How to write your 2to3days job advert
"It’s my ideal job. I’m applying now!"
That's what you want 2to3days candidates saying when they read your job advert. Talent is the beating heart of your company and, to hire great people, your job advert must be impactful, informative, thought-provoking and well written.
This step-by-step guide was created by our recruitment experts to help you create job adverts on 2to3days.com that engage and persuade our job-seekers and also optimise your 2to3days job listing page in google search results.
Google changed the rules!
In October 2021, to improve the relevance of job adverts, Google introduced new ‘rules’ that govern the searchability of job adverts. Below we’ve summarised the key principles of Google’s new ‘job listing rules’.
- Avoid duplication - try to resist copying content from previous adverts you have written but instead find fresh ways of describing the vacancy in the job title and description
- Avoid Plagiarising content - don’t fall into the trap of copying text from other sites because it sounds good - Google will pick up on this and ignore your listing, so your job ad will reach a smaller audience via search results
- Flexible Job Arrangements - Be sure to tag all flexible work arrangements and benefits applying to your vacancy, e.g. work from home, job-share or remote working allowed. The 2to3days job advert form allows you to mark these features. Google is looking for them.
Writing your advert
Our job advert template is straightforward to use. The following guidance will help you add an edge to your job adverts on the 2to3days platform, giving it the best chance of engaging our talented and experienced job seeking community. Remember, the more comprehensive and specific your job advert listing the better chances our email job alerts will reach the most relevant candidates the instant your job is posted live.
Job Title
Provide a clear, recognisable job title that includes the core discipline of the role; avoid abbreviations, jargon, or unnecessary information. Do not mix job titles or job levels as this will not increase your response rate.
Unique Job Ad ID (or reference)
Please provide an easy-to-recognise job reference number.
Hiring Organisation
Our job adverts default to the name of your organisation or company (as per your employer profile created in 2to3days). But you have the option to overwrite it if you’re hiring on behalf of another company. i.e. if you’re a recruitment agency or if your organisation has multiple employer brands
Company Logo
Defaults to the logo you added to your 2to3days organisation or company profile, but you have the option to replace with the logo or an organisation you’re hiring on behalf of. Remember, candidates are far more likely to apply to a job advert with a company logo. For logos, we accept jpeg or png files, ideally square and not smaller than 200x200px.
Job Industry and Occupation Category (or Discipline)
Select one from each of the drop-down menus we provide.
Job location
Enter the name of the town or city, together with the postcode of the candidate’s work location. In the case of working from home or remote working (telecommute) then provide the postcode of the office location the candidate reports into. If your job has the option of working from multiple locations, then please show these locations in the job description, but select UK in the job location field.
Location type
Select between Office-based, Work From Home or Telecommute
Contract type
You need to select a minimum of one field. This is a mandatory field
- Fixed term
- Freelance
- Full time
- Part time
- Permanent
Employment type
You can select all that apply
- Full time
- Part time
- Jobshare
- Maternity Cover
- Returnship
- Internship
Flexible working arrangements
Here you can select the best way to describe the flexible working arrangements available for this job. Tick all that apply. This field is optional.
- Flexible hours
- Hybrid working
- Work from home option
- Remote working option
- School hours
- Staggered hours
- Term time only
Flexible working benefits
You can indicate if any of the following flexible working benefits apply
- Employee choice of days off
- On-site nursery provision
- School hours possible
- Term time only contract possible
- Gradual return to work (Returnships)
- Sabbatical provision
Salary
It pays to be specific!
Including a salary on your job advert not only increases applications by 20% but, with Google’s new rules, job adverts that don’t mention a salary will be penalised, which restricts the visibility of your job advert on 2to3days.
Here you have the option to either show the expected remuneration or a salary range. If the salary provided is the pro rata salary or FTE, please ensure you make the distinction.
Job description
This is your chance to sell the role. What makes your company special? Put yourself in the shoes of a candidate; why should someone want to come and work at your company?
We recommend you use sentence case, avoid using block capitals and excessive use of characters such as exclamation marks. Also triple check for grammar and typos as you will be doing your company a grave disservice if they slip through the net!
We are huge fans of job adverts written in an informal but professional way. Allow the personality of the job and the culture of your company to shine through naturally.
It’s important you provide as many specific details as possible. Far too often the free text copy of an advert is vague with sweeping generalities. This creates ambiguity for the potential candidate and makes it harder for the candidates to get excited about the role, apply and interview well. It is also important that you remove gender bias language. Get a few colleagues of the opposite gender to review your description with fresh eyes if you can.
4 top tips to removing gender bias from your adverts
- Simplify your criteria - presenting an exhaustive list of requirements can put women off applying. Research has shown that men will apply when they only meet 60% of the requirements whilst women will only apply when they meet 100%. We encourage you to only list what is essential. Look to use a maximum of 4 bullet points per section.
- Promote your company’s diversity; A good way to attract a broad range of applicants is to state your commitment to fostering an inclusive and dynamic working environment. Backing this up with evidence to emphasise how your organisation promotes this kind of culture will make individuals feel more welcome and supported.
- Check your choice of words - Research has shown that the language used in job listings can influence a person's decision to apply. It found that the average advert featured twice the number of phrases with a masculine tone, thus drawing in more male applicants.
- Use this free gender-bias checker; paste your draft job description into this handy and free online gender-bias checker
Remember, your job advert provides a link to your employer profile on 2to3days (‘more about this employer’) so make sure your employer profile on 2to3days is up to date and describes your employer brand, ethos and values in a succinct and compelling way. Many would-be applicants will check out your profile page before applying for a vacancy.
Education requirements
Select the minimum level of education required from candidates, e.g. Bachelor degree. You can use the job description to specify exact educational and professional qualifications or certifications.
Skills
Populate this field with a list of relevant skills you expect candidates to possess or have experience of.
Applicants right to work
The default is the right to work in the UK. If instead you need them to have the right to work in the EU then select the second option.
Immediate Start
If the job requires an immediate start (or at least has a desired start date for the role very near in the future), then you can select ‘immediate start’ on the form, otherwise... see next point.
Listing start and expiry date
The automatic closing date for your advert is 30 days from the date your advert goes live. However, you are at liberty to reduce the advertising period by clicking on the calendar and selecting a date within 30 days. You can of course schedule your job listing to go live on a future date. You can also schedule your job advert to begin on a future date; it will go live so long as your 2to3days employer profile has credits.
Application method
Please select how you want to receive applications
You can choose to receive applications within your 2to3days account. If this option is selected then applicants’ CVs and covering letters (if you have requested one via the job description) will be uploaded to your employer profile dashboard where you and any colleagues whom you’ve set-up as users of your employer profile, can access, review and manage the applications.
If you prefer 2to3days candidates to apply via your company’s career page then select the option to ‘apply via my employer website and you will be asked to insert the URL of your company’s career page.