Job Posting Guidelines and Suggestions

Job seekers are bombarded with thousands of job postings from all directions. Effective job postings need to attract a wide variety of candidates, but at the same time should also pre-screen those applicants that may not be qualified. By following the few simple guidelines below you can gain a competitive advantage in attracting the best candidates.

Always keep in mind that your job posting is also an advertisement for your organization. Consider the marketing aspects, character and tone conveyed about your organization in your posting.

Carefully review your job posting before making it public to ensure there are no spelling mistakes, grammatical errors and that the formatting, fonts and line breaks look the way you expected. Use the ‘preview’ button regularly to see exactly how the job will look to a job seeker.

Try and think from an external person’s perspective and target your audience appropriately. A posting written for an internal job board should often be modified substantially when targeting external applicants. Do not assume that everyone knows your organization’s mission or are familiar with what your program does.

Try to include a brief description about your organization and/or program in the job posting.

Always doublecheck your contact information. Typos are easy to make and can be costly if they go undetected in your job posting. If using an email address just for applications, send yourself a message to that address first to verify it works.

Include a salary range and information about benefits. Most candidates have a certain minimum income they need to live on, no matter how appealing the job. Stating up front the salary range and benefits can dramatically reduce wasted time for both parties.

Remember that quality candidates often spend a significant amount of time drawing up cover letters and fine-tuning their resumes before applying. Extend them the courtesy of closing your posting if the position is filled early to avoid them wasting their time.