In the digital age, the process of hiring has evolved significantly. Rather than relying solely on traditional methods such as job boards or recruitment agencies, more and more companies are turning to social networking platforms like LinkedIn to find top talent, and it makes it important that you know how to write a new job post on Linkedin. A well-crafted job post on LinkedIn can be a powerful tool in your recruitment strategy, potentially bringing a sea of highly qualified candidates to your doorstep.
But why is the quality of a job post so crucial?
Firstly, a well-written job post is your company’s first impression on potential applicants. It reflects your company’s professionalism, culture, and values. A vague, poorly formatted, or error-ridden job post might deter top talent from applying, as it can give an impression of a lack of seriousness or competence.
Secondly, the job post serves as a mirror of the job role itself. It must accurately depict the position’s responsibilities, requirements, and rewards. A clear and comprehensive job post helps prospective candidates to self-assess their fit for the role before applying. This can save both your time and theirs by reducing the number of underqualified or misfit applications.
Lastly, in an era where talent has multiple job options, a compelling job post can be the differentiator that prompts the candidate to hit ‘apply’ on your job rather than scrolling to the next one. A well-crafted job post outlines the role and sells the opportunity. It highlights what’s unique about the role, the team, and the company, enticing top talent to take action.
In this guide, we’ll walk you through how to write a new LinkedIn job post standout job post on LinkedIn, covering everything from creating a post to writing an engaging job description, setting the right salary range, and much more. Let’s start with a step-by-step guide on How to write a new job post on Linkedin!
Creating a LinkedIn Account
If you’re new to LinkedIn, the first step is to create a LinkedIn account.
Here’s how you can do that:
Step 1: Visit the LinkedIn homepage at www.linkedin.com.
Step 2: Click the “Join now” button on the top right of the page.
Step 3: You’ll be asked to enter your email address (or phone number) and a password. After filling these in, click on “Agree & Join”.
Step 4: Fill in your personal details, including your name, country, and job details, then click “Next”.
Step 5: You’ll be asked to confirm your email address or phone number. Follow the instructions sent to your email or phone to verify your account.
Congratulations! You now have a LinkedIn account.
Creating a LinkedIn Company Page
Creating a Company Page is crucial for businesses on LinkedIn. A LinkedIn Company Page allows a business to promote its products, services, and vacancies to a professional audience. Here’s how to create a company page:
Step 1: Log in to your LinkedIn account.
Step 2: Click on the “Work” icon in the top right corner of your LinkedIn homepage.
Step 3: Scroll down and click “Create a Company Page”. You’ll be presented with four options: Small business, Medium to large business, Showcase page, and Educational institution. Choose the one that best suits your organization’s size and type.
Step 4: Fill in the required fields, including your Page identity, Company details, and Profile details.
Step 5: Click on the verification box to confirm you have the right to act on behalf of the company in creating the page.
Step 6: Click on the “Create page” button.
Once your Company Page is set up, you can use LinkedIn to post jobs, share content, and engage with followers. Remember to keep your page up-to-date and active, as a well-maintained Company Page can significantly enhance your company’s professional image on LinkedIn.
Creating a New Job Post on LinkedIn
Creating a job post on LinkedIn is a straightforward process. Here’s a step-by-step guide:
Step 1: Log into your LinkedIn account.
Step 2: Click on the “Work” icon located in the upper right-hand corner of your LinkedIn homepage.
Step 3: A drop-down menu will appear. Select “Post a job” from this menu.
Step 4: You’ll be directed to a new page to fill out the details of the job posting. Let’s break down each field:
- Company: Select your company name from the drop-down menu. Ensure your company page is already set up.
- Job title: Enter the title of the job. Be specific and avoid using internal jargon that might confuse potential applicants. LinkedIn will auto-suggest titles as you start typing.
- Location: Input the location where the job is based. If the role is remote, LinkedIn allows you to specify this as well.
- Job function: Select the function that best aligns with the position. This helps LinkedIn recommend your post to relevant candidates.
- Employment type: Specify whether the job is full-time, part-time, contract, temporary, internship, or volunteer work.
- Industry: Choose the industry your job falls into. This allows LinkedIn to better categorize your job.
- Seniority level: Choose the level that fits best with the role from options like entry-level, associate, mid-senior level, director, or executive.
