Hiring? 9 PR Pillars for Your Next Job Posting

If you’re hiring, you’re not alone. With millions of jobs open today, companies are searching for their next great team member and hoping to stand out in a crowded sea of employers. 

You might have a standard approach to seeking talent. But it’s critical now more than ever before to share the right message and view of your company. It could be the deciding factor between bringing the best person for the job onboard or losing out to your competition. 

Before you consider all the ways you might make a splash for job seekers, there’s one obvious recruitment tool you should be utilizing above all others: 

The Job Posting

The job posting is the most direct way for you to communicate with your talent pool. It signals to job seekers exactly what you are looking for in an applicant, what will be expected of them and how this role fits your larger company and culture.

Too often, job postings are formulaic and rely heavily on templates and generalizations. This tool is the first touch-point someone may have with your company, but job postings often use overly generic phrases:

• “lead and manage team members” 
• “ensure projects are completed on time”
• “maintain successful relationships with customers” 

Additionally, companies often simply change the initial introductory paragraph in job postings and add a few bullet points about the role before dropping in generic company information. While that may have worked in the past, the current hiring landscape is too competitive to rely on old methods.

It’s also an often-overlooked way to convey your employer brand and your employee value proposition.

What’s Your Employer Brand? 

Your employer brand is the perception people have of the employee experience at your organization. An employer brand is conveyed through strategic and thoughtful storytelling and communications activities. It’s the values and beliefs of your company—the internal fabric of who you are—and the way you show up in the world as a place where top talent wants to work and employees want to remain.

Successful employer brands share two key characteristics—authenticity and consistency. The stories and messages you share as part of your employer brand must be aligned with the actual employee experience. Just like with a traditional PR approach, you should be using consistent messaging across channels. 

Learn more about how to refresh your Employer Brand in our ebook: Winning the War for Talent.

For a job posting specifically, you can build on your employer brand to include all the elements that set you apart. It’s the story about your company that will help prospects see why you’re the right fit for their future.

9 PR Pillars You Can Use

Whether your employer brand is clearly defined or still taking shape, you can deploy tried and true PR tactics to your next job posting: 

Pitch the position

Consider job seekers as someone you are pitching to work at your company, just as your PR team pitches reporters to tell stories. Identify different angles that make your story unique and separate you from the competition. Then, use creative ways to convey the details that matter.

Focus on the details

A strong job posting will clearly state the key elements of the position. Focus on the skills and experience required, the responsibilities of the job and details about compensation and benefits. While some companies still hesitate to include salary information in job postings, an increasing number of job seekers expect it. In fact, 39 percent of job seekers expect compensation to be included in the job posting.

Use multimedia

CareerBuilder once discovered job postings with videos were viewed 12 percent more than those without. Not only that, but the application rate increased by more than one-third when videos were included.

Eyes on SEO

Use search-friendly SEO terms to improve search performance. This includes specific industry terminology and keywords.

Don’t leave out layout

Make sure your job postings have a clear structure and format. Convey the information about the role in a logical order. Make sure the most important details about the role are at the beginning of the posting, so job seekers don’t need to search for it. Use bullet points to group details together and break up long paragraphs. Consider moving company information to the bottom of the posting, similar to how a press release uses a boilerplate.

Link it up

On your careers page, include a link to other website pages that may be impactful or useful. This link might include a technology or product page, your about or mission, vision, values section, or history pages. While candidates can find this information themselves, including it all in one place increases the likelihood they may click on the link and follow a journey you’re creating, rather than one they have to chart themselves.

Be different

Include “outside-the-box information” about the job. This information might be what department the role will be a part of, the reporting structure, what specific technologies they will be using (this can be particularly impactful in R & D and product development roles) or what projects they may work on regularly. You could also consider including a quote from a department or company leader describing the candidate they are seeking. 

Be available

In PR, there’s no denying the value of prompt responses. Apply the same mindset to your job postings. Include content or contact information where job seekers can find more information, whether it’s an FAQ or an email address, to reach out for more info.

Think long-term

If you hire for similar roles on a regular or ongoing basis, consider creating multimedia aimed at candidates for those jobs. This could be a “day in the life” profile, a Q&A with the team lead or even a conversation with an existing employee.

A job posting can make all the difference in your hiring process, especially with the right elements in place. With these PR pillars in play and a strong employer brand story to tell, you can make your next job posting one of your most viewed pieces of content—and discover your next incredible hire.