How to write an interesting job posting

– updated on 22. July 2021 –
A job posting is no longer just an announcement of a vacancy. If you write it well, it will help you attract the best candidates. 

Today, companies feel shortage of people across all industries, especially in positions with higher demands for professional qualification (i.e., technical and IT skills) Therefore, you should see publishing a job posting on Profesia as a way of differentiating yourself from the competition and attracting suitable candidates. It can also help you build your brand. In our environment even a small and relatively unknown company has a high chance of attracting attention of its target group with a well-written job. So how to write a job posting correctly?

1. Concise title of the job posting

Job title is the first and most important information that the candidate will notice. Your task is to make the title of the job posting clear and concise enough to fit into 150 characters. Clear so that each candidate understands what the position is about. Concise because you want the most suitable candidate to identify him- or herself in the title.

TIP: If you use terms specific to your company, try translating them into a language that a general audience can understand.

A certain degree of creativity is appropriate, if you are sure that it will address your target audience and differentiate you sufficiently from the competition. On the other hand, avoid overly creative titles that may confuse candidates who may skip your offer entirely.

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2. Define the scope of work in the Job description

The rule of clarity and conciseness also applies in this case. If you have written a novel instead of a job posting, it will discourage even the most patient candidates. At the beginning of the job ad, choose an engaging text that will arouse interest. You can enter the rest of the information in bullet points.

• Describe the scope of work specifically.
• You can mention individual activities or situations that are typical for a given position.
• Try to describe a typical day on the job.
• Indicate what tools or computer programs will the employee use.
• You can mention to whom the candidate will report and whether he or she will be a part of a team, or if they will work independently.
• Applicants are also interested in working hours, necessity to travel, accommodation options, or whether they will work shifts or overtime.

TIP: Instead of clichés and phrases, consult with a colleague or a department manager on how best to describe each activity.

What not to do? Avoid being mysterious by providing little information in the job description to arouse the candidate’s curiosity. The candidate is more likely to understand this lack of relevant information as your lack of transparency and an attempt to hide something. This intention can turn against you, as the candidates tend to be careful, so they may skip your offer altogether.

3. Select the correct job position

Choosing the right job position from the list of positions is very important so that your job posting can be found by the candidates via our search engine. Applicants often filter job postings by region, industry, or job position.

If there is no suitable position in the provided list, or you want to increase the chances of your offer to be found, you can select more positions. The system allows you to insert up to 5 positions. However, it is necessary that these positions are really related to the work.

Example: Choosing a position of “Cleaner” just because you expect your teacher or waitress to clean up after working hours will attract irrelevant candidates and may be confusing.

Choosing the right position can influence the behavior of candidates. If you want to address as many candidates as possible, choose general positions first (e.g., in the case of administrative work, select Administrative Worker, Official). Conversely, if you want to avoid reactions from irrelevant candidates, choose the most specific positions possible (e.g., PHP Programmer, instead of just a Programmer).

If you are interested in selecting the most suitable job positions and need help, you can contact our customer support. Our specialists will be happy to advise you on choosing the best positions.

4. Choose the most accurate Place of work

Profesia.sk allows you to state the Place of work in one from the following three ways:

• The work is at a regular workplace, or fixed place of work
• Remote work in cases where candidates don’t need to visit office or clients.
• Job requires travelling, e.g., drivers or travelling salesmen

It is best to choose the place of work as accurately as possible, ideally up to a specific address. At Profesia, we use location search, and the more accurate your location is, the better the search results will be.

What if you want to address applicants in every region of Slovakia? Take advantage of the Reach offer, which will display yur job ad to all candidates who are looking for a job within the same position, regardless of location. Your ad could get more views and applications. See the REACH 7 days offer.

5. Don’t be afraid to offer more Contract types

Most companies on Profesia.sk offer full-time work. However, it is possible to offer more than just one type of job in a job posting. If the situation and nature of the work allow it, we recommend offering more types of work, such as part-time work or contract work. This will attract more applicants, e.g., those who prefer a more flexible employment relationship, or mothers on maternity leave.

6. What salary should you offer?

According to Slovak labor legislation, from May 2018 it has become mandatory to state the basic component of wage in a job posting. This change caused a minor revolution and salary has become almost immediately the most important piece of information in a job posting.

