Tips for effective ads directly from StartupJobs

Too short or too long. We come across advertisements that contain two sentences but also ones that are 3 pages long! The ideal advertisement should be a maximum of one page. However, our recommended range is half a page. We know from the data that more than half of the applicants access our site from mobiles, where long texts are rather harmful.

Vague job description. A clearly defined job description is becoming more and more important for applicants. Vague wording "The content of the work is communication with clients" compared to "You’ll be in daily telephone or personal contact with company XY, for which we are currently developing a new CRM system". What sounds better to you? For technical positions, don't be afraid to list the individual technologies that your new colleagues will be working with on a daily basis.

"Supercool" names that don’t really say anything. Keep in mind that interested parties may search for positions using keywords in the title. There’s only a slim chance that the PHP programmer you’re looking for will notice "Superhero of our website". We get a lot of negative feedback (especially from programmers) about these sorts of job titles.

1. What will one actually do?

   According to surveys, job content is one of the most important factors for employee satisfaction at work, so pay close attention to this part of the advertisement.

   In this category, you should primarily include what a typical day will look like, what specific projects they will work on, and what tools and technologies they will encounter.

2. What do we offer? (AKA Why should I want to work for you, what makes you better or special?)

   Again, remember that it pays to be specific here and a general statement like "You will develop websites in PHP" is not enough.

   Here too, the more specific, the better. Not many people will be interested in "work in an international environment" or"open team" because no one can fully imagine what these phrases mean. And swear to God, 90% of advertisers use them.

   Don't be afraid to sell everything you're proud of in your company, whether it's individual projects or a great team. Mention what you consider common, but it may not be standard elsewhere (remote work, home office, pet friendly office, educational events, joint events, refreshments at the workplace, adjustable desks, choice of work equipment, etc.)

   Don't forget the usual information about the type of work contract, place of work, holidays, meal vouchers, sick days, etc., shake, mix and create a cocktail of benefits that no one can resist.

   If you think you don’t have any benefits, think about why you go to work.

   Please pay special attention when mentioning remuneration. Knowing what the remuneration will be is important to more than 86% of applicants according to our survey from the end of 2023. More than a fifth of them said that they don't even apply for job offers without a reward in the same survey.

3. What are your requirements?

   Always try to make this part of the ad at least visually shorter than the passage about what you have to offer. Who would want to work somewhere, where they offer less than they ask for?

   Think about whether it’s really necessary for your new colleague applying for the position of Junior PHP programmer to have finished his higher education, 3 years of experience in a similar position or English at the level of a native speaker. Also, think about whether the candidate needs to know and be able to do things that he can quickly learn from you with a little effort.

   Leave out requirements found in every other advertisement, such as resistance to stress, communication skills, flexibility or the ability to work in a team. Keep in mind that you’re losing a lot of applicants with meaningless requirements. It’s evident from many surveys that most people won’t even apply for a job if they don’t meet just one out of ten requirements (or are unsure in the given area).

   Focus on the skills and knowledge that a person will really need to work in your team. Try to specify what the required skills are for example "Since you’ll be in contact with our foreign customers often, English at a communicative level is essential" or "Since you’ll be in charge of the development of the entire application for XY, we‘d appreciate if you already completed at least 3 successful projects in the role of project manager".

   Also, think about whether it’s necessary to require a CV and a motivation letter from the applicants, or whether it would be more effective to ask them for examples of work or to complete a short task.

4. Brief introduction of the company

   At the end (or at the very beginning of the ad) briefly introduce your company - what you do, where one can encounter your products, so that the candidate can better classify you and associate you with something.

   If you’re interested in introducing yourself to candidates in a different way than in the advertisement, we recommend filling out your company profile in more detail.

Treat your ads like an advertisement - always try to grab the candidate's attention at the beginning because if the introduction isn't interesting enough, few people will read further.

Give everyone an equal opportunity and don't discriminate against candidates based on their age, gender or race, and not even positively (e.g. we are looking for a young, smart lady).

Never, truly never, lie to candidates in an ad and offer something that you can't fulfill. We often come across cases where the possibility of full-time contract or external cooperation is mentioned in the advertisement, but at the interview the candidates learn that only cooperation with someone with a business license is possible. And that's not fair.

If you’re unsure whether to write the text of the job offer in Czech or English, use the option to insert the job offer bilingually. Those browsing in Czech will see the Czech version, while those browsing in English will see the English version. Even if you’re targeting candidates who speak fluent English, translate the job offer. Job offers written in Czech have more views and better conversion rates. Even people who speak fluent English are more likely to apply for a job offer written in Czech than for an English one.

Also, be sure to give feedback to candidates who respond to your job offer (or even show up for an interview and submit completed materials), even if you decide not to hire the candidate. It's fair. This is also a part of your company brand, so why spoil it with something you can do in a few clicks.

If you are still not sure how to write an ad so that it appeals to applicants, you can use the services of our copywriter. She has many years of experience in writing job offers and can adapt them to the needs and communication style of your company.