Job Posts

A job post is more than a job post. It’s often a job seeker’s very first impression of your company. To make a great first impression with a job seeker, you should think like a job seeker when writing your job post.

And we can help.

We’ve taken the time to speak to job seekers looking for all sorts of jobs on Indeed. Now we’re sharing the things we’ve learned–what job seekers say they want–with you in this article. As you read on, remember to ask yourself “would a job seeker find this useful?” when deciding whether or not to include something in your job post.

Have you ever seen your job post on Indeed even though you didn’t post it? That’s because we aggregate job posts from other sites. We recommend always posting on Indeed so your job has the best chance of capturing the attention of top talent and candidates have the best experience possible when they view your job on Indeed.com.

Gathering information

Indeed’s step-by-step job post process makes posting jobs easier. To make the most of it, gather some info ahead of time.  

Here’s what job seekers say are must-haves if you want them to apply:  

• A clear job title
• Day-to-day responsibilities
• Qualifications (degrees, certificates, software knowledge, etc.)
• Exact location including street address (or remote)
• Job type (full-time, part-time, etc.)
• Pay range (hourly or salary)
• Benefits (health, dental, etc.)

The above info covers the majority of the questions any job seeker is going to have about the position. And with this info, you can spend less time filling out your job post and more time connecting with great candidates.

Opening up your search

For some jobs, hard skills and certifications are a must to consider a candidate. For others, you might want to prioritize ability and cultural fit. Why? Many of the employers we’ve talked to have stated that their best hires were somewhat unconventional.

It’s about potential. Some candidates might have the right attitude and the drive to be a powerful asset to your team, even if their resume isn’t packed with the exact experience you’re looking for. Below are some characteristics that many employers tell us they look for:

• Integrity
• Ability to communicate effectively
• Willingness to learn
• Independence
• Ambition
• Adaptability

Don’t be afraid to mention some of these traits in your job description. That way, job seekers can see whether or not the role—and the company culture—is a good fit before they apply.

Need-to-have vs nice-to-have

Your job description describes the ideal candidate, but there’s a difference between crucial hard skills and preferred (but still important) soft skills. The difference? You can’t consider someone for a Nursing job if they don’t even have a Nursing degree.

For the sake of your job seekers, always put the need-to-have requirements at the top of your post. They’ll be thankful to see whether they’re qualified or not right off the bat. It’s also important to clearly label which qualifications are required and which are preferred.   

If you’re not sure, a quick conversation with a colleague can help you get on the same page.

Paying to optimize your post

Any time you post a job on Indeed, you’ll be asked whether or not you want to pay to sponsor your job. Sponsoring has a number of benefits and it’s good to know ahead of time whether or not you have a hiring budget to begin with.

If you post your job without sponsoring, you can always go back and add a budget later.

New to sponsoring? We’ll explore how to sponsor a job and whether sponsoring is right for you later in this guide or you can learn more now.

Writing the job post

When you start a job post, Indeed breaks it down step-by-step so you don’t miss any crucial info that job seekers are looking for. Make sure to answer as many prompts as you can so we can help connect you with the right candidates.

Best practices to follow

When you write in a way that’s easy to read, you’re more likely to have your post read from start to finish. Some job seekers might close out of a poorly formatted post even if they could be a good fit. And you definitely don’t want a talented job seeker to be left with a less-than-ideal impression of your company.

Above all else, following these best practices will help you attract the kind of quality candidates you want to hire, even if they’re just scanning your post.

Here are a few best practices:  

• Avoid big blocks of text – break it up into smaller 3-4 sentence paragraphs
• Use an accessible vocabulary anyone can understand
• Use lists (bullet points) to make info easy to scan
• Write in an upbeat, conversational tone
• Add sections (qualifications, benefits, etc.) for scannability

Filling Out Job Details

Once you start receiving prompts for job details, try not to skip any of the form fields Indeed provides. Pay range is the very first thing candidates look for in a job post–don’t skip it! Luckily, Indeed makes it easier by giving you salary recommendations based on average market data for the job title and location.

Location is also a very important detail that you should include. Did you know that commute time is the #2 reason candidates withdraw from an application.^[1] Even if you’re working remotely right now, including your company’s location is a must if you expect a new hire to work on-site in the future.

The more info you provide the better. All that info is used to show quality candidates your job post in the search results. And don’t worry, all the job post info you type out is saved for next time. So the next time you post a job, you can save time by selecting a previous job post as a starting point.

Not-so-little details that job seekers want to see.

Writing Your Job Description

Your job description is where you list qualifications, skills, benefits, and anything else that’s relevant to the job. Indeed breaks it down one area at a time so it never feels like too much.

A great job description includes 4 main sections: Introduction, Responsibilities, Requirements, and Benefits. If possible, try to add some of the need-to-have requirements in your intro so job seekers can immediately decide whether or not they’re qualified.

When writing your job description, you never need to start from scratch. Check out the job description templates at the bottom of this page as a thought-starter for your own job post–we have one for almost every job title you can think of.

Tools to find the right candidates

Indeed has a number of tools to help you attract and find qualified applicants. When you use Applicant Qualifications, you’ll save time finding great candidates to interview.

