How to write a perfect job advertisement
More than 87% of candidates use online job boards to find a new job. Online job adverts are therefore an elementary component of successful recruiting and an important channel for your employer branding – and, from the candidate’s point of view, a basis for deciding whether or not to apply. But how to write a good job advertisement?
An online job advert must fulfil a number of criteria in terms of both content and appearance. Applicants want to know quickly whether the job suits them and get an idea of the potential employer. To do this, you need to describe the requirements, tasks and your company in detail. If you want to position yourself as an attractive employer and find suitable employees for vacancies, you should arouse the reader’s interest and answer as many questions as possible about the job and the company in the job advert.
We will show you what you need to include in order to encourage applicants to apply for your vacancies. We’ll also provide you with helpful examples, tips and samples for direct implementation so that you can write an effective job advertisement that attract new talents.
Structure of a perfect job advert
A standardised and clear presentation of information in an online job advertisement has a positive effect on the time spent reading and dwelling on a page and therefore also on the decision to apply and the employer.
The more pleasant the reading experience of a job advert is for the reader, the greater the chance that they will ultimately apply.
You can achieve a clear structure for your job advertisement with these 5 tips:
- Divide the individual sections into structured blocks.
- Emphasise the headings for the individual sections typographically.
- Emphasise the most important information visually – this applies in particular to the ad title.
- Work with lists and bullet points to place information in a visually appealing way.
- Use images or a video to liven up the advert. Stepstone offers you various opportunities to incorporate your branding.
Keep this information in mind when creating the perfect job advert:
Writing a job advertisment: What content and sections should be included?
Did you know that 40 % of applicants abandon their application because important information was missing from the job advert? Below we give you tips for the different sections of an effective job advert.
Tips for the different sections of your job advert
Divide your job advertisment into:
- Ad header
- Introduction
- Description of the position
- Candidate profile
- Benefits
- Contact information
- Salary information
Ad header with job title and location, employment type and working hours
The job title is the first thing that job seekers see of your job advert and for many the first contact with the company. It determines how quickly and accurately the advert is found (e.g. on Google), whether you reach the right candidates and whether they apply.
Tips for the perfect job ad title:
- It is best to directly state the name of the qualification, training, position and area. Ex: Computer scientist as web developer (m/f/d) websites.
- State the specific place of work, avoid postcodes or mentioning large areas and specify small towns, e.g. Brühl near Cologne.
- Specify the type of employment and state the working hours as full-time, part-time or similar.
- Avoid language mixes of German and English, additions such as “Wir suchen”, mentioning soft skills such as “team player” or “committed”, abbreviations such as “Kaufm. Mitarbeiter*in” and internal designations
- Do you offer home office? 92 % of all job seekers now expect information on home office arrangements.1
Introduction with company presentation
Introduce your company briefly and precisely. Keep it short – three to five sentences are enough. Too much continuous text can put candidates off, especially on mobile devices.
The company description should be the same for all your job adverts. This will increase your credibility with job seekers.
Tip: Feel free to reveal more about yourself than just the size of your company and a description of your products or services. Share your company’s vision and mission as well as your corporate values. Describe what important contribution your company makes to achieving an overarching goal and what role each individual employee plays in this. This will give candidates a first impression of your corporate culture and give them a sense of whether they can identify with it.
Description of the position in bullet points
List the activities in descending order of importance and frequency. The main tasks of the job should be described in detail and clearly.
To be on first-name terms or not? Whether you use the first or last name in your job adverts should depend on your corporate culture, your target group and your candidate journey. For 38.6 % of applicants, however, the form of address is not relevant to their decision.2
Tips for describing the tasks:
- List key keywords for the activity in 5-8 bullet points
- List the most important and most frequent activities first and “secondary areas” last
- Add information on strategic topics, the degree of operational responsibility and/or current projects
Describe the desired candidate profile in bullet points
What do you expect from people who apply? Avoid the usual phrases such as “team player”, “communicative” or “resilient”. Take your time and try to define which specific skills are really important for the position (both hard skills and soft skills). Make as clear as possible, which requirements candidates must fulfil as a minimum
Tips for describing the candidate profile:
- Describe at least the degree required and the expertise related to the position
- Indicate how much professional experience people should have for the position
- Indicate if no degree or previous experience is required
- Make it clear what is a must-have and what is merely desirable
Benefits
List everything you have to offer as an employer, from capital-forming benefits to company cars, bike leasing, health programmes and much more. Don’t leave anything out!
