Recruitment advert tips

 

On this page...

  1. Advert tips
  2. Common pitfalls
  3. What we don't advertise

Common pitfalls

We believe that recruitment should be fair.

We operate a rigorous quality assurance process and decline adverts if they are potentially unfair or discriminatory.

The most common pitfalls are:

  • Offering a salary that is dependent upon experience
  • Requiring that candidates have X years experience
  • Describing ideal candidates as young, mature, energetic etc
  • Requiring very specific qualifications without stating 'or equivalent'
  • Requiring candidates to hold a driving licence if it isn't absolutely essential to the role
  • Requiring candidates to live in a particular location
  • Requiring candidates to regularly join in out of work social activities

The Equalities and Human Rights Commission publishes guidance about fairness and anti-discriminatory practice in recruitment.

 

Your job advert is competing with hundreds of others. What you write and how you write it will make a big difference to the response you get.

Use our experience to get results:

Job title

Take care over your job title. It's the first - and often only - thing candidates will see. Make sure it describes the role, and if possible, the field of work. For example, 'Events Administrator in PR' is likely to get more interest than 'Administrator'.  Keep it factual though. Candidates are put off by job titles that read 'Earn £££££'s' etc.

Salary

Offer a decent starting salary (we recommend a minimum of £17,000) and state it explicitly in your advert. Candidates are wary of jobs where there is no salary information. Don't offer a salary dependent upon experience as this may discriminate against younger candidates.

Training and development

Candidates look for training and development opportunities. Tell candidates what they can expect. It doesn't have to be a formal training programme but some indication of your commitment to training and development will attract candidates.

Location

Be clear where the job is located - it's often a deciding factor for candidates. Please don't specify where candidates should live - we think that if they meet your criteria, that's for them to decide.

Benefits

You know what you want from candidates but have you been clear about what you can offer in return? List the benefits you offer - they don't have to be monetary - it could be free parking, flexible working etc.

We don't accept recruitment adverts for...

  • Commission only jobs - if you have a post with OTE, you must state the basic salary.
  • Pyramid selling schemes.
  • Franchises.
  • Any opportunity that asks for an up front payment from candidates.
  • Volunteer opportunities.
  • Unpaid internships.
  • Overseas gap year opportunities - either paid or unpaid (including TEFL).
  • Postitions for students to share academic material or study notes.
  • Advertisements that contain premium rate telephone numbers.
  • Competitions.
  • Vacancies for individuals based in private homes unless placed by a registered agency.
  • Multiple postings for a single vacancy.
  • Registering with recruitment agencies - we will only accept specific vacancies.
  • Vacancies that Gradsouthwest believes to be in breach of (or potentially in breach of) any aspect of UK employment legislation.

We require all recruiters to submit a full postal address.  Please note that we reserve the right to edit or withdraw vacancies in which case we aim to notify you, but due to the high volume of vacancies, this isn't always possible.

 

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More in this sectionÂ…

Recruitment advert tips
  1. Recruitment advert tip…
  2. Why recruit graduates?
  3. University support for…
  4. Recruitment guide

Free recruitment guide

Find out about recruiting graduates in our free recruitment guide which includes a series of downloadable templates.

 

Client testimonial

Logo: SuperStars

As we had a number of vacancies to fill, I chose to use a branded targeted email to make a big impact and reach the right graduates. I arranged for three extra members of staff to be in our office the day after the email was sent to manage the enquiries generated by the targeted email. The response exceeded our expectations. So far, we have interviewed over 180 candidates from this Gradsouthwest campaign and offered jobs to 24 applicants with more in the pipeline. The Gradsouthwest team provided an excellent, quick and professional service to send the targeted email in a short turnaround time from my initial order.

Recruitment Manager, SuperStars

 
 
 
 
 
 

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