Required qualifications

To quickly find your best applicants, make sure to ask some questions on the Applicant Qualifications page of your job post. You can ask questions about applicants’ qualifications and, later on, filter by these questions in your Employer Dashboard.  

Indeed provides a number of pre-made questions to choose from, but you can also customize Applicant Qualifications to fit your needs. That way, you can immediately see whether or not to consider an applicant for the job.

You can choose to auto reject applicants who answer “no” to certain questions. Although it may seem harsh, people prefer to know where they stand with a potential employer. And Indeed creates polite, personalized emails on your behalf to soften the blow.

Sending auto-rejections helps you earn the Responsive Employer Badge, an icon that lets job seekers know you’re more likely to respond as they decide which jobs to apply to.

Here are some of the pre-made Applicant Qualifications you can choose from.

Sponsoring your job

Believe it or not, we understand that posting a job is sometimes the way to go in certain hiring situations. But if you want to hire fast or are hiring for a hard-to-fill position, paying to post your job will give your job better visibility in relevant search results. That means your job post will appear more often to the kind of candidates you’re looking for.  

Free v. Sponsored Jobs

To post a job for free* or to sponsor? That’s the question.

• How fast do you need to hire? If you’re trying to make a hire ASAP, Sponsored Jobs can help you receive more applicants in less time. You can also use the Urgently Hiring label with Premium Sponsored Jobs to show job seekers you’re actively recruiting. 
• How specialized is the role? If you’re trying to hire someone for a hard-to-fill position (e.g. nurses, engineers, and tax professionals) Premium Sponsored Jobs can provide added visibility from candidates that meet one or more of the occupational criteria for the role.
• Where are you located? If you live in a place where there just isn’t a large pool of talent in your industry, Standard Sponsored Jobs can increase the number of applications you receive through added visibility.
• Are you having a hard time hiring? As a general best practice, if you have a good job description and title but are still having trouble hiring, sponsoring can help. You may be hiring in a competitive market or have a hard-to-fill job.   

Benefits of Sponsoring

Sponsoring makes a big difference for employers who are serious about hiring.  Employers have two different opportunities to optimize and maximize job posting performance on Indeed. Standard or Premium Sponsored jobs both offer major advantages to finding quality candidates:

Standard Sponsored Jobs

• Better job post visibility: Sponsored Jobs have more staying power in search results than non-sponsored jobs so they’re seen by active job seekers. That means you’re more likely to reach the applicants you’re looking for. Sponsored Jobs posted directly on Indeed with a Standard plan at the recommended budget have 6.5X more applications than non-sponsored jobs.^[2]  
• Reach more candidates: Indeed will include your job in email notifications sent to relevant job seekers in our database actively placing your job in front of the right talent for your role.    
• Create a positive candidate experience: Indeed can send automated messages to engage top candidates on your behalf at key moments of the hiring process, like when they apply to your job, are added to your shortlist, or you reject an application from the employer dashboard.
• Pay for performance: You’ll receive applications at the right pace for your hiring needs, using market insights to set a competitive budget and you can start and stop sponsoring your job posts at any time.

Premium Sponsored Jobs

• Advanced targeting: Indeed will show your job post to active  job seekers in search results, who meet your criteria like skills, certifications, licenses, degrees and location. You can also amplify the reach of your Sponsored Job from Indeed  to existing audiences on specialized industry sites to reach skilled candidates. In fact, employers who use Sponsored Jobs posted directly on Indeed with a Premium plan move forward with 3.2X more applicants compared to non-sponsored jobs.^[3]  
• Proactive matching: Immediately view candidates whose resumes on Indeed fit your job description and invite them to apply. Your messages will also get delivered by text to candidates who have SMS messaging turned on, increasing your chances of connecting with the right candidate faster.
• Quick, efficient, memorable connections: With Premium Sponsored jobs your role is prioritized over similar job posts and you have the option to add attention-grabbing visuals, like company logos and images, and the Urgently Hiring label to help your job stand out. Sponsored Jobs posted directly on Indeed with Urgently Hiring make a hire 5 days faster than non-sponsored jobs.^[4]  We’ll also show you candidate highlights to shorten your review time and provide you with auto-generated messages to contact applicants.

How billing works

You can pause, close, or remove your budget at any time. Just click Edit Job in the Employer Dashboard. From there, you have the ability to change your budget, pause your job, or close it. We know that hiring needs can quickly change, which is why Indeed gives you complete control of your spend.

Contacting Customer Success

Need more help preparing and posting your job? Our Customer Success team optimizes jobs on Indeed every day. Contact Indeed directly from within your Employer Dashboard.

To contact Indeed directly:

• Login to your Indeed account
• Click your profile in the upper navigation bar
• Select Help in the navigation bar and then select Contact us for the option to chat, call or send a message

Our Customer Success team is here to help employers like you connect with great candidates. If you don’t have a job posted yet, you can create an employer account on Indeed in order to reach us. We’re here to assist with your hiring needs no matter your circumstances. Give them a call to make sure your job title and description are the very best they can be.

Please Note: Indeed will never reach out to you via tools like What’s App. If you believe you’ve received a fraudulent call please report the number to your phone provider.

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