When it comes to writing and creating a job advert for the care industry, there’s a lot to consider to maximise your search and get people interested.As you know, trying to attract new people into the health and care industry isn’t always easy.
Especially when there’s a growing shortage highlighted by Skills for Care.According to their research, just under 340,000 social care employees leave their jobs each year, while there are around 2,800 unfilled manager jobs at one given time in care homes each year.
So what’s the issue?
One of the biggest problem areas in the recruitment process is job adverts.
As a candidate, it’s vital that you are given a real snapshot into what the job entails so that there aren’t any unexpected surprises further down the line.It also plays an essential role in finding the right/quality professionals who value the industry and want to help.
With this in mind, we’ve put together a few useful tips on how to make your job advert stand out.
Using the right tone of voice
A lot of recruitment agencies or businesses are often guilty of adopting the wrong tone for the job advert content.
Instead of using formal and complicated language, the tone should be warm and inviting.You want candidates to nod and get excited about a position.
If you start complicating a vacancy, this could put potential applicants off, as they’ll feel inadequate.You should also consider adding in a slight touch of humour as it’ll introduce a bit of character to the industry, which is commonly regarded as serious.
Granted, you shouldn’t fill it with your best one-liners, but a nice bullet point for a care worker position saying ‘Must be good at making teas’, can add a human element to the tone.
Size does matter
When we talk about size, we’re referring to the length of the job advert.
According to Wyzowl, the average attention span of a person is less than a goldfish (8.25 seconds).
So keep your job advert below 700 words.
A long-winded advert can unnecessarily complicate a job spec and make it easy for candidates to miss the real juicy parts.As a rule of thumb, you should include only the basics, such as:
- A job title
- A job description (breaking the paragraphs up into two lines each max)
- The salary and location
- Organisation name (or brief description, if confidential)
- The essential skills required
- Contact information
- How to apply
Consider searchers
The content should also contain keywords to attract the right candidates.
The problem is, when you recruit any person, you aren’t considering the industry’s best interests.It’s a key reason why there’s such a high turnover rate within the industry.
So when you are crafting the content for your job advert, use relevant job titles for candidates to actively find on Google.
The actual body copy should also have loads of keywords to maximise your SEO presence and job board ranking too.
Be clear
Another key factor which may have contributed to the shocking turnover stats in the health and care industry is the lack of clarity in a job advert.
Candidates don’t want to read paragraphs of information about your organisation.Try to limit this information to three lines.
Instead, focus on what experience is required and what the job entails, point for point.
Using bullet points to detail their daily tasks (however unpleasant) will give them the transparency they want.
While you may argue that this could put some candidates off, is that really a bad thing if they don’t actually have a passion for it in the first place?
Receiving ten strong applications is much better than receiving an influx of 100 half-hearted ones.
Think mobile
To gain the most interest in a role, you need to think about mobile users.
Just like a website, this form of technology is growing.In fact, 50% of candidates using their mobile devices to specifically apply for jobs.
Mobile optimisation is another reason why we’ve suggested to keep your job advert under 700 words.
Otherwise, a candidate could be scrolling for an eternity!
If you ignore mobile adverts and job boards containing ‘one-click’ apply features, a candidate could see your vacancy but forget to go back and put themselves forward for it later.
A mobile optimised job advert will mean you can tap into a bigger audience who are casually scrolling through their phones on the go.
Summing up
The important thing to remember is to be clear and transparent in the health and care industry.
Here at Temps 4 Care, we believe in finding the right employee for our clients – not just an employee.
Follow these points and record your results.You’ll then see what’s working and ensure you only source the very best candidates.For more advice, get in touch with our team today.
