Most job posts are written in a hurry, copied from the last one and pasted onto a job board. Then the applications arrive, and half of them are from people who were never right for the role. A better job post will not fix everything, but it is the cheapest way to improve the quality of your shortlist. Here is how to write one that attracts the people you actually want.
Start with the person, not the process
Before you write a word, answer one question: who will thrive in this job, and what will they achieve in their first six months? Not a list of duties. A picture of success.
If you cannot describe it in two sentences, the role is not ready to advertise. Talk to the person who will manage the new hire, and to someone who does a similar job today. Ask what the hardest part of the work is and what a great first quarter looks like. Those answers become the heart of your post.
Write a title people actually search for
Clever titles hurt you. Nobody searches for a 'Customer Happiness Ninja'. They search for 'Customer Service Advisor'. Use the title a candidate would type into a search bar, and add detail after it if you need to, such as the location or the type of work.
Be honest about seniority too. If the role is entry level, say so. If it needs five years of experience, the title should reflect that. Mismatched titles create wasted applications on both sides.
Put the essentials near the top
Candidates scan before they read. Make the basics easy to find, and do not make people hunt for them.
- Pay: give a salary or a realistic range. It is the first thing most people look for, and leaving it out often means the best candidates scroll past.
- Location: say whether the job is on site, hybrid or remote, and where your workplace is.
- Hours: full time, part time, shifts, weekends. Be specific.
- Contract: permanent, fixed term or temporary, and the start date if it matters.
If there are things candidates will not love, such as early starts or occasional travel, say so plainly. You will lose a few applicants, but they were not going to stay anyway.
Describe the work in plain English
Replace vague phrases with real tasks. 'Responsible for stakeholder engagement' means very little. 'Speak to our five biggest customers each month and make sure their problems get fixed' is clear, and it lets a candidate picture themselves doing it.
Keep the list of responsibilities short. Five or six items is plenty. Long lists make a role sound overwhelming, and they put off capable people who do not tick every box. Some candidates will only apply if they meet every requirement, so a bloated list can narrow your pool in ways you did not intend.
Separate must-haves from nice-to-haves
Be strict about what is truly essential. A qualification that can be learned on the job, or a software tool that can be picked up in a week, belongs in the nice-to-have column. Ask yourself whether you would genuinely reject someone without it. If not, move it down.
Show what it is like to work with you
Two businesses can offer the same salary and feel completely different. Candidates want to know what the team is like, how decisions get made, and what a normal week looks like. Small employers have a real advantage here, because you can be specific and personal in a way large companies find hard.
Mention the benefits that matter in practice: holiday, flexibility, training, progression. Avoid filler such as 'fast-paced environment' or 'family atmosphere'. If a phrase could appear in any job post in the country, cut it.
Photos and short video clips help too. A candidate who can see your workplace or hear from a future colleague gets a far better sense of fit than one reading a block of text. This is one reason Hier posts are visual and easy to scroll on a phone, since that is where many people now look for work.
Make applying simple
Every extra step costs you applicants. Ask only for what you need to make a first decision. A CV and a couple of short questions are usually enough. Long forms and repeated data entry lose strong people who are already working and applying in their lunch break.
Tell candidates what happens next, too: when you will respond, how many interview stages there are, and who they will meet. A little clarity builds trust before you have even spoken.
Once applications come in, you still need a fair way to sort them. Hier Intelligence scores and ranks applicants against the role you described, so your team can start with the strongest matches. It is there to save you time, and the hiring decision stays with you.
Check it before you publish
Read the post out loud. If it sounds like a legal notice, rewrite it. Then ask someone outside the team to read it and tell you what the job is, what it pays and how to apply. If they cannot answer in under a minute, it needs work.
Also review your wording for fairness. Avoid phrases that hint at age, gender or background, such as 'young and energetic' or 'digital native', and focus on skills and outcomes. You are legally bound by the Equality Act 2010, and a more inclusive post tends to attract a wider and stronger field anyway.
The practical takeaway
A good job post is clear, honest and specific. Lead with pay, location and hours. Describe real work in plain words. Keep the requirements short and the culture genuine. Make applying easy, and tell people what happens next.
Spend an extra thirty minutes on the post and you will likely save hours reading applications that were never going to fit.