When a business posts a job online, it aims to garner the interest of the most qualified professionals in the field. Just like advertising, getting the job in front of the right eyes is crucial to its success. But with thousands upon thousands of job postings out there, what can a business do to ensure that their online job listing doesn’t get buried under the clutter? To share their insights, nine experts from Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) answered the following question:
“What’s one tip you have for making an online job posting as visible as possible while still targeting your desired applicants? Why is this effective?”
Follow their advice to get the most targeted applicants from casting the widest net.
1. Highlight Your Brand Promise
“Is your company changing the world? Are there tremendous benefits, a unique company culture or incredible experiences that will come with the position? These are your brand promises and your company needs to sell the dream! Then, make your applicants jump through hoops like submitting a video cover letter to ensure you are getting qualified applicants who are serious.” ~ Matt Wilson, Under30Experiences
2. Target the Category, Not the Position
“If you need a tax accountant, you might simply create the job posting for an accountant. You’ll still get the desired applicants, but you’ll attract a wider audience because you will receive more folks applying. It’s effective because you attract a bigger audience.” ~ Andrew Schrage, Money Crashers Personal Finance
3. Leverage Paid Advertising
“If the option is there, boosting your listing to the top of the page with sponsorship or paid advertising is the best option. Another excellent way is if you can set targeting options in place. The more you can target your audience, the better off you will be with your potential hire resumes.” ~ Zac Johnson, Blogger
4. Use Social Media Platforms
“It’s a good idea to use social media platforms and to target specific groups, professions and interests. You’ll reach a large number of people and improve the chances of getting the right people by using filters. A major advantage of doing this is that you get analytics that help you figure out if your campaigns are working.” ~ Syed Balkhi, WPBeginner
5. Post in Industry-Relevant Forums
“To ensure that your online job posting gains visibility, you can post it to relevant forums and threads in that industry or niche. Posting in these forums is usually a lesser-known approach, which makes it easier to attract targeted candidates who are serious about the position.” ~ Jared Atchison, WPForms
6. Post Your Job on Upwork
“I personally prefer Upwork to find reliable applicants around the world. Upwork has a wide range of freelancers, agencies and also employees who are available to work at your office. They also provide escrow features and payment protection, and this is very useful when you’re working with any remote freelancer you don’t know. On Upwork, I usually hire an applicant within four or five hours of the job post.” ~ Kelly Richardson, Infobrandz
7. Use Employee Referral Bonuses
“We use employee referral bonuses to get more qualified applicants when there’s a job opening. Our team is full of tech-oriented people, and they know plenty of other people with that same mentality. Allowing employees to refer qualified candidates means we have an easier time filling roles and growing our business.” ~ John Brackett, Smash Balloon LLC
8. Post to University Job Boards
“There are many universities that have their own job boards. If you post your listing with a university that specializes in the area of expertise needed for the job, your posting will be in front of a lot of qualified people who are actively looking for jobs. It’s not only current students who check these boards; alumni who may already have experience in the field will have access as well.” ~ Reuben Yonatan, SaasList
9. Post Your Job on Indeed
“Use Indeed. It has free job postings with the option to boost visibility and change it accordingly. It also has pay-per-click ads. I love that the filter options are endless, making it definitely easier to find a hidden gem.” ~ Daisy Jing, Banish
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