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The average human attention span is 8.25 seconds – less than a goldfish! In a saturated job market with an unlikelihood that candidates will read your entire job advertisement, many employers have failed to improve the language and structure of their ads. Candidates are probably just skimming, so what’s it matter? 

While it’s true that people are likely not reading word for word, that means the eye-catching quality and accuracy of your ads means more than ever. If candidates are only going to pick up on a bit of information, make sure it’s the best information.

First, it’s critical to get the title of your job right. Internally, you may use some very specific titles that are unique to your organization, which may mean that they won’t translate into the greater job market. Use job titles in your postings that are the most accurate representation of the job and are general enough to be searched by the public at large.

After getting the job title right, you’ll want to use the right language in the body of your ad. It shouldn’t look like ChatGPT wrote it – there should certainly be some “personality” that evokes an understanding of the ideal candidate for the position and a distinctive organizational voice. However, you should include enough relevant keywords to increase your ad’s position in search results. For instance, if you are recruiting for a teacher, your job ad could includes phrases like the level of education (elementary, secondary, or special education), interactive learning, curriculum development, cooperative learning, distance learning, lesson planning, educational assessment, classroom instruction – anything that may be relevant to a search engine or a candidate.

Once you improve the body of your ad, you should focus on adding salary, benefits, and perks. This added information will likely influence someone to apply or move along. Salary transparency, in particular, is a growing trend. In some states like Colorado and California, salary transparency is law. In a recent study by Adobe, they found that 85% of college senior or recent grads are less likely to apply for a job if the salary range isn’t disclosed. Just like you want to know that a candidate is being honest and truthful with you, candidates want to know what they are getting themselves in to. Disclosing salary, benefits, and perks in the job ad will attract and keep the right candidates.

In the end, it’s all about balance and knowing your audience. It takes more work up front to create an attractive job ad, but that ad will work harder for you if you get it right.

When the labor market is tight, do you hold out for the candidate with the perfect experience or do you embrace the power of potential?

Learning to hire for potential opens up the candidate pool significantly. Additionally, just because someone has relevant experience does not mean they will be successful in your organization. It comes down to cultural fit and the ability to succeed with your individual team.

So, what does it mean to hire for potential? Hiring for potential doesn’t mean a candidate is completely lacking skills and qualifications required for your position, but it does mean that the candidate has a surplus of people skills and emotional intelligence. It also means that your team is able to see transferrable skill sets from other industries.

Hiring for potential may allow you to hire people who have more opportunity to progress in your organization. If someone is highly motivated, has the ability to learn and adapt, and is excited about taking on new challenges, chances are that that type of person has more propensity for success than if you hire someone with direct experience but no intangible assets. The right attitude and approach go a long way.

Looking at potential can also improve your organization’s diversity. If you are consistently hiring people based on a strict experience profile, you are likely missing out on infusing your organization with new ideas and different backgrounds.

To hire for potential, your managers and leaders will have to shift their mindsets. It’s important to reiterate that looking at potential rather than experience does not mean your team is lowering standards. It means your team is focusing on hiring based on skills that cannot be taught. Your team should take the time to think critically about the role at hand, and the skills that are absolutely necessary to fulfill that role successfully. Shape questions that assess people skills and emotional intelligence, along with a person’s ability to learn. Ask each candidate a consistent set of questions to provide a fair interview experience.

The power of potential will not only improve the talent on your team, but it will also help you save time and resources in your hiring process. A win-win!