There are many factors to consider when posting jobs online. You’ll want to be organized and prepared before you begin.
First, identify which job you need to post. You may have several openings within your organization that you are sourcing for. Take a look at an old job posting with the same title and check to see if anything has changed within the job. Most likely it has. You’ll need to interview the hiring manager and department members to identify what wording needs to change on the old job description. Or you may want to scrap the thing altogether and start with a fresh one.
After the hiring manager interview, you’ll have a good idea of what kind of candidate you are looking for.
Taking a look at the posting, list two or three job sites that you feel would offer the best candidates. If the post is specialized, you’ll want to try a niche job board. If the job is general labor, blue collar, craftsmen, special trades, or IT, for example, you’ll want to search for job boards that target these individuals.
If the job posting is more generic, try one of the larger job boards. You’ll get a flood of applicants this way. Craigslist is a popular site among small businesses, but be warned: you’ll get a lot of spam and candidates that have nothing to do with the qualifications you listed.
If the job opportunity involves a specialized, upper-level C-suite person, you may want to consider a job board that caters to high-ranking individuals.
There are a few of these out there right now.
Now that you’ve identified where and what you are posting, you can begin writing the opportunity. Be clear, concise, and short. Write inspiring words and calls to action. Don’t just copy and paste an old job posting. Limit your posting to two to three paragraphs. Give a bulleted list of the most important requirements, but don’t be so detailed that you leave people out. Be sure you have no discriminating language in your posting. Do not ask for ‘women only’ and do not ask for a picture.
Give an honest job description. Don’t make big promises that you know aren’t true. You do not want to hire someone, only to have them leave months later because the job isn’t what they expected.
Next you’ll need to identify the job boards you are using. You don’t need to just use one; you can go with several. This all depends on your need. For example, you may be looking for thirty bilingual customer service reps and need to post in a lot of areas to attract attention.
Follow the job board’s instructions carefully. Purchase as many jobs as you need or go with an annual plan (recommended). An annual plan ensures you don’t have to fill out the same information each time you want to post a job. Plus, most job board have great deals for those who buy in bulk.
