EmployersHiring Advice For EmployersUncategorised

Why Job Titles are so Important for your Job Ads

Tess,   4th March 2021

Why Job Titles are so Important for your Job Ads

When employers write job ads, they tend to use job titles they like. Ones that sound interesting, appear more professional, or are more unique. As a recruiter, it is our job to ensure your job ad gets seen, applications come in, and that we are using the ‘right’ job title.

In this article, we’ll expose a few common mistakes, explain why a more simplistic approach will bring you success, and also some of our top tips when deciding on which job titles to use.

The Importance of Job Titles

Job titles are important because they’re what candidates search for on Google, on our website, and on job boards. For example, calling an ‘Account Manager’ a ‘Senior Professional Account Holder’, isn’t going to show up when a candidate searches for the role they want – “Account Manager”. Using multiple job titles in one ad isn’t going to come up in search results either, for example ‘Account Manager / Marketing Executive’. It’s much more ‘search friendly’ to stick to the most relevant job title.

Tip one:

THINK like a candidate. If you are hiring for an Account Manager, call it an Account Manager. If you’re hiring for a HR Assistant, call it a HR Assistant. Adding Senior, Junior, or Professional in front of your role, or coming up with a job title that doesn’t exist, isn’t going to help candidates find your role. It might even appear ageist too. It is the candidate searching for the position, so put yourself in their shoes and choose a title they can easily find.

Take a Simplistic Approach to your Job Titles

The most important thing about your job titles is that they are generic, searchable, and clean. It’s understandable that you may think the more unique the title, the more enticing it will seem, but this isn’t the case. Your job title is the most important part of your whole ad, so why would you make it unsearchable?

Tip two:

Don’t use internal jargon. You may call ‘Simon’ an ‘IT Guru’ or ‘Jessica’ a ‘Product Evangelist’, but nobody is searching for that role outside of your organisation. Keep the job title generic, so candidates can find it and apply. Take a look at Glassdoors 10 most in demand jobs in 2021 and you’ll notice how all of the job titles are clean, generic, and searchable.

Remember…

The role itself can be described within the body of the ad. There is no need to advertise the position as ‘senior’ or ‘junior’, as any qualifications, skills, or experience you require can go under their own heading. Plus, if you use a recruitment agency, it is our job to look through the applicants and shortlist the relevant candidates for you, so you don’t have to worry about that.

The Job Title isn’t the only Important part of your Advertisement…

By including a full postcode, your job ad will increase applications by 50%, if a full postcode can’t be used, then using ‘Cheltenham’ or ‘Gloucester’ instead of ‘Gloucestershire’, will increase applications also.

Including a salary on your job ad will increase applications by up to 20%, and if the role comes with additional benefits such as a car, or commission, it’s good to include these too!

Limit the number of ‘must haves’

You may think it’s nice to include some ‘must-haves’ or ‘nice to haves’ on a job ad, but for a candidate it’s confusing. For some roles you may need to have a certain qualification; for example, you may be in need of an Accountant, and therefore a qualified Accountant is a ‘must-have’. But, a must have isn’t ‘3 years of accountancy experience’ – why 3 years? It can be considered ageist, so it’s best to stray away from mentioning the exact number of years.

A long list of ‘must-haves’ will put a potential candidate off the job, so keep it specific. You’d be better off listing your benefits than a variety of must-haves. We’ll know if a candidate is suitable for your role from the job specification and our conversations with you.

Summary of why job titles matter

  • Job titles are what a candidate will search for on Google, your website, our website and job boards
  • Ensuring you use simplistic, generic and searchable job titles will increase applications
  • Job titles are the most important part of your job ad
  • You must think like a candidate when choosing a job title – what would they search for?
  • Trust our instincts when it comes to choosing a job title, we know what works
  • Including the location and salary bracket will increase applications by 20-50%!