Designing Job Ads

Let's face it, the economy is going to rebound and most companies are going to be caught understaffed. But you don't want to hire just anybody. You want to hire people who will have the ideal characteristics for the position. Unfortunately, most job ads aren't designed to repel undesirables and attract desirable candidates.

A few months ago we looked at the five core employee values. What kind of jobs are these values best suited for?
- people-relating - customer service 
- places-being - Zen master
- activities-doing - delivery, repair, any job involving movement
- knowledge-learning - research and development
- things-getting/having - procurement, finance, asset management

Ad Design for Values
Think about the job you need to fill…what are the core values reflected by that job position? If you need someone for customer service, your ad had better speak to "relating to people using the telephone." Would you ask for a resume? No way. Ask them to call you. Get the idea?

Ad Design for Motivation Styles
Next you might want to figure out the optimal motivation style for the job. The five motivation styles are:
- Go-getter/Achiever - Problem Solver/Trouble Shooter
- Leader - Follower
- Innovator - Processor
- Doer - Thinker
- Evolutionary - Revolutionary

Got a sales job? You want an achiever-doer.
Got a repair job? You want a trouble shooter.
Got a management job? You want someone who's more leader than follower.
Got a job that requires the ability to take direction? You want a follower.
Got an R&D job? You want a revolutionary innovator.
Got a procedural job? You want an evolutionary processor (someone who can follow the process and make it better over time.)
Got a job where the employee needs to look before they leap? You want a thinker-doer.
Got a job that requires instant action? You want a leader-doer.

In Motivate Everyone and this ezine I've discussed the irresistible influencing language for each of these styles. You'll want to tailor the language of your ad to match your ideal candidate perfectly.

Let's say you want a visionary developer for your new dotcom: "Wanted: software developer experienced with a VARIETY of internet languages to evaluate and create a TOTALLY NEW application for xyz. (Revolutionary innovators want "options" and "difference." I put the trigger words in upper case.)

Let's say you want someone to maintain an existing legacy software application. You want someone "procedural" and "improvement" oriented: Wanted: software programmer to SYSTEMATICALLY UPGRADE an in-house, billing application.

Rights to reprint this article in company periodicals is freely given with the inclusion of the following tag line: "© 2008-2024 Jay Arthur, the KnowWare® Man, 888-468-1537, ."