[FREE] Job Posting Template and All-You-Need Guide for 2024
The components of a job posting template are the stepping stones to attracting your next star employee. Think of your job listings as sales pitches – the job applicant is buying into a job with your business. As with any sales pitch, clear facts and a powerful call to action are key.
Contents
What is a job posting?
Components of a job posting template
How to write a compelling job posting
Job posting examples
Job posting templates
8 mistakes to avoid when making a job posting
What is a job posting?
A job posting is a public announcement that a company is seeking to fill a vacant position. But it’s not just for outlining roles and requirements; it’s now a key marketing tool for recruitment. So, if your job ads focus solely on the qualifications needed for a new hire and fail to highlight what the company offers, they won’t effectively engage candidates.
This approach is particularly important in the current labor market, which is driven by jobseekers’ preferences and needs.
Job postings serve to attract qualified candidates to apply for the position. Typically, a job posting includes details such as job title, duties and responsibilities, required qualifications, desired skills, and information about the hiring company. It may also mention salary range, benefits, work location, and application instructions. The goal of a job posting is to provide enough information to attract candidates who are a good fit for the role and the company, and set expectations about the job.
As an HR professional, you play a vital role in developing job postings. Your responsibilities begin with collaborating with the hiring manager to accurately identify the needs of the department and the specific requirements of the role. You have to ensure that the job description is appealing, and that it reflects the company’s culture and values. The posting must also comply with employment laws and regulations.
Once the job posting is crafted, you are responsible for disseminating it through various channels, such as the company’s career page, job boards, social media, and professional networks, to reach a wide and diverse audience. You also play a key role in managing the responses to the job posting, screening applicants, and initiating the interview process.
The value of using a job posting template
According to an Indeed survey, 52% of jobseekers consider the quality of a job description to be highly influential in their decision to apply for a job. Additionally, most applicants (83%) agree that the benefits and perks offered by a company play a crucical role in their decision of whether to accept a job offer.
Using a job posting template streamlines the recruitment process and enhances the quality of candidates attracted. It helps in creating effective, clear, and consistent job advertisements that attract top candidates, streamline the hiring process, and enhance the overall employer brand.
Benefits of using a template
Let’s look at the key benefits:
- Streamlining recruitment: A well-designed job posting template can significantly reduce the time-to-hire and cost-per-hire and accelerate the recruiting process. This is especially important in the current job market, where the number of job openings often exceeds the number of unemployed candidates.
- Describing and selling the opportunity: A template ensures that each job posting effectively describes the role and its requirements, and highlights the benefits and culture of the company. This helps in attracting candidates who are a good fit for both the organizational culture and the role.
- Clarity and accessibility: Templates can be designed to avoid jargon, making them accessible to a wider range of candidates. This clarity helps in attracting candidates with the essential skills required for the job, without overwhelming them with unnecessary details.
- Important information inclusion: Job posting templates ensure critical information such as salary, location, and essential job functions are consistently included. This transparency aids in attracting serious candidates and is crucial for compliance with various laws, like the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
- Error reduction: Having a template reviewed by someone with relevant experience reduces the likelihood of errors, which could otherwise deter potential candidates. A well-written, error-free job posting presents a professional image of the company, enhancing its appeal to top-tier candidates.
- Consistency across postings: Using a template ensures consistency in the structure and content of job postings across the organization. This helps in maintaining a uniform employer brand and makes it easier for candidates to understand and compare different job opportunities within the organization.
Components of a job posting template
1. Job title
This is the first point of attraction for potential candidates. An engaging job title that targets the right candidates for your open role is clear, concise, and reflective of the role’s duties and level of seniority. Include SEO (search engine optimized) keywords that candidates will likely be searching for to improve the chances that your job posting will appear in search results.
2. Job description
This provides an overview of the position, including the purpose and primary functions of the job. A good job description gives candidates a clear understanding of what the role entails and how it fits within the organization.
3. Role and responsibilities
This section details the specific duties and expectations associated with the position. List these using bullet points or numbered lists. Prioritize the role responsibilities, with the most important responsibilities listed first. Be precise and realistic about the day-to-day activities and long-term goals of the role.
4. Required skills and qualifications
This includes the necessary education, experience, technical skills, and soft skills. It’s crucial to distinguish between must-have qualifications and nice-to-have skills to avoid deterring potentially qualified candidates.
5. Benefits and salary
Offering insight into compensation and benefits can make the job more appealing. Transparency about salary range, health benefits, retirement plans, and other perks can attract high-quality candidates.
6. Company culture and information
This part of the job posting gives candidates a sense of the company’s values, vision, and mission. Highlighting company culture helps attract candidates who not only have the right skills, but are also a good cultural fit. Write the company culture and information section in a positive and engaging style and give potential candidates a good sense of what it would be like to work for the company.
How to write a compelling job posting
Step 1. Write an eye-catching job title
- Keep it concise, clear, and descriptive
- Avoid jargon and overly creative titles that may confuse applicants
- Ensure the title accurately reflects the level and nature of the job.
Step 2. Craft a detailed job description
- Start with a quick overview of the role, highlighting its importance in the company
- Use clear and engaging language
- Avoid unnecessary jargon and overly technical terms.
