Most employers often disregard the importance of having a good job post. They put in a few details of the people that they are looking for and dive into the process right away. This produces inaccurate results and gives you applicants that are not as tailored fit for the job as what you are eyeing to have.
This is where a good job posting creates the difference. It does not only provide an outline of the duties and responsibilities of the job. It also shows how the role works within the organization and any history relevant to the said position. The more you exhaust all the information that you can give in the job post, the better applicants you will get, and the more likely they will match the goals of the organization.
Before conducting an interview in Slack, there are a few things you must consider. Especially for a virtual assistant where you will need a competitive set of applicants, a good job post is definitely necessary. You may not fully realize it now, but you surely will after reading this article.
Below are four tips on how to create a kick-ass job post for a virtual assistant:
1. Use keywords in your job name.
Make sure to put 2-3 keywords in your job name. These keywords will be the first thing that potential applicants see. This is the primary reason why you need to make sure it clearly catches their attention and pushes others away.
Here is an example of us trying to hire someone to help me do social media management. With the social media manager position, we use the format below:
Social Media Manager | FB, Tw, LI, IG | Automation & Strong English.
Instead of just a Social Media Manager, I specify a bit more.
Notice the change the keywords made instead of just merely presenting the job name. You can also do this so that you can get someone who has experience in specific channels, like some automation experience with social, and strong English writing.
2. Be as detailed as possible in the description.
After seeing the job name, the next thing potential applicants are going to see is your job description. A job description is a written narrative that describes the general tasks, or other related duties, and responsibilities of a position. You want to be detailed in writing this section, but still ensuring you do not use any fluff.
Include more details of the job name that gives them a better idea of what they are expected to do when they enter your organization. Also, include what your requirements for the role are in this section of the job post. The job description can follow the format of firstly mentioning the position that the organization is looking for.
After stating the job role, you can display the number of years of job experience that you are setting as a standard. You can say that you are eyeing someone who has 5+ years of experience with handling social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram. Additionally, you may point out that the applicant must know about different techniques that are supplemental for the execution of their role.
This is crucial, so you will cut a significant amount of time for training and orientation with the said technology that you are using within your organization. These can be in the form of social automation programs or even their previous employer’s social accounts. Finally, it is equally important to include in the job description that you need someone who can create social content with strong English grammar. Such qualification is crucial, especially for a position like a social media manager.
3. Give the specific hourly rate that you want to pay.
Following the importance of having a detailed job description is this tip that everyone should consider and observe when creating a job post. The magnitude of being specific in the hourly rate that you are willing to pay for the job is enormous enough to affect the applicant’s response if you do not consider it earlier.
Figure out the amount you want and are willing to pay for the role that you are hiring. You need to be specific with the details of this rate as much as you can. If you do not know or are not quite sure how to do it, do your homework by doing some research and talking to other entrepreneurs if you feel the need for it. The more specific you are in stating these hourly rates, the better you will attract candidates that will be open to the rate.
4. Specify a location if you prefer one
We have grown comfortable with hiring most of our virtual assistants from the Philippines. This is because we have had excellent experiences working with people from there over the past ten years. You can also do this for yourself.
Depending on where you prefer to hire from, be specific, and indicate this in your job post. This will help you narrow down your applicants and eventually help you avoid getting applicants from places outside the ones you have targeted.
Conclusion
When you focus on these four factors, you should see much better applicants who actually fit what you are looking to hire. You will also eliminate the risk of hiring the wrong people, which are more likely to make you incur more costs than usual. Additionally, it can help decrease your employee turnover rate, which is an added advantage.
We have been doing this for years, and we can say that it continues to work magic for us. It continually amazes us how small tweaks to a job post can get us better and better applicants. In the end, the more information you provide in the job post, the more productive the hiring process will turn out to be.
And as a result of this efficient process, applicants will see how honest and open you are. In return, this will eventually cultivate the same values in your virtual assistants.