At Profesia.sk, we have changed the salary input option so that it meets the legal obligation and at the same time it meets the requirements of the candidates. When creating your job ad, you can specify the basic salary, the upper salary limit, the currency and the period for which you pay the salary (monthly or hourly wage).

Tips on how to fill in salary information as efficiently as possible:

• If you are a company that has fixed salary policy without the option to specify a salary range, state only the basic salary. Based on this information, your job ad will be shown when candidates filter job postings by salary.
• If you are a company that has more options when it comes to salaries (or it’s based on experience), we recommend that you specify salary as a range. That means the basic salary and the upper salary limit. The upper limit also makes your job ad easier to find, when candidates are browsing job ads using our filters. It can help you attract the best candidates. However, you do not have to show it to candidates. The amount of the basic salary with the preposition “from” will appear in your posting in this case.
• You can state exactly what the salary consists of in the section More information about the salary. Inform candidates if they can count with the 13th or 14th salary and financial rewards.

TIP: Find out more about how to fill in salary in the job posting in the video New salary entry in job postings.

We recommend stating the salary even in instances, when the law doesn’t require it (i.e., the contract workers). If  you are a state institution and you are offering a salary based on a salary table a numerical salary can still help you get more application. No salary or too small a salary may result in lower interest in your ad. To have your salary expectations set correctly, download a salary report for your remuneration strategy.

7. Requirements for the applicants

The requirements for the candidates should be stated as clearly as possible. Avoid unnecessary acronyms and slang from your company’s culture and environment. Although they may seem straightforward to you, outside candidates are very likely to be discouraged by them.

Do not overdo it with requirements. They should be connected directly to the sought position and based on its specifics. Don’t look for a person who can work miracles and work for a minimum wage at the same time.

Determine the skills that are necessary for the position. List skills that are nice to have (but they are not absolutely necessary) as ”recommended”. Many of the skills you think of as necessary are in fact optional, or a skilled employee can acquire them without much difficulty while working.

The language in which the job posting is written is also an important factor. Offers in a foreign language have a lower response rate than offers in Slovak. Therefore, it is better to write the offer in the Slovak language, even if you are looking for candidates with a good knowledge of English. Write the ad in a foreign language, only if you look for a person who speaks the language as a native speaker and a possibly smaller number of applicants will not hinder you.

You might be interested in: Do you have a settled employee meal allowance or the right to disconnect in your company? The latest amendment to the Slovak Labor Code has been in force for several months, but it has not escaped a few critical areas, the application of which in practice is unclear or problematic. Together with Andrea Čupeľová – an expert in labor law and a senior lawyer at the law firm Taylor Wessing, the Profesia Talks podcast looked at how to interpret these areas and provide solutions that you can apply in your company. You can listen to the podcast only in Slovak.

8. Corporate culture is important

In the past, companies tended to see employee benefits as a compulsory ride. This approach will no longer reap any success for you. Benefits like “good boss”, “salary on time” can sometimes occur among the benefits, but you should not follow this example. An applicant will probably only smile sarcastically. Not to mention that benefits such as “young dynamic team” can be legitimately considered discriminatory by older applicants.

According to voters in the poll for “Najzamestnávateľ” (the Most Attractive Employer), the most common reasons why a company is perceived positively by candidates are:

• • • The team and the people
    • Company reputation
    • Job security, long-term tradition of the company
    • Quality services or products
    • Strong and well-known brand

9. Introduce the candidates to the unique story of your company

Interestingly and concisely written description of your company is an important piece of information for new, smaller, and less-known companies, as well as for well-established ones.

The less information you provide about your company, the lower the chance that candidates will trust you. Therefore, avoid general statements (e.g., restaurant, retail, construction company). Instead, give your unique story that sets you apart from others (e.g., We are a restaurant with a 20-year history, which aims to bring the tastes of France to our customers. We already have three establishments in Slovak regional cities.).

TIP: Tell your company a video story. It’s more engaging, dynamic, and memorable.

10. How to be attractive and stand out among thousands of job ads?

Every week, thousands of new job postings are added to Profesia.sk and thousands of applicants look for a new and interesting career. How to be more visible and attract candidates? Use the branding elements in your job ad and highlight it. Whether it’s a logo in the list, a logo in the job ad or job ads in your company’s design, these elements will make it easier for candidates to find you and recognize your brand. You can also choose services that will help target your job ad to a larger audience. Don’t leave anything to chance and take a look at our services.

Try to create and publish a job posting on Profesia.sk now.

• Post your job ad