
A well-written job ad should be crafted to attract great talent. There are simple steps you can take to enhance your job ad so it can attract the right candidates.
To help you create a well-structured ad, try using the rule of five – five bolded headings and a maximum of five bullet points. Below is an example of a recommended structure:
About us: This is your chance to ‘sell’ your company as a great place to work, so consider including some of the following detail:
Highlight the achievements and positive reputation of your company.
Is your company local, national or international?
How many people work there?
What is your company known for?
If applicable, how many branches/stores/offices are in your local city or country?
If your company has a culture statement or diversity, equity and inclusion statement, consider including it here.
Use leading sentences like ‘people enjoy working in this team/company because...’ to help candidates understand what your Employer Value Proposition is.
About the job: This is where you aim to have strong candidates think, "Yes, this sounds like a job for me!" Keep this section to-the-point by using bullet points and starting sentences off by using action words like ‘supervise’, ‘create’ or ‘develop’. Job seekers will also want to know:
The size of the team.
Any key stakeholders.
A concise list of the duties the person will perform in the job.
Skills and experience: People want to know the key skills and experience required to done successful in the job:
List essential skills and experience a candidate would need to succeed in the job.
Are there any qualifications or licences that the successful applicant must have?
Avoid ‘minimum years of experience’ as it may not be the best measure of ability to get the job done.
For harder to fill roles, consider if there are any transferable skills that will broaden your candidate pool.
Use a maximum of five bullet points in this section, and aim for each point to be no longer than 10 words.
Benefits: There’s more to remuneration than just salary, so let candidates know about the key perks, benefits or other incentives on offer:
Refer to SEEK’s Laws of Attraction data tool to help you gain insight into what people want from a job in your industry.
List the key benefits in priority of what people would value most, and aim to be as specific as possible. For example, instead of ‘we offer work-life balance’, you might say ‘we offer the ability to work from home twice a week’.
What career development opportunities or educational assistance could you offer?
How to apply: Guide people on how they can apply for the job, mention the next steps or what they can expect through the recruitment process. Placing a key contact's name and email in the description is helpful for candidates if they have further questions or need more information about the job.
Extra tips for improving your job ad
Optimise for mobile: With more than 74% of Kiwis using mobile devices to view long descriptions, it’s important to optimise your job ad for mobile.
Include a video if possible: If you have a video that talks to the benefits of working in your business, this can help your ad stand out from the competition and helps to give people a sense of your culture and values.