One of the many sources of recruitment is a job advertisement. An effective job advertisement can enable you to choose from a broad pool of talent. An advertisement through its broader reach enables people who would not have normally heard of the requirement of your company to apply for the vacancy.

When a job advertisement is posted, it is helpful to remember that you are competing with other companies to attract candidates from the same pool. Hence, investing time and resources in designing an effective job advertisement is a worthwhile exercise.

Experts say that designing an advertisement for a job is no different from designing an advertisement for a product. Prospective employees are in many ways similar to consumers. They would want to know how a particular job can improve the quality of their living. The size of the ad should be optimum. It should not exceed 500 words as ads that are longer risk boring the reader with excessive details. A job advertisement should have an attractive title that reflects the nature of the job. It should introduce your company and describe its aims, functions and the working culture. It should also include the benefits of the job.

In general an effective advertisement should have the following details. 

1.  Give a short description about your company. It is also good to describe the final product or service the company is providing. Enumerate the advantages of working with the company.

2.  Emphasize the friendly working environment, benefits, the challenging and fulfilling environment.

3. Describe the overall job profile that the applicant would be expected to perform. You can perhaps describe the major functions and duties involved.

4. If the position involves working with a team, describe the size of the team and the general working culture.

5. Describe the avenues available for improvement of career. Tell the candidates of the many opportunities that your company provides.

6.  Enumerate the benefits and perks that your company offers its employees such as daycare, gym, tuition reimbursement. In many cases, you may stand apart from the competition by mentioning these and attract the best talent.

7.  It is necessary that only the most essential skills for the job are mentioned. Mentioning more skills will result in fewer candidates. If your company can teach candidates skills other than they presently have, mention that as well as more candidates will be interested.

8.  Clearly include the contact information such as email, telephone, fax and postal address. It is good to provide more options to candidates to send their applications as these results in more responses.

Besides knowing what to mention, it is also advisable to know what not to mention. It is illegal to use language that may suggest discrimination on the basis of any sex, marital status, pregnancy, race, ethnic or religious background, age etc.