Start Your Employee Recruiting Efforts Online - Create Job Ads and Post Jobs Online

Should you rely on the applicant's resume? It looks impeccable and seems to make the job seeker out to be the ideal candidate. But how reliable and accurate is it? Or should you rely on the interview? The interviewee answers all of your situational questions flawlessly and has a charm that seems natural. But how much of that is an act perfected from countless failed interviews in the past? Or should you rely on references? The job seeker seems to have left previous employers on cordial terms, all of whom can't speak highly enough about this candidate. But will they be right for this job? Before you even begin to wrestle with these questions, you need to be able to attract the right applicants with an effective job ad.

Many factors go into creating a job ad that will attract the right applicants. Below I've listed what I feel to be the 3 most important contributors:

1. Appearances First for the Job Ad. Consider the job seeker who is searching through endless newspapers, online job ads, and e-mails: will they be more responsive to a huge block of text, or an attractive full-color job advertisement? The answer is obvious. There's no need to get tacky with colors and pictures, but a professional and attractive job ad can be priceless. There are online services such as this one or this one, which offer pre-designed job templates to help the creatively challenged.
2. Content is Crucial for Your Job Ad. If your job posting reads like a list of ingredients on the side of a cereal box, you've probably already lost some great potential candidates. In addition, remember to use your words wisely (see this article for some great examples on how to write a successful job ad). Also remember to make your job ad portray the benefits of the position as well as the requirements. Get creative, but be thorough and specific.
3. Post Your Job Online. Sayings like "A needle in a haystack" and "A diamond in the rough" apply to your job posting if it's hidden among all the rest in the classified section of a newspaper. Posting your job ad online is a start in the right direction, but there's still a good chance that it could get overlooked. The best bet to get the largest pool of qualified candidates to respond to your posted job opening is by posting it on several online job ad sites, such as Craigslist or Indeed. To save time, use a job ad posting service that submits your job ad to tons of these online sites automatically.

Now that you have the tips, resources, and examples of how to create and post a job online, get out there and do it! Happy job posting!