A GREAT
JOB AD
Employment in Denmark is at a record high according to the Danish Ministry of Employment, and the lack of specialists in particular continues to be an issue. So, the likelihood that your company is struggling to find the right employee is quite high – and you've probably also experienced that you're not getting the desired amount of qualified applications to your job adverts. If so, it's time to take a critical look at your job adverts and requirement profiles.
Because a good job advert is crucial for the quality of the applications you receive and thus the basis for successful recruitment. The job advert should reflect an accurate job description, as well as a compelling narrative about why the candidate should work for you: What can you offer? Why is the work interesting? What are the development opportunities? What makes your company different from your competitors?
So how do you lay the foundations for a great job advert? We have a few suggestions!
Because a good job advert is crucial for the quality of the applications you receive and thus the basis for successful recruitment. The job advert should reflect an accurate job description, as well as a compelling narrative about why the candidate should work for you: What can you offer? Why is the work interesting? What are the development opportunities? What makes your company different from your competitors?
So how do you lay the foundations for a great job advert? We have a few suggestions!
A good job advert can rarely stand alone. Other aspects such as employer branding and good recruitment processes are also crucial - and in many industries, the right candidate is unlikely to be actively looking. They already have a well-paid job that they are happy with.
Therefore, it takes 1) A skilled recruiter to source the candidate and 2) A better offer. The "good" part, according to our latest What Workers Want survey, is that even candidates who are happy in their current job are willing to change jobs. If the offer is good enough.
Therefore, it takes 1) A skilled recruiter to source the candidate and 2) A better offer. The "good" part, according to our latest What Workers Want survey, is that even candidates who are happy in their current job are willing to change jobs. If the offer is good enough.
Describing the position accurately is crucial to the entire hiring process. If responsibilities and duties don't meet expectations, the risk of a recruitment failure increases – because if the employee gets bored or doesn't get the promised development opportunities, trust will quickly be affected.
It takes time to create a job description, a requirements profile and a good job advert. But if you don't spend the necessary time, you won't hire the right employee. If you need some advice, we also recommend using a recruitment agency that specialises in your industry or sector – they've recruited hundreds of the kind of candidates you're looking for and spoken to even more.
It takes time to create a job description, a requirements profile and a good job advert. But if you don't spend the necessary time, you won't hire the right employee. If you need some advice, we also recommend using a recruitment agency that specialises in your industry or sector – they've recruited hundreds of the kind of candidates you're looking for and spoken to even more.
What does your company do?
Write a brief introduction describing your product/service and place in the industry, as well as a little insight into your company culture and management style.The employment
Job title, employment type (permanent, temp, temp-to-hire, part-time, project-based), location (including whether the position is hybrid, fully remote or office-only) and when the candidate should start - and whether you are flexible on the start date.Tasks and responsibilities
What are the primary and secondary tasks? What will everyday life look like? Who will they work with? It's important to be specific, otherwise you'll attract the wrong candidates.What do you have to offer?
Specialists are in demand. It's important to define why they should invest their time in a recruitment process with you. Be honest about the tangible benefits of working with you; flexibility, pension, bonus, company car, career paths, training, etc.Formalities in the recruitment process
What do you expect from candidates applying for the vacancy? Is a cover letter necessary or is a CV enough? Do you need other documents? What does the recruitment process look like? When can candidates expect a response? Who is the contact person?The requirements profile is based on the job description: You've described what tasks an employee in that position will perform, how they will work and what you can offer them. Now you need to describe to yourself what requirements a potential employee needs to fulfil in order to do the work described above.
A good requirement profile is detailed and based on data such as external market research, staff turnover, internal satisfaction surveys, employee composition analyses, exit interviews, etc.
If the data is not in place, it increases the risk of a recruitment failure. How can you describe the perfect candidate if you don't have a good understanding of exactly what competences are missing in the team, what is realistic within your salary range, why previous employees were not a good match, etc.?
A good requirement profile is detailed and based on data such as external market research, staff turnover, internal satisfaction surveys, employee composition analyses, exit interviews, etc.
If the data is not in place, it increases the risk of a recruitment failure. How can you describe the perfect candidate if you don't have a good understanding of exactly what competences are missing in the team, what is realistic within your salary range, why previous employees were not a good match, etc.?
► Degree and level of education: Is it important that your new employee has a specific degree? Or just within a certain field? Or is work experience in the industry enough? Do they need a master's degree or is a bachelor's degree enough?
► Professional and industry experience: How much experience does the job description require? Depending on how senior an employee or complicated a product you have, you may also need someone with industry experience.
► Skills: What technical, linguistic and methodological skills does the employee need? It's important to differentiate between must-haves and nice-to-haves. Make a list of both.
► Soft skills: It's also important to know which soft skills are 1) Important for the role and 2) A good fit for the team.
► Candidate's ambitions: What are your ambitions for the development of the department and the role? Look for a candidate who has the same ambitions and is motivated by what you have to offer.
► Professional and industry experience: How much experience does the job description require? Depending on how senior an employee or complicated a product you have, you may also need someone with industry experience.
► Skills: What technical, linguistic and methodological skills does the employee need? It's important to differentiate between must-haves and nice-to-haves. Make a list of both.
► Soft skills: It's also important to know which soft skills are 1) Important for the role and 2) A good fit for the team.
► Candidate's ambitions: What are your ambitions for the development of the department and the role? Look for a candidate who has the same ambitions and is motivated by what you have to offer.
Now you have the foundation for a great job advert in place: You've defined the job you want done. And you know exactly which candidate you're looking for. Now you just need to communicate this to your future employee so they're motivated to apply for the job.
Don't be too generic
Does your writing look like every other company's job advert? Do you use the usual platitudes, such as offering salary according to qualifications or an exciting job, with lots of development opportunities? Instead, try to be specific (and honest): What do the development opportunities actually look like? What are your ambitions for the candidate's role?Showcase your personality
Who are you? What is your story? Why should the candidate (who you almost already know, thanks to your requirements profile) want to work for you? This part is especially important if your company doesn't have a high level of recognisabilityWrite well
You don't need to be a college-edcuated communicator. If you're not strong with metaphors, humoristic and linguistic devices, just keep it simple: Use active writing, be concise, use personal pronouns and remember headlines.HR and recruitment tips
Our mission is to promote and enhance the Danish labour market, by bringing candidates and companies closer together. And by improving the Danish workplaces.
