A well written job ad is more likely to convince a great candidate to apply, than an unqualified candidate to not apply. However, how do you write a good job ad?

Writing a job advertisement is really not much different than writing a product ad. It should be seen as an opportunity to “sell” the job to candidates looking for their next move. Therefore, it should be short, simple, and concise but also include relevant information that can easily catch the attention of targeted job seekers. 

Company Story – Get the Fundamentals Right

First and foremost, ensure your JobNet Company Profile is complete, as most candidates will want to read about your company and find out why it’s an interesting place to work at. It's important to describe the history, background and other relevant facts of the company to briefly introduce the company to potential applicants. A compelling corporate history can not only attract potential candidates, it can also distinguish the company from its market competitors and stand out from rivalling recruiters. A company story can include the company’s starting point, breakthroughs, and products and services it offers. Even better if you can point out what makes your company unique in ways that will impact the day to day living and working at the company’s premises.

Job Title – Make it Understandable

The primary component of a job advertisement is its title. It is highly suggested to use understandable words well-known in the labour market so that the message intended can be effectively delivered to the job seekers. It is also recommended to avoid using internal titles, i.e, the titles that only the members of a specific organization can understand.  Abbreviations and acronyms should also be excluded from job advertisements since they can confuse candidates.

Job Description – Grab the attention

You have to start strong and catch the attention of the reader. Before you explain in more detail the tasks and duties of the job, you should consider writing an introductory paragraph about what makes this position unique, how does it fit and how does it create value in the organization.

A job description includes fundamental job-related data primarily used to advertise a job and attract a pool of talents. It usually includes information such as reporting to and of employees, job summary, objectives of a job, tasks and duties to be performed, working conditions.

Preparing a job description is an instrumental part of any job advertisement. The recruiters and job posters need to perform job analysis in order to collect and include any necessary aspect of a job. It helps in targeting, attracting, recruiting and selecting the right candidates for the right job.

Common mistakes most people make:

• Not Having a Job Description 
• Too Long/ A Copy-Paste of the complete Job Description that would end in the formal HR file.
• Not Catching the attention of the reader in the first paragraph
• Not explaining Career Growth opportunities and Highlights of the job. What makes this job special?

Furthermore, some job seekers ignore some job posts because of irrelevant job descriptions and the demand of redundant skills.

Job Requirement

A job requirement is basically a set of specifications that determine the eligibility of a job candidate.

Some common requirements we notice being listed on job ads in Myanmar:

• Specific skills such as communication skills, IT skills, operational skills, motor skills, processing skills and so forth.
• Personal ability including aptitude, reasoning, manipulative abilities, handling critical situations, problem-solving and mathematical abilities, etc
• Educational requirements including degree, diploma, certification or license
• Personal characteristics such as ability to adapt to different environments, endurance, passion and responsibility, work ethics, eagerness to learn and understand things, behaviours towards colleagues, subordinates and seniors, sense of belonging and integration to the organization. (More on this later)

Typically requirements depend on industry, company size and company culture, but we have noticed some common mistakes most advertisers make and that you should definitely avoid:

• List too many redundant requirements. You just have to accept you will often not find 100% of what you are looking for.
• Listing unreasonable requirements with heavy focus on “years of experience”.
• Not clearly understanding what skills can be developed or improved “in house” vs. mandatory skills required for the job.
• Not understanding the difference between mandatory skills and “nice to have” skills. 
• Not realizing that all candidates think they are “hard working”, “honest” and “professional”. Mentioning these requirements will not deter unqualified people from applying.

Conclusion              

To recap, writing a job ad should involve a similar thinking process to when you would write the benefits and selling points of your  product or services. The main objective of the ad is to make the reader like your company and what you have to offer, and subsequently convince the reader that they should apply. A job ad doesn’t have to be long and elaborate but it has to be informative and persuasive enough to allow the applicants to see why it’s worth applying.