Writing the perfect online vacancy

Job Title

You should use the most straightforward job title possible, as this forms an important part of how the search works.

For example, if you are recruiting for a website designer you should use a job title such as ‘Web Designer’ rather than ‘Fantastic online creative opportunity’.

Tip: Try to use a job title that contains the words you think jobseekers are most likely to use to find a job like yours — even if it may not be the actual job title you use internally. Eg if your job title is Key Client Executive but you think a jobseeker would be likely to be searching for ‘Sales’ or ‘Account Manager’ jobs — use a job title such as ‘Sales Account Manager’.

Location(s)

This is where the job is located (eg ‘Leeds’ or ‘BN3’ or ‘South London’ — or even ‘UK’ or ‘Nationwide’ if required). Using one single location will deliver the best response.. However, if necessary, you can use up to three locations (please separate them with a comma - eg ‘Glasgow, Sheffield, Birmingham’). You may be asked to confirm locations if there is any ambiguity (eg Newcastle under Lyme, Newcastle on Tyne).

Salary

Whatever you type in here will be shown word-for-word on your job ad.

Importantly, it will also be used by us to categorise your vacancy for jobseekers who search within a specific salary range.

You can write this in any format you want — for example ‘£12,000’, or ‘£12K plus bonus and car’, ‘£11-13,000 + benefits’, ‘£10 per hour’ etc.

Tip: Always try to include a salary, or a salary range, rather than terms such as ‘£Competitive’ or ‘Excellent’. You’ll get a far better level of response and more relevant candidates.

Industry Sector

This is very important; to get the best response from the most relevant candidates, you should be as clear as possible about the nature of the role and the skills and experience you expect from candidates.

Tip: Try to include within the job description a range of the keywords you think jobseekers might be using to search for a job like yours — particularly if there is more than one way of describing the job you are recruiting for.

Job description

This is very important; to get the best response from the most relevant candidates, you should be as clear as possible about the nature of the role and the skills and experience you expect from candidates.

Tip: Try to include within the job description a range of the keywords you think jobseekers might be using to search for a job like yours — particularly if there is more than one way of describing the job you are recruiting for.

Job type

Choose one of the options from the drop down menu.

Vacancy Start date

This is when you want the successful candidate to start, NOT when your job ad will go live on the site. You can use terms such as ‘ASAP’ or ‘Immediate’ if you wish.

Duration of employment

If you have chosen ‘Permanent’ for the job type, you should type in ‘Permanent’ here too. For jobs with a fixed contract period, you should say how long this will be.