We have been running a very successful online copy writing course for recruitment teams and I thought it might be helpful to share some of our best practice tips on writing great copy.

Following some fantastic feedback from our delegates and results achieved by clients including Compare the market, Spec savers and Virgin Money, the practical model we use has been instrumental in giving recruitment teams a new found confidence in writing compelling job ads.

The training was really eye opening and has transformed our copywriting/advertising. Our hiring managers are also really pleased with the new approach, so thank you. Direct Talent Advisor, London Borough Council
Key points to remember

When you are creating job ads, it’s important to understand how people read online copy and what factors are most likely to attract their attention and make them want to find out more. Breaking your ads down into key components and making sure your copy reads well and is free from errors, makes a big difference.

The following key points will guide you through:

• People read 25% slower online. Therefore cut the copy of the ad. Keep it short and snappy.
• Remember a job ad is NOT a job description, they perform different roles. A job ad is designed to grab people’s attention and get them interested in your job. Do not copy and paste the job description online.
• Break up the ad using paragraph breaks and bullet points. Large blocks of text are almost impossible to read online.
• When people are looking at job ads online they are scanning for information. Therefore get the important information at the top of the ad and use keywords.
• Finally always get someone else to read through your ad to check for spelling mistakes and grammar.

A simple framework for success

I encourage all our clients to work to a simple structure when writing an online job ad. This can be done by breaking the ad down to 5 paragraphs with ideally no more than 2 lines per paragraph:

Headline

Attention Grabber – insert keywords, use positive adjectives, generate interest. 85% of your readers will only read the first two lines so what are the most interesting aspects of the job? Don’t start the ads with ‘corporate waffle’.

Intro

Set the scene – refer to the job itself, the company, culture, market, or sector.

Role

Job highlights – this should include areas of responsibility, skills covered, support, opportunities, status and so on.

Person

Essential requirements – a clear outline of attributes for the successful candidate.

Salary

Pay and Benefits – the package outlined including any non-monetary benefits. Finally make sure the candidates know what to do next, there needs to be an explicit call to action at the end of each ad.

Good luck and remember that 90% of ads online are woeful; it’s easy to differentiate yourself online.

Practice makes perfect

We pride ourselves in making sure our courses are practical, relevant and helpful. This means we ask each of our delegates to send us two job descriptions that they want to work on during the course.

This is one of the most popular aspects of the course – providing hands on support while delegates practice writing their own job ads, and reviewing job ads written after the course. This helps to lock in the learning and give everyone the confidence to adopt this new approach in writing compelling online copy.