How to Attract More Developers with Your Job Postings
Posted February 8th, 2017
Every company wants to find the best candidates for their open positions, and that means you need to engage talented professionals right from the beginning. But creating a job posting that grabs a developer’s attention for all of the right reasons is often more difficult than it sounds.
The information contained in your job posting may be the first impression a developer has about your company and can serve as a make or break point for many. Failing to meet their expectations means you never have the opportunity to evaluate their skills because they never apply.
Creating a job posting that will attract more developers to apply requires specific information. To help you make sure all of the bases are covered, here are some key areas you shouldn’t ignore.
The Salary Shouldn’t be a Secret
Many recruiters and hiring managers choose to leave salary information off of the job posting. Often, this is done to manage salary expectations of current employees as well as leave the company more negotiating room when meeting applicants. While this approach may have been acceptable during the height of the recession, when many professionals were open to lower salaries simply to secure employment, the same tactic won’t work today.
Not including the salary range means fewer developers will apply. Most people don’t want to take the time to apply for a position they would never accept, and hiding salary ranges may leave potential applicants wondering if you intend to lowball them as things move forward. So, when faced with a lengthy application process, some professionals will choose to walk away instead of dedicating time to a maybe.
Avoid Generalities
If you want to attract top developers, your job posting needs to contain specific information regarding what the job will actually involve. General concepts like “creating products using agile principles” or “work as a key part of a team” add no real value to the job posting. To make things worse, it may even suggest that the hiring manager or company aren’t entirely sure about the details surrounding the work, and that ambiguity may lead skilled developers to move on without applying.
Choose Requirements Carefully
Some companies prefer to provide a long list of desired skills and other requirements within their job postings. The hope is that they will find a candidate that can bring the most to the table. But including too many requirements may lead strong those who don’t have every skill listed to move on.
Potential applicants see a list of skills in a variety of ways. While some will believe they are qualified based on having a selection of the listed requirements, others will figure they will be screened out if they don’t have every skill on the job posting. So, make sure anything listed as a requirement is an actual requirement. Otherwise, you’ll miss out on talented individuals who may be one skill away from the complete list.
Have Personality
Company culture is a big component of job satisfaction, but many businesses choose to create job postings that show as little personality as possible. Instead of being overly dry and sterile, consider injecting some excitement or even a little humor. Yes, not every job seeker will see these statements favorably. But, if the personality accurately reflects your culture, those that do apply may be more likely to fit in. Then, even if there are fewer total candidates, you may find yourself choosing between applicants that are more likely to be a strong cultural fit.
Demand is High
The demand for skilled developers is higher today than it has been for some time, and the limited number of talented professionals makes competition especially fierce. That makes it even more important to create job postings that are sure to attract the best candidates available.
If you are looking for a skilled developer and would like an additional advantage over the competition, Bayside Solutions has the experience you need to find the best candidates on the market today. Contact us and see how our professional recruiters can help you find the talent you need to excel.
