Writing a Bad Job Advert

LinkedIn, the occasionally useful social networking site for professionals, has recently started sending me job adverts they think might interest me. As they have millions of people and CVs in their database, marrying individuals to job adverts seems like a logical next step. If I was looking for a job, or even if I was merely contemplating a move, it would be a very useful service.

My only complaint, which is minor and may not be entirely reasonable given that the service is still in Beta, is that the adverts seem to be selected on the assumption that your CV can be used to determine the sort of job you might be interested looking for. That’s a reasonable assumption, I suppose, unless you’ve changed direction and the service pushing jobs to you that haven’t been of interest for several years.

Actually, if I’m completely honest, I do have a few complaints about the adverts themselves. I don’t change jobs very often - I’ve had only three employers in 17 years - but when I look for jobs I want the experience to be simple, painless and stress-free. I want to read a description of the vacancy and understand what the job entails, what it can offer to me and what skills and experience are required. Many of the adverts served by LinkedIn fail in one (or more) of several important ways:

• By far the most serious failing relates to salary. No employer wants to pay more than the market rate but if you don’t list your salary I’m not going to apply for your vacancy. Salary is the measure by which I benchmark your vacancy against my current role and expectations. If you offer only vague descriptions like “Mid to senior level”, “Competitive salary plus benefits” or, the real killer, “Salary negotiable, dependent on experience” I can really only assume you mean “Salary is rubbish”. It’s dishonest and deceitful; just state the salary range you’re prepared to offer or I’m not going to send you my CV. 
• Use of hyperbole is a red flag. Anyone who resorts to “Great working atmosphere” or “Acme people are happy, go-getting people” is clearly trying too hard to make a dull or second-rate company sound good. Give it a rest. 
• Poor grammar, spelling or layout are indicators of a lack of attention to detail. That’s a really bad trait for a potential employer. 
• Where is the job based? It’s surprising how many adverts just list “London”, as if it were trivial or desirable to trek from one side of the city to the other. Give me the address - it’s not secret, is it? 

So if you’re preparing an advert to appeal to the best people around, the people who, by definition, are rarely on the market, make sure you’ve crafted a well-structured advert that includes details of the company, job, salary and location. Get it right and I might apply for your job. Get it wrong and you’ll never hear from me.