How to Write a Job Advertisement – Sample Acknowledgement of Application Letter

Tagged: hr management, hr-tools

The aim of a job offer is to allow for a sufficient number of candidates to identify with it, while describing both the open position and the searched profile in the most reliable and accurate way possible. Moreover, the publishing of the ad can be regarded as part of your employer branding strategy (guidelines).

TOOLS
Once the job profile has been validated by the decision-makers inside the company, the following questions should be asked: “How does the target-population search for jobs?”, “In which type of newspaper / on which type of website should the ad be published?” and “Who can help us?”. Hence, the following axes should be defined:
  1. The type of media that will be used (Press / Internet)
  2. The intermediaries in the jobs industry (employment agencies / ”headhunters”) that may be resorted to
  3. The relational / professional networks (personal contacts / professional associations / …) that will be activated
PRACTICE

The presentation of the job advertisement should be at once simple and appealing. As a general rule, the text should not be cluttered up with useless or ambiguous messages. Moreover, some elements are necessary to the writing of a complete job ad:

  • A short introduction to the company (name, industry, place of work) and its logo
  • A short description of the open position (title, mission, function, type of contract, duration of the contract…)
  • The required technical and behavioral skills
  • The application deadline (and possibly the starting date)
  • The job’s specifications
  • The person in charge of the application process
  • The mailing / e-mail address

On the contrary, it is generally very strongly advised not to mention the following elements:

  • Preferences as to the candidate’s origins, lifestyle, family situation, etc.
  • Preferences as to the candidate’s gender (except in exceptional cases)
  • Preferences as to the candidate’s political orientations, union activities, religious beliefs, etc.
  • Requirements as to the candidate’s health / absence of any handicap
  • A maximal age limit

Moreover, the reception of all applications should be very quickly confirmed (either orally or in writing). Your company’s image as an employer indeed depends on the the quality of its recruitment process!

SAMPLE

Here is a sample job advertisement (Bank Agency Manager), as well as of a sample acknowledgement of application letter to be sent to each candidate upon reception of their application. For further guidelines on writing a job advertisement, please refer the article “How to Perform the Job Description Process”.