😬 The go-to hiring channel, poorly executed
A well-crafted job advertisement attracts 506 applicants. More than half have the right skills and experience.
Nine days after the ad goes live, the hiring manager receives a shortlist of six suitable candidates. Within a week, they’ve hired not one, but two people.
“I wasn’t actively looking but the job ad really spoke to me.”
“When I saw the job ad I thought that’s me! I had to apply.”
“The way the ad was worded really resonated with me.”
That's the feedback we got from some of the talent we attracted with that job ad.
Advertising is a powerful marketing channel. It gains attention, builds awareness and sells products to customers.
But marketing is not simply advertising. Advertising has limitations.
These include high costs, low connection and the sheer volume of content and noise on advertising platforms. Then there's this:
One of the greatest dangers of advertising is not that of misleading people, but that of boring them to death." - Leo Burnett
Today I want to share some insights about the limitations of job advertising as the go-to channel when you need to hire.
I will try to resist the urge to rant about boring job ads (which will be tough).
Seriously though, these are real insights from real research Heart Talent did in 2024.
Job advertising is the go-to channel for nonprofit employers to source candidates. This makes sense, but there is room for improvement. A LOT of room.
Here's what we found:
Two-thirds of nonprofit employers only use one job board.
75% of nonprofit job ads don't include a salary or salary range.
3 out of 4 nonprofit job ads include cliches and buzzwords.
Only 30% of nonprofit job ads address what’s in it for the employee/candidate.
You can read more about the state of talent attraction in the nonprofit sector in this free download.
Flexible talent support for NFP leaders
I am deeply committed to making recruitment easier for nonprofit leaders.
I support leaders and organisations to attract the right people through:
traditional recruitment solutions
flexible unbundled recruitment support
helping you review and improve your recruitment approach
helping you understand and articulate your real EVP through employee research
leveraging this research to develop authentic recruitment content
building campaigns that reflect culture and the employee experience
consulting and advisory work to develop talent attraction strategy and capacity.
If you’re curious to know more, send me a message or get in touch for a chat.
As a communications professional and writer turned recruiter, I know modern recruitment is marketing, and I'm on a mission to share this approach with the sector.
Each Friday, I share talent attraction advice and insights. The Nonprofit Talent Edge will help you become more intentional, creative and proactive with your recruitment.
Have a great week.
Cynthia