How to attract better applicants and hire faster with an effective job posting

We recommend posting a job that meets CareerPlug's effective job posting criteria because it expands your talent pool with higher-quality and motivated candidates, accelerates your hiring process to save on recruitment costs, and fosters a positive employer brand.

Each industry and type of job will have unique challenges, but, on average, jobs that meet our criteria for an effective job posting receive 4x as many applicants. Apply the following recommendations to your own job postings and start seeing the benefits of our proven playbook!

What makes an effective job posting?

Our criteria target 5 specific sections of your job posting, but, broadly, we recommend that any new job you create be:

Concise	Candidates should be able to apply to a job within 3 minutes
Searchable	Use relevant keywords that applicants are likely to enter when searching on job boards such as Indeed
Mobile-friendly	Use bullet points and subheadings to break up the text so applicants can quickly scan your job posting

How do I write an effective job title?

A job title should be like a great headline — short, clear, and relevant.

Use common job titles	Use relevant keywords that applicants are likely to enter when searching on job boards such as Indeed Keep it simple — overly unique job titles are less likely to turn up in search results and tend to confuse applicants The job title should match what an employee would put on a business card or LinkedIn profile Examples: “Account Executive” instead of “Sales Ninja,” or "Wireless Sales Consultant" instead of "Rockstar Sales Guru"
Limit job titles to 70 characters	Data shows that shorter job titles secure higher application rates Many major job boards automatically reject job postings with very long titles Because job titles longer than 70 characters can impact visibility on job boards, CareerPlug has a 70-character limit when entering a job title
Use inclusive language in your job title	Use gender-neutral job titles — use "Server" instead of "Waitress" or "Waiter"
Avoid abbreviations, plural positions, all caps, and symbols	Use "Nurse" instead of "Nurses" Don't include symbols like "$$$" in your job posting
Avoid spammy phrases and language implying urgency	Your job title is not the place to advertise a job’s benefits — save that for the job description Examples: "Hiring ASAP," "ASAP," "PTO," "Hiring immediately," Apply today," "$12/hour," "Urgent," "Reliable," "Need," "Seeking," "Available," "Signing bonus," "Limitless income potential," "Serious candidates only," "Entrepreneur," "entrepreneurial"

How do I write an effective job description?

Your job description needs to be clear, concise, and compelling, and it needs to include 4 key points:

Why this job matters
What the requirements and responsibilities are
What benefits and perks you're offering for the role
Who your company is

Tailor your job description to attract top-quality applicants — an exhaustive list of requirements and responsibilities won't attract as many applicants as a thoughtful job description that speaks to the types of candidates you're looking for.

Make your job description concise, easy to read, and mobile-friendly	Limit job descriptions to 300-800 words — job postings of this length have the highest application rates More and more applicants are looking at job postings on their mobile devices, and they typically only review a job posting for a few seconds Use bullet points and subheadings to break up the text so applicants can quickly scan your job description Use action words to keep the description engaging
Feature 3 big benefits offered by your organization	Include perks and additional incentives that come with the role — beyond things like insurance, 401k, and PTO High-quality candidates have a lot of options — data shows that mentioning benefits motivates candidates to apply Top candidates care more about health benefits, training, advancement opportunities, and company values than they do about simple office amenities
Clearly emphasize why an applicant would want to work for your organization	Your job description might be the first time applicants encounter your company, so this is where you can sell your organization's culture to the type of applicants you want to attract Dedicate a section to this at the bottom of your job description Give an overview of your company—talk about your mission, culture, and how the role is important to your organization Be sure to look at competitors to see what they’re posting and go above that
Remove any requirements not essential to the job function	List 3-4 qualifications and 5-10 of the most important responsibilities, as well as key objectives and outcomes for the role Make sure you are truthful — vague wording or incorrect expectations will attract the wrong candidates
Use keywords related to the role	Use relevant keywords that applicants are likely to enter when searching on job boards such as Indeed
Use inclusive language in your job description	In compliance with state laws in NY & NJ, major job boards won't allow references to criminal history or background checks anywhere in the job posting, including prescreen questions Avoid phrases like "Must have clean record," "No criminal record," or "Must pass a background check" We recommend discussing this topic during the interview process Avoid phrases like "Must live within city limits," "Must be currently employed," "Recent graduate," "Young and energetic," and "Non-smokers" For the last example, you can use "No smoking on the premises" instead Avoid coded language (per EEOC guidelines)
Clearly state information about shifts, if known	Example: "10:30pm-6:30am shift"

Should I include salary information?

Yes! Applicants are drawn to job postings with salary information, and many major job boards now automatically include compensation on every job, so we strongly recommend adding this. If you don't specify salary information yourself, job boards will assign an estimated compensation to your job posting, which can lead to a confusing and negative experience for applicants.

Additionally, nearly 20 states (and growing) now require that salary information be presented to job seekers by law. Please refer to your local state laws to maintain compliance.

Include salary information on all
job postings

Leaving compensation blank can negatively impact job board visibility and applicant volume
- If an applicant searches for jobs that meet their desired compensation (e.g., $15-20/hour) on job boards and your job posting does not include this information, your job will not appear in their search results
Set expectations upfront — per the 2023 Candidate Experience report, the #1 reason candidates reported declining a job offer was because "compensation & benefits didn't meet expectations"

Compensation
range should not
exceed 1.5x the
base amount

Too broad a range in compensation leads many applicants to believe the post is fake
If struggling to pinpoint the right salary for a role, use free salary data sites to compare your job against similar job titles and job descriptions in order to establish an average compensation range:

Should I include desired experience?

Yes! Like salary information, applicants are drawn to job postings that include desired experience. Adding this to your job can help with visibility on major job boards.

Include desired experience on all
job postings

Leaving desired experience blank can negatively impact job board visibility and applicant volume
- If an applicant searches on job boards for jobs that require their specific level of experience (e.g., 2 years) and your job posting does not include this information, your job will not appear in their search results
This works in tandem with competitive compensation to attract more experienced candidates

How do I write effective prescreen questions?

Prescreen questions should help you quickly identify top candidates based on your most important criteria and ensure applicants have the skills, availability, and work authorization to be eligible for your roles.

Add 3 multiple-choice prescreen questions	Multiple-choice questions are easier and quicker to answer, improving the likelihood that applicants will complete them We recommend including 3 prescreen questions, but you can have up to 5; including more than 5 will negatively impact applicant volume Leave extensive questioning until you've converted a job seeker into an applicant — focus your prescreen questions on essential skills, technological competencies, certifications, and experiences related to the job
Set up Fast Track prescreen questions	Automatically identify the most qualified candidates as soon as they apply with Fast Track Save time sorting through candidates who don't meet your most important criteria
Use inclusive language in your prescreen questions	Avoid any discriminatory language in your prescreen questions In compliance with state laws in NY & NJ, major job boards won't allow references to criminal history or background checks anywhere in the job posting, including prescreen questions Even if you're posting jobs outside of affected states, we strongly recommend adhering to job board guidelines to ensure optimal job visibility Avoid phrases like "Must have clean record," "No criminal record," or "Must pass a background check" We recommend discussing this topic during the interview process Avoid any requests for personal identifiable information (PII) — such as date of birth, social security number, driver's license number, or bank account information