Recruiting is serious business. But that doesn’t mean it should be dull or stodgy. Candidates are increasingly looking for job adverts that appeal to their lifestyle or personality.

Finding the right balance between important details and exciting copy is the holy grail of modern recruiting. That’s why we’ve put together these 7 examples of creative copy best practices that will help you pull in quality candidates.

First, some key tips for crafting a creative recruiting ad:

Engaging copy is a key ingredient of strong ads, but it’s only effective when you combine it with the right structure and details.

Make sure that the matrix of essential job details — job title, salary, criteria, location — is concise and clear. These points should intersect in a way that makes sense (e.g. salary commensurate with location).

The job title itself must be professional. Creative job titles are fun, but they make it difficult for candidates to find your posting or understand what you’re offering. Similarly, don’t use in-house titles: go for an industry-standard title that describes the role.

Keep the advert visually interesting with an image, subheaders or bullet points. This will also help optimise for mobile, which is how most people job search nowadays.

When you incorporate creative copy, you should tie the ad into a consistent message about who you are as a company: your brand story.

Above all, keep your audience in mind. When you know who you’re trying to attract, you’ll know how to tailor your ad to that talent persona.

Here’s what creative recruiting ad copy looks like in practice:

These examples are pulled from real Webrecruit job adverts. After all, we practice what we preach.

1. Start with an “About Us” that captures your company brand and story; you want to give the candidate a sense of who you are.

“Webrecruit is a market disruptor with a history of making industry-changing moves that have defined our sector. These days we are focusing our efforts on creating software to shake up the recruitment sector. We’ve already got around 8,000 clients on board, but we are only just getting started. ”

2. Highlight a unique selling point (USP) of your company or the open position.

“What we are creating is unique in the marketplace and way ahead of our competitors, so you’ll be involved in exciting work. Each and every month we’re rolling out updates which make a real difference to functionality, performance and usability”

3. Keep the weird and wonderful out of that matrix of important details, but make sure it’s nearby.

[Job title] “QA Tester – Join the global phenomenon in recruitment software”

4. Instead of just job requirements, include preferred attributes — these say as much about who you are as a company as they do about the person you’re looking for.

• “Decent communication skills — you won’t need to deliver TED talks, but you’ll need to be able to express yourself via Slack
• Teamwork — we’re not chest-bumpers, but you’ll need to be able to work together with others and take feedback without throwing your toys out of the pram
• Independent working – you’ll need to be able to get yourself up and at your workstation in the morning without someone shouting at you drill-sergeant style”

5. Focus on your company culture — this will make candidates excited to work for your company over your competitors.

“There’s a permanent dress-down policy in our offices”

[For a remote position] “We’ll help you get set up at home and invite you to come and visit Exeter from time-to-time (sometimes there’ll be pizza).”

6. Tie your tone and voice into your company brand. And don’t be afraid to use informal language (where it’s appropriate).

“You’ll be working with our remotely-based dev elements and CTO. And, just so you are aware, we like people with ideas about how to make our application even better, so bring your thinking caps.”

[Instead of Job Benefits] “So what’s in it for you?”

7. End with a call to action.

“Select the apply button now and begin your adventure with us”

Creative ad copy will help you reach a wider audience. You’ll also start to pull in higher-quality candidates who are engaged with your company brand and excited about the opportunity to work with you. Use these tips to optimise your ads and boost your recruiting success.

Are you ready to enhance your recruitment process? Book a demo of Webrecruit ATS to find out how our recruitment software and accompanying online advertising solutions can help to simplify your hiring.