Lou's Law - How a Little Creativity Can Bring Big Rewards in Recruiting

The time has come for your organization to add staff and you want to post a job on- line. Reactions to doing this can range from "No problem. I see dozens of job postings that even "I could write" to "Holy cow, how do I do this?"  Job boards are the rage today to attract potential recruits - and new boards seem to pop up every day. A job seeker can be inundated with dozens of job agents daily. So if you post a job on-line, how can you be sure your ad is getting viewed by the right people?  Being a small business owner, you cannot afford to hire the wrong person or have the opening vacant forever.  You need to reach the right person as quickly as possible.  Writing a creative job posting will go a long way to help your ad stand out and to create a sense of excitement.  Those two things will increase resume flow and give you a larger candidate pool to begin selecting the best person to fill the job.

Lou Adler is one of the most widely respected writers on recruiting today.  A successful recruiter in his own right, Lou not only has books out on recruiting, he writes articles on the Electronic Recruiters Exchange (www.ere.net), and has webinars through his company Adler Concepts (www.adlerconcepts.com).  Using some of Lou's ideas surrounding job ad development, I will help you write a good solid ad that can stand out and get the message across creatively to the person you want to hire. 

Begin with the concept of "thinking outside the box", about how you write an inspired ad that captures the attention of the person you seek.  The days are over having opening paragraphs looking like these:

Company X seeks a dynamic widget maker responsible for the manufacturing of widgets. Core responsibilities include.....

The successful candidate will have a degree in Manufacturing as well as between 3-8 years of experience as well as......

Today, candidates want to know what is in it for them at your organization. One component that is added to the traditional job posting of yesteryear is that message of what is in for the candidate by working at your company. Let us see what you need to create that stand-out ad.

Lou Adler would say "A job posting is like a direct marketing piece in that you have 10-20 seconds to capture the reader's attention."¹  The first thing a candidate will see is the title. Figuring that will take 2-3 seconds, that title needs to capture the essence you want to convey. Adler says "...titles must be visible, big, bold, and attract the attention of the right audience."² Many postings will classify your opening by title or classification, which can allow you to be creative or descriptive in your title. Adler had an actual search he had for a CFO where he titled it "CFO for division of Fortune X Company."³  For obvious reasons, mentioning the type of organization helped attract the type of person they sought right off the bat.  For a smaller organization that is less formal and where officers wear many hats, you might put out a title saying "Chief Bean Counter and Bottle Washer" to describe a chief financial officer-type who will also have a wide variety of other duties.

Continuing with Adler's 20 second rule, after the title, you have about 17 seconds in the first two lines to keep the candidate's attention to read the rest of the ad.  Using the CFO example, Adler then had the following description:

"Fast forward one year. Our client would like to thank you for accomplishing the following."⁴

Instead of the usual explanation of who the company is or what the job would entail, Lou is having the reader think ahead one year and look back on what was accomplished in that role.  Not only does this make the reader stop and think about what they just read, the position is presented in with a positive outcome.  Candidates want to see what is possible with an organization. Think about how that would position your organization if it seems success is likely (though not necessarily easy). Traditionally that has been something discussed in the interviewing process.  A glimpse into the organization has already occurred and candidates like that.

Now that the candidate is engaged in the job ad, the next step according to Adler is to list the job requirements in a way that supports the title and opening lines, yet still makes the job appealing. Continuing with the CFO example, Adler positioned the job description portion as follows:

"Creating a great team of accountants, planners, auditors, managers and directors (about 50 or so) that have made a large impact on our business.

Converting our ERP system into an asset. As a result, we now have a complete understanding of our business.

Helping our world-class operations and sales teams reach another plateau in performance. We blew past our budget and everyone attributes it to you.

Implementing a forward-thinking, sophisticated financial planning and controls process."⁵

By staying away from the tired formula of stating job duties, this job has some sizzle to it. Someone can now see what is expected of the job and think about how to apply the necessary skills in that role. 

Lastly, there are some requirements to follow. You still need to list the application method necessary for this position and any required equal opportunity information.  Adler ends his posting with "Now back to today.  If you want this story to be yours or you know someone who could make it their own, please contact me by sending..."⁶  This still allowed him to meet his legal requirements for method of application and equal opportunity requirements (very important) that is necessary for any posting.

This example may seem a little extreme.  It may not necessarily encapsulate everything you want in telling a prospective candidate about your opening or company.  The point is to get you thinking beyond the staid traditional job posting to attract talent to your posting.  Writing a good job ad is an art form.  Making your job posting stand out should increase your resume flow.  With that increased flow, may come a larger number of candidates not suited for your opening. Take that as a sign your posting worked and that people want to work at your company.  Would you rather have too many  or not enough qualified candidates to choose from?  Most employers would rather have the former.  This method will increase the likelihood your opportunity gets seen, and that is where all the fun begins.

 

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[i]¹ Lou Adler "Hot Tip #28 - The Anatomy of a Great Ad" The Adler Group, Articles and Resources September 11, 2007,  found June 8, 2008 <>

² Electronic Recruiting Exchange Webinar entitles "The Psychology of Sourcing and Recruiting Passive Candidates" presented by Lou Adler on January 15, 2008, slide 8 of 17.

³ Adler article "Hot Tip # 28..."

⁴ ERE webinar

⁵ Ibid

⁶ Ibid