How to Write an Ad to Hire Employees

January 26th, 2010 — tonymayo

Vistage speaker Barry Deutsch is my guru for job ads. One of his posts is here.

Based on my memory of his talks and seeing the principles applied by many of my clients, here are some of the keys for writing an ad that attracts the right candidates:

When searching for a person to fill a job opening it seems natural to describe the person you are seeking. That’s a mistake.
- You’re not in business to hire people.
  You’re in business to create results.
  
  Therefore…
- Don’t describe the person–describe the results that person must produce to be successful.
Spend more time on what the person will be doing than what the company does.
- Good candidates will go to the website to learn about you. Disqualify the ones who do not.
Write it from the seeker’s point of view, in the second person.
- You love to help people get in action on their problems
- You can’t walk away from your desk until everything is double checked, logged, and filed.
Describe breakout success
- Too many job ads and descriptions detail the minimum requirements.
  - Do you want someone who settles for the minimum required?
Make it interesting and compelling; describe a place the right candidate would be eager to go every day.
- Sell your culture and values. Employees who resonate with your fundamentals will be productive long term.