- Job description: Provide a detailed description of the role. More on this in the next section.
- Skills: List the skills required for the job. This helps potential applicants understand if they’re a good fit.
Step 5: Once you’ve completed all the details, click “Continue” to move to the next steps: setting a budget for your job post and entering payment details. You can post the job for free, but promoting it as a paid post will increase visibility.
Choosing the right options in each field is crucial as it helps LinkedIn’s algorithm match your job post with the right candidates. It also helps potential applicants quickly understand if the job aligns with their career aspirations and qualifications, increasing the chances of getting applications from suitable candidates.
Remember, the clarity and precision of your job post play a significant role in attracting quality candidates to your role.
Writing an Attractive Job Description
The job description is perhaps the most crucial part of your job post. It’s where you provide detailed information about the role, the skills required, and the candidate you’re looking for.
Here are some tips to help you write a clear, concise, and attractive job description.
- Start with an Engaging Overview: Begin the job description with a brief summary of the role and its importance within the company. This gives potential applicants a quick insight into what the job entails.
- Clearly Define the Role and Responsibilities: List the duties and responsibilities of the job in a clear, bullet-point format. This makes it easy for candidates to understand what will be expected of them. Be as specific as possible, detailing their tasks, who they’ll report to, and how their success will be measured.
- Specify Required Skills and Qualifications: Clearly list the necessary skills, qualifications, and experience for the job. These could include education, certifications, technical skills, soft skills, years of experience, etc. Be specific about what’s required and what’s preferred.
- Use Inclusive Language: Make sure your job description is free from gender-biased language and phrases that might discourage certain groups from applying. Use gender-neutral terms and avoid using jargon or complex language that might not be understood by everyone.
- Avoid Discriminatory Language: It’s important to ensure that your job description does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, religion, gender, marital status, disability, etc. Not only is it unethical, but it’s also illegal in many jurisdictions.
- Be Honest and Realistic: It can be tempting to oversell a job to attract more candidates, but it’s essential to be honest and realistic about what the role entails. This includes the challenges that come with the job. Being transparent from the start helps manage expectations and reduces the likelihood of job turnover.
- Highlight the Company Culture and Benefits: Finally, give potential candidates a glimpse into your company culture. Highlight the benefits, perks, learning opportunities, and growth potential that come with the job. This can be a significant factor in a candidate’s decision to apply.
Remember, a well-crafted job description can be the difference between attracting a pool of qualified candidates or having your job post ignored. Spend the necessary time to get it right.
Setting the Right Salary Range
Setting a competitive salary range is crucial in attracting the right talent to your job post. If the salary range is too low, you might discourage qualified candidates from applying; if it’s too high, you might attract overqualified candidates or create unrealistic expectations. Here’s how to strike a balance:
- Understand the Market Rates: Before setting a salary range, conduct research to understand what other companies in your industry and location are offering for similar roles. This helps you ensure your offer is competitive.
- Consider the Role’s Responsibilities and Requirements: The salary should reflect the level of responsibilities and qualifications required for the role. A position that requires advanced skills or experience should offer a higher salary.
- Factor in Your Company’s Budget: While offering a competitive salary is important, you also need to consider your company’s budget. Determine what you can afford to pay before posting the job.
LinkedIn can be a great resource for understanding competitive salary ranges. LinkedIn Salary Insights is a tool that provides detailed information about salaries for different positions based on data from LinkedIn’s user base. You can access it by going to the Jobs section on LinkedIn and clicking on “Salary Insights” in the top menu.
By entering a job title and location, you can see a distribution of salaries for that position in your specified area. This includes base salary, bonus, and other forms of compensation. It’s a useful benchmark for setting a competitive salary range for your job post.
Remember, while salary is an important factor in attracting candidates, it’s not the only one. Benefits, work-life balance, company culture, career progression, and other factors can also significantly impact a candidate’s decision to apply. Be sure to highlight these aspects in your job post as well.
Screening Questions: A Key to Efficient Hiring
Screening questions are an invaluable tool provided by LinkedIn that can help you filter and manage applicants more efficiently. By asking the right questions, you can quickly identify the most suitable candidates for your role before the interview stage. Here’s how to utilize this feature and some tips for creating effective screening questions.
