How to write a vacancy announcement?

Ask yourself the following questions:

• How does my company want to come across to new recruits, also as a brand/name?
• What exactly is my company looking for? To answer these questions make sure you enlist the help of the direct manager of the department in which the new recruit is destined to work.
• Where are we going to place this advertisement? What is the anticipated coverage?
• Which medium is most likely to be successful (newspaper/trade journal/internet site)?
• What demands does this medium make in terms of time and effort? (banner design / link to the company website / advertisement copy).
• Make a comparative assessment of costs against coverage.
• Make a comparative assessment of the coverage required for the message against the capabilities of the medium.

The basic elements of an advertisement for a vacancy:

• Name of the function
• Introduction with information about the organisation (name, size, site location, etc.)
• The job description itself – describe tasks and responsibilities briefly and to the point.
• The department to which the function belongs, and to whom this person will report, as appropriate.
• The profile being sought – what are the requirements to be met by the ideal candidate?
• What can a suitable candidate expect? "What we are offering." (e.g. salary range, secondary conditions of employment, training opportunities, etc.)
• And finally, the procedure for applying. name, telephone number and e-mail address where further information can be obtained. Deadline for replies, any psychological tests, etc.

Because it is part of corporate communication it is also important to communicate consistently with the employment market. So use the company house style in recruitment advertisements as well.

TIP: round it off with a nice sentence, an informal and typical trait which typifies all employees in your company.

• Make sure in any interviews that everyone who sees the applicant has a copy of his or her CV.
• Do not keep applicants waiting too long. You could actually put off an excellent candidate.
• Set a deadline for an initial selection and a first round.

Have you found the ideal candidate? Well done. But now there is still a pile of CVs left over from candidates who were not selected.

• Be sure to send each of them a (standard) letter informing them that you have chosen another candidate. If possible add a word of explanation.
• You will either destroy all the CVs or keep one or more in a recruitment reserve file. Mention this in the letter, and ask permission to include the person concerned in it. You are not allowed to keep someone's details without permission due to privacy/data protection laws!

Finding the right talent for your job is quite a challenge. Could you use some help writing your recruitment advertisement or screening candidates? Via Rent a Recruiter you can outsource (certain parts of) your recruitment process to one of our experienced HR consultants.