Producing an effective vacancy advert

It is important that the information you provide is clear, concise and sufficient to enable jobseekers to decide whether or not they wish to apply. Be mindful of the volume of vacancies that are advertised by your organisation. If there are multiple locations for each vacancy or there are many similar vacancies available, consider grouping them and posting fewer adverts. This improves the applicants' experience and also ensures that your adverts are approved as soon as possible.

Job title

Give the role a meaningful title and avoid using generic terms such as ‘Graduate Trainee’ or vague terms such as ‘Project Worker’.  This helps your advert stand out in search results, and enables jobseekers to spot posts that may be of interest to them. If unsure, search online for similar jobs for inspiration.

Information about your organisation

Organisation information is key and needs to be short and concise, with a link to your website. Emphasise key activities, any unique features, awards, or aspects of work with which jobseekers may be familiar, eg work on nationally recognised projects. You may also like to make reference to organisation growth, diversification of products or services, innovation, geographical spread, key clients you work with and the variety of markets in which the organisation operates. However keep it short and make detailed background information part of the job description which applicants can either view online or request separately.

For smaller organisations, it is worth highlighting the benefits of working for an organisation of your size, eg hands-on experience from the start, on-the-job training, early responsibility etc.

Candidates are increasingly interested in working for organisations whose values align with their own. Stating your values can help students decide whether to apply and help you to attract candidates who will be a good fit for your organisation. For example, outlining how you are working towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Role information

Use the majority of your advert to tell jobseekers about the job on offer. Key features should include:

• A brief outline of the role
• Essential and desirable skills
• Specific degree discipline, knowledge or experience required for the role
• Career progression opportunities
• Training and development
• Flexible working

Salary and benefits

• Provide an actual salary figure as opposed to ‘Competitive’ or ‘Negotiable’ and ensure you are paying at least the National Minimum Wage. Even if the salary is below industry standards, your advert is more likely to receive more interest where a salary is quoted.
• If using a salary range, make it as narrow as possible to give applicants a realistic view of what they are likely to be paid.
• If you indicate an ‘Up to £…’ figure, most applicants will expect no less than 85-90% of the figure quoted.
• Mention any additional benefits such as health package/gym membership.

How to find out more and apply

• Outline the stages of the selection process and dates of any assessment centres.
• Add links to further information, eg job description, person specification.
• Indicate how potential applicants can apply.
• Provide contact details for candidates who may require any reasonable adjustments to your recruitment processes, eg extra time in assessments to ensure you receive applications from the widest pool of eligible candidates.
• Set a closing date if you wish to complete your recruitment within a fixed timeframe, allowing a minimum of two weeks from the date an advert is posted. If you have rolling recruitment, you might like to consider setting two or three closing dates throughout the academic year to ensure that you receive a steady flow of applications.

Attracting a diverse pool of candidates

Signing up to the Disability Confident Scheme may help you to attract a wider pool of talent.

Consider any reasonable adjustments that you could make in order for applicants to apply and carry out their responsibilities, such as allowing extra time in online tests, adapting interview location (eg using a quieter room, or offering a face to face interview instead of a video interview) or providing interview questions in advance to candidates. 

Further guidance on making your recruitment practices more inclusive is available via the links below.

Contact us

We reserve the right to make minor amendments to adverts, where we feel this may more accurately reflect the work on offer and give it maximum appeal.

If you need further assistance, please get in touch:

Tel: 0114 2220900

Email: careers@sheffield.ac.uk.