Using LinkedIn’s Screening Questions
Once you’ve filled in the details of your job post on LinkedIn, you’ll find an option to add screening questions. Here’s how to use it:
- Add Screening Questions: Under the “Candidate Requirements” section, you will see an option to add screening questions. Click on “Add Questions”.
- Choose from Predefined Questions or Create Your Own: LinkedIn provides a list of predefined questions based on the job description you’ve provided. You can choose from these or create your own custom questions.
- Review Responses to Screening Questions: Once candidates start applying, you can review their responses to your screening questions. This helps you identify the most qualified candidates for further assessment.
Tips for Creating Effective Screening Questions
- Be Specific and Relevant: Your screening questions should be specific to the job role and relevant to the skills and qualifications necessary for success in the role. For example, if you’re hiring a software developer, you might ask, “Do you have experience with Java programming?”
- Avoid Yes/No Questions: While yes/no questions can be useful for filtering candidates, they often don’t provide enough information. Instead, use open-ended questions or multiple-choice questions that allow candidates to provide more detailed responses.
- Limit the Number of Questions: Too many screening questions can discourage potential applicants. Aim for 3-5 key questions that will help you quickly determine a candidate’s suitability for the role.
- Include a ‘Knockout’ Question: A ‘knockout’ question is one that is critical to the role. For example, if a certain certification is required, you might ask, “Do you hold XYZ certification?” If a candidate says ‘no’, they’re likely not a good fit for the role.
Remember, the goal of screening questions is not just to filter out unqualified candidates, but also to identify those who are most likely to succeed in the role. Use them wisely to make your hiring process more efficient and effective.
Promoting Your Job Post on LinkedIn
Once you’ve created your job post, the next step is to ensure it reaches the right audience. LinkedIn offers various options to promote your job post and increase its visibility. Here’s how to take advantage of these options:
Sponsored Jobs
Sponsored Jobs are paid listings that appear at the top of LinkedIn’s job search results. This means they’re the first jobs people see when searching for new opportunities, leading to more visibility and, consequently, more applications. Here’s how to sponsor a job:
- Choose a Daily Budget: You can decide how much you’re willing to spend each day to promote your job post. LinkedIn uses a pay-per-click model, which means you only pay when someone clicks on your job post.
- Set the Duration: You can choose how long you want to sponsor your job post, from a single day to several months.
- Monitor Your Campaign: LinkedIn provides analytics that allow you to track how your sponsored job is performing. You can see how many views, clicks, and applications your job post has received, and adjust your strategy accordingly.
Job Slots
Job Slots are another paid option that allows you to keep a job post live for an extended period of time. This can be particularly useful for roles that are always open or hard to fill. You can rotate jobs in and out of a slot as needed, providing flexibility to your hiring strategy.
Targeting the Right Audience
When promoting your job post, it’s important to ensure it’s seen by the right people. LinkedIn uses the information in your job post (such as job title, function, industry, and skills) to show your post to relevant candidates. Here are a few tips for targeting the right audience:
- Use Relevant Keywords: Make sure to use relevant keywords in your job title and description. This helps LinkedIn’s algorithm match your job post with candidates who have those skills or are searching for those keywords.
- Specify Accurate Job Functions and Industries: When creating your job post, be accurate in specifying the job function and industry. This helps LinkedIn show your job to people in those fields.
- Leverage Your Network: Share your job post with your network and encourage them to share it with theirs. This can help your job reach more people, including potential candidates who may not be actively searching for jobs on LinkedIn.
Remember, promoting your job post can significantly increase its visibility and attract more quality applicants. However, it’s also important to ensure your job post is well-crafted and appealing to draw in the right candidates.
Reviewing Applications on LinkedIn
Once your job post is live and applications start coming in, it’s time to review them. LinkedIn makes it easy to manage and review applications. Here’s how to do it:
Step 1: Log into your LinkedIn account.
Step 2: Click on the “Work” icon at the top right corner of your LinkedIn homepage.
Step 3: From the drop-down menu, select “Post a job”.
Step 4: On the job posting page, you’ll see a list of all your job posts. Click on the job post for which you want to review applications.
