Stop pumping around empty vacancies.

“Maybe we should communicate differently for once, instead of just pumping around vacancies.” I recently heard this quote in a webinar about recruiting new employees. This got me thinking. Are current vacancies really that bad? And what do jobseekers actually want to see? I dove into the wondrous world of vacancies and I’m only too happy to share my findings.

What’s in it for me?

Basically, a jobseeker has just one question: “What’s in it for me?” In other words, what do you as an employer actually have to offer me as an employee? This immediately happens to be an incredibly tricky question for employers too. Because what do you actually have to offer that your competitor doesn’t?

For me personally, it was important to find a company with a relaxed atmosphere. A company where people go to work with pleasure and don’t have to drag themselves out of bed every morning under duress. But this isn’t the same for everyone. Where I’m still easily convinced with a simple Friday drinks and the occasional fun activity, this is no longer the case for the younger generation. This generation is looking for more: a good salary, growth opportunities and, above all, a story behind the company.

But then again, maybe the younger generation isn’t your target audience at all. Because that’s where it all starts: your target audience. Who are you trying to attract? Is it 45-year-old André, who can start work right away and smoothly fits into the team? Or is it perhaps 25-year-old Tessa, who with her youthful outlook and boldness would love nothing more than to rebuild the entire department? Both people will have different requirements. So determine your target audience. Get into your target audience’s shoes. And then determine your approach.

Five-star communication

Okay, now you have a clear picture of your target audience. You know what they’re looking for and you know what you have to offer. A nice first step, but we’re far from done. Now we come to the next tricky part: labour market communication.

Labour market communication is an important tool for strengthening your employer brand. Your employer brand is the feeling and perception employees and potential employees have of your organisation. Or put a bit more simply: how people view your company. Labour market communication is a collective term for all the communication you do as a business towards the labour market, both internally and externally.

It’s important to align your internal and external communication with each other. Think, for example, of different moments where you want to keep conveying the same message: signing a contract, the first payslip and an employee’s departure. You want to approach all these situations in such a way that recognition takes place. This way you not only ensure a positive feeling during the employment period, but also when the employee leaves. This positive feeling can then in turn result in this departed employee remaining an ambassador for your company.

A strong employer brand is essential for convincing jobseekers to come work for you. Consult carefully with yourself and your employees to find out how your company is seen by the outside world. Building an employer brand can be a years-long process. But what you can definitely do in the short term is show how great it is to come work for you.

Juggling with words

Now we’re almost there. Your target audience is clear and hard work is being done on your employer brand. Now we come to the part where most vacancies score insufficiently: the vacancy text. Please throw the clichés and the ping pong table spiel in the bin, because we’re gradually seeing that in every company’s vacancy by now. So what are we going to do instead? Exactly! Be original.

Being original, easier said than done. You can go completely “out of the box” in your thinking, but there are still a number of things that definitely need to come back in your vacancy. How you bring these things back is entirely up to you. In any case, take a moment to consider the following points and determine for yourself how you’re going to work them into your vacancy:

1. Give examples

For example, have a current employee in the same role tell about the tasks involved. This way the jobseeker immediately gets to see who their direct colleague will be and what the tasks actually involve.

2. Keep sentences short

A jobseeker already sees enough vacancy texts every day and quickly struggles to stay focused, especially when sentences are incredibly long without any added value, as you’re probably noticing right now while reading this bit. Annoying, right.

3. Write vacancies in everyday language

Just keep it nice and simple. It’s already stressful enough for the jobseeker to find a nice, refreshing vacancy. So don’t throw around industry jargon and words that would get you a high score in Scrabble.

4. Break the salary taboo

Oops, caught out. We don’t do this ourselves yet either. Still, research from England shows that 78% of people are less likely to apply to vacancies where the salary isn’t mentioned. On top of that, applicants also become a lot more specific. When someone applies to you with a rough idea about the salary, this is no longer a future stumbling block.

5. What’s in it for me?

There we are again. This question just remains so important that I’m happy to mention it twice. Tell the applicant, preferably even before they read the rest of the vacancy text, what you have to offer. Add value!

Crank that thing up!

We’re there! If all goes well, you can now at least get started on writing a new vacancy text. Now just pick the right channels and reel in those applications. For the enthusiastic readers, I have one more small bonus tip:

Should it really not work out with your vacancies? Then try paying attention to other forms of work. You could, for example, offer trial internships for people over thirty, because they too aren’t always sure what they want. Or take a look at the pool of freelancers. Nowadays there are plenty of lone warriors to be found who’d be happy to take on a job for you. And should that also not be the solution, then get in touch with us. Who knows, we might be able to help.