Sunday, January 31, 2010

On Recruitment Ads

While Web based recruiting is rapidly replacing help wanted ads, a glance at almost any paper or business or professional magazine will confirm that print ads are still popular. To use help wanted ads successfully, employers have to address two issues: the advertising medium and the ad’s construction.

The Media:

The selection of the best medium – be the local paper, The Times of India, The Hindustan Times, TV, (or some other) depends on the positions or which you’re recruiting. For example the local newspaper is often the best source for local blue collar help, clerical employees, and lower level administrative employees. On the other hand, if recruiting for workers with special skills such as nurses you’d probably want to advertise in Kerala, even if you are in Delhi. The point is to target your ads where they’ll reach your prospective employees.

For specialized employees, one can advertise in trade and professional journals like American Psychologist, Sales Management, Chemical Engineering, Electronic News, Travel Trade, and Women’s Wear daily. Indian firms seeking specialized employees advertise in professional journals like Vikalpa, University News, Economic and Political associations. Help wanted ads in papers like the Times of India ad The Hindustan Times can be good sources of middle or senior management personnel. Most of these print outlets now include online ads with the purchase of print help anted ads.

Technology is enabling companies to be more creative about they advertise for job applicants. For example Electronic arts the world’s largest video game publisher, knows that our best [job] candidates hang out online and read gaming magazines. The company therefore uses its products to help solicit job applicants. For example, Electronic Arts includes information about its internship program on the back of its video game manuals. Thanks to non-traditional techniques like these, the firm now has a database of over 200,000 potential job candidates. It also has special tracking software to identify potential applicants with specific skills, and to facilitate ongoing communications (via e-mail) with everyone in its database.

Constructing the Ad: Experienced advertisers use a four guide labeled AIDA (attention, interest, desire, action) to construct ads. You must, of course, attract attention to the ad or readers may just miss or ignore it. An ad from one paper’s classified section the words next key player certainly helps. Employers usually advertise key positions in separate display ads like this one.

Next, develop interest in the job. You can create interest by the nature of the job itself, with lines such as are you looking to make an impact? You can also use other aspects of the job, such as its location, to create interest.

Create desire by spotlighting the job’s interest factors with words such as travel or challenge. As an example, having a graduate school nearby may appeal to engineering and professional people.

Finally, the ad should prompt action, with a statement like call today or please for ward your resume. (And, of course, as explained earlier, the ad should comply with equal employment laws, avoiding features like, man wanted).

Employment Ads and Image: Smart employers don’t just use ads to attract recruits, they also use them to create the company image they want to project. For example, in one study, researchers surveyed 133 students who were graduating with bachelor’s or master’s degrees in engineering. For these students, job related ads where significantly related tot heir perceptions if the company. The results suggest that employers should try to create positive impressions of their companies through their job postings, Web sites, and other means. Building word of mouth reputation is also important: From a practical standpoint, the results indicate that expanding and capitalizing on word of mouth endorsements will [proved] a highly effective and economical method for increasing applicant [inquiries].

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