Step 5: Here, you’ll see a list of all applicants, along with a summary of their profile and their responses to your screening questions. You can click on an applicant’s name to view their full LinkedIn profile.
Tips for Efficient and Fair Evaluation
Reviewing applications can be a time-consuming process. Here are some tips to make your review process more efficient and fair:
- Use Screening Questions: If you’ve set up screening questions, use these to quickly identify candidates who meet your basic criteria.
- Look for Key Qualifications: Before you start reviewing applications, make a list of key qualifications and skills that are crucial for the job. As you review applications, look for these qualifications and skills in the candidates’ profiles.
- Use the Star Feature: LinkedIn allows you to star promising candidates, making it easy to find them later.
- Don’t Rush the Process: Take your time to thoroughly review each application. While it can be tempting to make quick judgments based on a candidate’s current job title or company, taking the time to read through their entire profile can help you spot potential hidden gems.
- Avoid Bias: It’s important to review applications fairly and without bias. Avoid making judgments based on factors like age, gender, race, or the prestige of a candidate’s university or previous employers. Focus instead on the candidate’s skills, experiences, and fit for the role.
Remember, the goal of the review process is not just to find a qualified candidate, but to find the candidate who is most likely to succeed in the role and add value to your organization.
Concluding Remarks
Crafting a compelling job post on LinkedIn involves several key steps, each of which plays a crucial role in attracting high-quality candidates. To recap:
- Set up a LinkedIn Account and Company Page: This is the starting point and provides a platform for you to post jobs and engage with potential candidates.
- Create a Job Post: Be specific when filling out the job details, including the job title, location, function, employment type, industry, and seniority level. The clarity and accuracy of these details help LinkedIn’s algorithm match your job post with relevant candidates.
- Write a Clear Job Description: Provide a detailed description of the role, including job responsibilities, required skills, qualifications, and experience. Use inclusive language, avoid discriminatory phrases, and be honest and realistic about the role.
- Set a Competitive Salary Range: Research market rates and consider the role’s responsibilities and your company’s budget to set a competitive salary range. LinkedIn’s Salary Insights tool can be a helpful resource.
- Add Screening Questions: Use LinkedIn’s screening questions feature to filter and manage applicants more efficiently.
- Promote Your Job Post: Consider using LinkedIn’s job promotion options to increase your job post’s visibility. Be strategic in targeting the right audience.
- Review Applications: Review applications efficiently and fairly, focusing on key qualifications and avoiding biases.
Remember, a well-crafted job post is not just about listing a job’s requirements—it’s also about selling the job and your company to potential candidates. It’s your first chance to make a good impression on potential candidates and to attract high-quality applicants who can drive your company’s success.
In the competitive job market, taking the time to craft a compelling job post can be the differentiator that leads top talent to choose your company over others. So, take the time to get it right, and happy hiring!
Frequently Asked Questions
- How much does it cost to post a job on LinkedIn?Posting a job on LinkedIn can be free, but LinkedIn also offers premium options to increase your job post’s visibility. The cost of a premium job post depends on the location, job function, and industry. LinkedIn operates on a pay-per-click model, meaning you set a daily budget for how much you’re willing to spend promoting your job post.
- How long does a job post stay active on LinkedIn?A standard job post on LinkedIn stays active for 30 days unless you close it sooner. However, with a premium job post, you can choose how long you want the job post to be promoted.
- Can I edit my job post after it’s been published?Yes, you can edit your job post after it’s been published. To do this, go to the “Jobs” section of your LinkedIn page, find the job post you want to edit, and click on the “Edit job” option.
- How can I see who has applied for my job post?To see who has applied for your job, go to your LinkedIn homepage, click on the “Work” icon in the top right corner, then select “Manage jobs”. Click on the job for which you want to see applications. Here, you’ll see a list of all the candidates who have applied for your job.
- How can I increase the visibility of my job post?To increase the visibility of your job post, consider promoting it through LinkedIn’s premium options such as Sponsored Jobs or Job Slots. You can also share the job post with your network, on your company page, or in relevant LinkedIn groups.
- What if I don’t find a suitable candidate within the job post duration?If you don’t find a suitable candidate within the job post duration, you can re-post the job. Consider revising the job post based on the response you got to attract more suitable candidates. You might need to adjust the job description, qualifications, or salary range.