Recruiting staff online
Jun 14 2006
Sponsored by fish4jobs
Recruitment websites are rapidly growing in popularity and can be a very cost-effective way for small businesses to reach thousands of potential candidates in a short space of time. Sean Mahon, Marketing Director, from fish4 explains how.
‘Taking time out of a busy day to meet recruitment consultants, negotiate prices and design press ads is time that many SMEs cannot afford. The online alternative allows recruiters to fit finding new staff into their day, in as little as 15 minutes. The volume of candidates that could potentially see their ad exceeds other forms of traditional media and the cost is considerably lower.'
Many job websites offer a recruitment service specifically aimed at small firms, which allows you to go online and post your own vacancy. You then pay online and manage the applications you receive. If you need to place a recruitment ad right now, then this is the way to go.
Rather than more laborious ways of job-hunting, such as trawling through the newspapers, candidates are now using job sites to search for jobs and register for job email alerts that let them know when relevant jobs are posted. This ease of use has driven the popularity of these sites.
Equally, an increasing number of employers prefer to post their vacancies online rather than putting an ad in the local or national press or engaging the services of a recruitment consultant. Through a site, an ad can be online in minutes and you could be receiving applications almost immediately.
You will need a credit card to pay for the ad, which takes around ten minutes to write. A preview of the finished ad is available so you can see how it will appear on the site. Some sites have a helpline to help with technical issues or hints on writing a winning ad.
Fish4jobs supplies the following tips to make you make the most of your advert
1. Job Title
Choose a descriptive job title to capture the candidate’s attention. For example, Legal Secretary - litigation, instead of just Secretary.
2. Industry Sector
Make sure the category in which you place your advert is both appropriate and similar to the other kinds of jobs posted in that category. When possible - and if applicable - list the position in more than one category.
3. Summary Job Description
The job summary is what appears on the search results page only, directly below the job title. It’s a teaser to the full job description so should only consist of two or three lines. The purpose of the job summary is to hook your applicants’ attention and create a “tell me more” approach. You should not include job title, salary or location in this summary.
4. Full Job Description
You’re selling the job, not just describing it, so be enthusiastic!
Roles/Responsibilities: A good job description allows an applicant to understand their duties and responsibilities. Provide enough detailed, accurate information to paint a realistic image of what the job entails.
Skills/Qualifications: Be clear and specific when you list the skills, education, experience and qualifications necessary to perform the job. Also include qualifications that are beneficial, but not necessarily required; for example, communications skills, outgoing personality, willingness to travel, etc.
5. Salary
In addition to acting as a screening device, mentioning a salary can result in a higher response rate. Applicants don’t want to waste their time applying for a job only to discover the salary doesn’t meet their needs.
6. Benefits
Do not write “Benefits” in the benefits field, specify car, pension, commission, etc.
7. Job Location
This is of vital importance when posting an advert so be sure to include the exact geographic location of the position - town and/or postcode, for best response.
8. Application details
A method of application must be provided. Typically, you should always include an email address enabling the applicant to email their CV direct to you.
9. Make sure the ad is well written
Check spelling, punctuation and grammar for accuracy. Make the text easy to read by breaking it up into concise paragraphs, utilising bullet points to list skills/qualifications/responsibilities and bold type to highlight key points or emphasis.
10. Use of capitals
Do not place your advertisement in capitals as this makes the advertisement harder to read.
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Fish4jobs.co.uk has a fully automated service, and allows you to see exactly how your ad will look before you post it and there is always a special number to call with any technical questions, or if you need help composing your ad.
To advertise your vacancies today - now - use the fish4jobs ‘Post a Job’ service - for just £199