Step 3. Describe role responsibilities effectively
- List key responsibilities in bullet points for easy readability
- Focus on the most critical tasks and how they contribute to the company’s goals
- Provide insight into the daily activities of the role.
Step 4. List required and preferred skills
- Differentiate between essential skills and those that are preferred
- Include specific qualifications, technical skills, and soft skills
- Be realistic to avoid deterring qualified candidates who may not meet an exhaustive list of criteria.
Step 5. Discuss compensation and benefits
- Be transparent about the salary range and any performance-related bonuses
- Highlight unique benefits like flexible working hours, health insurance, retirement plans, etc.
- Tailor benefits information to appeal to the ideal candidate for the role.
Step 6. Showcase your company culture
- Convey the company’s values, mission, and working environment
- Include testimonials or quotes from current employees
- Use this section to differentiate your company from competitors and attract candidates who align with your culture.
Step 7. Include application instructions
- Specify the application process steps
- Provide contact information for further inquiries
- Set realistic expectations about the timeline for the recruitment process.
Job posting examples
Creative job postings
AIHR’s job posting
AIHR’s job posting addresses candidates directly, asking them three key questions that provide insight into the company culture and what it would be like to work there. In line with the principles of graphic design, the post uses as few elements as possible to make a powerful impact and ends with a call to action.
Vego’s job posting
Vego’s job posting emphasizes the importance of hiring a team member who shares the organization’s commitment to sustainable living and giving back to the community. The posting does an effective job of explaining what kind of employee would be a great fit. It also helps them understand if the company has a culture they’d like to be a part of.
Social Media job postings
Wade Marketing’s job posting
Wade Marketing’s job posting is unnecessarily wordy and full of jargon. Eye-catching job postings are candidate-centric, focusing on the reasons why someone might want to work there before getting into the job requirements. Importantly, big blocks of text are to be avoided as candidates are increasingly reading job descriptions on their phones.
Whether your culture is serious or laid back, a job posting is about people. Instead of using words like “individuals”, the post should be conversational, direct, and personal so that it appeals to candidates. While the post lists desired characteristics and skills, the description of the role is vague and uninspiring.
HR job postings
OpenAI’s job posting
OpenAI’s job posting is brief and to the point, conversational and personal. It highlights three key elements of the job, inviting the right candidates to apply. The tone is energetic and exciting, much like OpenAI, and the call to action is compelling.
Warner Bros.’ job posting
Warner Bros.’ job posting lists the benefits upfront, followed by a fun intro that aligns with the organization’s business of media and entertainment. The “How we get things done” section cites the importance of the company’s guiding principles and core values in plain language and invites candidates to read further.
IT job posting
AIHR’s IT job posting
AIHR’s job posting shares the vacancy with a creative, engaging description of the role and a link to the hiring manager. The tone is inviting and speaks to innovation. It also names and links to the team members, making it personal and friendly.
Siemens’ job posting
Siemens’ job posting stands out for its bold use of a strong employer brand, enhancing its effectiveness. It’s brief, conversational, and personal, positioning the role as innovative and exciting. Because the company has a recognizable, positive employer brand, the posting is likely to speed up the hiring process by attracting top-tier candidates, reducing the time spent searching for suitable applicants.
Job posting templates
1. External job posting template
An external job posting template is a standardized format used to create job advertisements intended for external audiences. This template typically includes:
2. Internal job posting template
An internal job posting template is used for creating job advertisements that are specifically targeted toward current employees within the organization.
3. LinkedIn job posting template
LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network. More than 52M people use LinkedIn to search for jobs each week.
4. Indeed job posting template
Job board and job search engine Indeed is the number 1 job site in the world, with 350M+ unique visitors every month.
8 mistakes to avoid when making a job posting
- Vague job descriptions: Be specific about the role’s responsibilities and expectations. Vague descriptions can lead to a flood of unqualified applicants.
- Unrealistic requirements: Ensure that the listed qualifications and experience are genuinely needed for the role. Overstating requirements can deter good candidates.
- Lack of important information: Always include key details like job location, work hours, and any necessary travel requirements.
- Over complicated language: Use clear, simple language. Overly technical jargon or corporate buzzwords can confuse or discourage potential applicants.
- Neglecting company culture: Highlight your organization’s culture and values to attract candidates who are a good cultural fit.
- Ignoring diversity and inclusion: Make sure the language is inclusive and welcoming to a diverse range of applicants.
- Forgetting to add a call to action: State how to apply and what the application should include, and provide a deadline for submissions.
- Not reflecting current market trends: Stay updated with current trends in compensation, benefits, and remote work options to ensure the offer is competitive.
To sum up
Job postings are not just informative; they are crucial marketing tools for recruitment, and require a balance between outlining role requirements and showcasing what the company offers.
Job posting templates streamline recruitment and enhance candidate quality by ensuring clear, consistent, and comprehensive job advertisements. Key components of a job posting template include job title, description, role responsibilities, required skills, benefits, and company culture.
A professional job posting template allows you to craft compelling job postings, underlining the need for precision, clarity, and a focus on what makes the company attractive to potential candidates. This approach attracts the right candidates and also aligns with current job market trends and legal compliance.
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