The crucial difference between a job description and a job advert

Here’s some incredibly useful advice that you may not have heard before: when recruiting for your business, the job advert that you use should not be identical to the job description for the role. A lot of people get this confused. They’re different things and they serve different purposes. If you’re unsure how to use them the right way, keep reading this post.

They're different things and they serve different purposes.

A job description is a document that explains the purpose, responsibilities and accountability of a particular role within an organization. Job descriptions are created to define employee roles based on the needs of the company. They are used for recruitment purposes to ensure applicants understand what you expect from them in terms of work hours, compensation and duties they will be required to fulfil.

A job advert is a marketing document that aims to attract candidates who have all of the right skills, experience and qualifications for your vacant position. It should also be compelling enough to entice people to apply who would enjoy working with you and make a positive impact on your business.

A job description should be sent to candidates after they’ve had contact from you and shown interest in the role. The talent that you are looking to bring into your business shouldn’t be given the job description straight away, especially if you are trying to attract inbound applications. Here’s an example of why you shouldn’t lead with a job description. Imagine that you’re an expert in your field and you’re happy with the job you currently have, but you may move for the right opportunity. Let’s say you’re scrolling LinkedIn and you see a post looking for someone exactly like you at a top brand. Now imagine you click the post and the ‘ad’ is written exactly like a job description, with no details on why you should be interested. You’d click off, wouldn’t you? That’s why it doesn’t work. That’s why there has to be a distinction between an ad and a description.

A job description will typically be provided by the business, the HR representative or the manager who is responsible for recruiting the person in question.

A job description will typically be provided by the business, the HR representative or the manager who is responsible for recruiting the person in question. It will outline what is expected of them and provide an overview of their responsibilities. A job advert, on the other hand, should be written by someone in charge of marketing or advertising to help promote the position and attract candidates.

In order to recruit effectively online, you need to have a strategy in places that divides who writes the ads and who writes the descriptions. This is the best way to create two separate documents that hold different content, so you don’t end up with essentially two job descriptions (which most companies do).

Job descriptions tend to focus more on laying out all the necessary skills, qualifications and experience that a candidate needs to effectively perform their role within a company while job adverts are more likely to concentrate on attracting potential employees by giving succinct details about their role within a business as well as its aims and objectives. This can help employers ensure that they recruit only those candidates who best fit with both their own personal aspirations for success within any given department (such as sales) or project goals set out over time - such as increasing profits year-over-year.

A job description focuses on who can do the role; a job advert focuses on who should do the role.

A job description is predominantly written for the employer, to clearly define the role, its responsibilities and requirements in order for it to be successfully carried out.

Candidates need a job advert that will give them a clear idea of why they should apply for your role over another one. It must capture their attention and hook them in so they want to read more. This means that you need your advert to stand out from any other adverts on the market.

A job advert differs from a job description because it focuses on selling the opportunity and persuading candidates that they are making the right choice by applying for a role with you.

Think of it as an exercise in marketing, as you would with any other product or service that you are trying to sell. You have to highlight all the main features (ie what sets you apart from your competitors) and benefits (ie why this opportunity is better than others).

How to write good copy for a job advert

When writing a good advert, language is key. Good job adverts have been shown to lead to better quality candidates applications and therefore better quality hires.

So how do we write good copy for a job advert?

Focus on why the company you’re recruiting for is a good place to work. Ask yourself how you can pitch the role and the brand in a way that shows that it will benefit the life of the candidate by working there. Job adverts almost solely serve the purpose of persuading the candidate to consider the role; you have to market the brand to them. Talk about things such as culture, perks, brand identity, vision, values, environment, and the people they’ll be working with. The less you can talk about details of the role itself and the more you can talk about the brand, the better.

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