Contact information with call-to-action (CTA)/application option
Name a contact person including contact details for further information and place the application opportunity as a CTA.
Tip: The quick application on Stepstone
The importance of an applicant-friendly application process is increasing all the time. 78.5% stated in the “Digitalisation Index Tech in Recruiting” 2023 survey that a fast, efficient and transparent application process has become (much) more important in the decision for or against a job offer. This process begins with the job advert. This is why more and more companies are now dispensing with cover letters, references or work samples in the first step. The phrase “quick application” can be found more and more frequently on Stepstone. This means that interested candidates can apply quickly and easily with just one click and the CV provided, e.g. using a smartphone.
Salary in the job advert: yes or no?
In a survey on application processes in companies, it was stated that applications are often cancelled (approx. 23%) because the salary issue is addressed too late. When stating a salary in a job advert, it is important to find out exactly what salary is attractive for the advertised position. Many aspects play a role here: In which cities and federal states do employers pay the most? Which sectors have the highest salaries? Is it a management position?
Did you know? 89 % of job seekers are more likely to apply for jobs that include a salary. This makes a more relevant and effective job advert.3
Your AGG checklist for perfect job adverts
A job advertisment must not only be convincing in terms of content and appearance, but also comply with the General Equal Treatment Act (in reference oft he german „Allgemeinen Gleichbehandlungsgesetz“ (AGG)). By writing your job advert in such a way that it is AGG-compliant and takes the topic of gender into account, you are signalling sensitivity and a feeling for diversity.
You should only publish the advert if you have taken a few important points into account:
- Write (m/w/d) after the job position to cover every gender (note: The German language differs strongly between genders, which is why this needs special consideration and attention).
- Texts (and therefore job adverts) are “gendered” in German to ensure the most inclusive language possible for the purpose of gender equality. This means that words such as job titles are formulated in a gender-neutral way or use special characters (such as *, _, or : ) to address several genders at once (e.g. “Bewerber*in”).
- Use the same method to ‚gender‘, for example always with the gender* asterisk.
- If you do not use gender: Place a note that only one form is used for better readability, but that you are still addressing all genders equally.
- If there are no objective reasons for doing so, do not include any information that restricts or excludes: Gender/sexual identity, ethnic origin, religious affiliation or ideology, age, disabilities …
- Pay careful attention to your wording! Do not state in your job advertisement that you are a “young team” or that you are specifically looking for a “native German speaker”, as such descriptions could work against you in the event of a legal dispute.
- Also refrain from requiring applicants to submit a photo.
FAQ – Frequently asked questions about editing a perfect job advert
The title should be clear and concise, avoid internal job titles and directly address the qualification, training, position and field. Avoid mixed language and unnecessary additions such as “We are looking for” or “Your opportunity” to attract the attention of the right applicants.
The visual design of your job advertisement is very important, as 60% of professionals state that an appealing design contributes to the decision for or against a job. A standardised and clear presentation of information also encourages people to read and spend more time on the advertisement page.
The decisive information includes the salary, the detailed job description, the requirements profile and the benefits offered by the company. For 96% of all applicants, the salary information is particularly important.
To ensure AGG compliance, you should specify the gender (m/f/d) after the job position, use consistent genders and ensure that your job advert does not discriminate against anyone on the basis of gender, ethnic origin, religion, age or disability. Avoid wording that could exclude certain groups, such as looking for a “young team” or a “native German speaker”.
Source:
1 Stepstone Jobstudy, 2020
2 Talention, 2022
3 Stepstone survey on salaries and salary transparency, 2023/2024