Today, less than 10% of job advertising is managed programmatically, while well over 80% of brand advertising is managed through programmatic means. Brands’ shift to programmatic advertising over the last decade has been for one simple reason: it saves money. If programmatic advertising help advertisers reach more of the right eyeballs for less, why have employers been so slow to adopt it?

Part of the problem relates to the fact that most recruiting teams are not high-spending brands that can outsource digital ad placements worth hundreds of thousands of dollars to ad agencies. They are often small teams managing a few dozen open roles. To top it off, automation is harder with the multitude of variables in job ads, and job advertising platforms themselves have been slower to enable the technology that makes programmatic advertising possible.

The tight post-pandemic talent marketplace has left employers with a need to reach not just more candidates but the right candidates: ones that have not seen your listing before, have not been inundated with ads from competitors, and are qualified to fill your open positions. Aptitude Research estimates that 40% of job advertising spend is wasted, but which 40%?

Curious to learn more about how top employers manage job advertising today, I sat down with Jim Milton, SVP of Strategy at SmartRecruiters. Before his new role as head of strategy, Jim was the General Manager for SmartJobs, our programmatic job advertising managed service. 

Programmatic Job Advertising in North America vs. Europe

Jim started by describing the lay of the land across North America and Europe. “Universally, our customers are saying that cost per applicant (CPA) has risen dramatically,” he said. “It’s gotten so expensive to fish in the same pond as every other employer that companies need to save money, so they’re more open to trying out programmatic.” And the possibilities for programmatic have expanded, with more job boards making their inventory available. “European job boards, in particular, have been slower to open up their job board inventory to programmatic technologies, but our global customers are watching their counterparts in North America do programmatic. Now employers are starting to demand it from job boards globally.” 

He described how job boards in Europe are more varied and niche compared to North America, where employers tend to rely on a handful of leading job boards. Many of SmartRecruiters’ European customers use SmartDistribute, which helps them manage their job board contracts all in one place. 

The Barriers to Efficient Job Advertising Spending

No matter where your business operates, the manual management of job advertising typically results in wasted spending. Jim put it this way: “The problem with pay-per-click advertising is that it is often out of sync with actual pipeline needs. For example, you may have an open req with ten candidates in the interview stage and an offer extended, and if you’re not micromanaging your PPC campaigns, you might let the meter run and pay for unneeded clicks/traffic.”

The other problem companies have is not distributing spending across multiple job boards. “People get deeply entrenched in their ideas about the best places to spend,” he said. A programmatic solution offers an objective view into which job boards are actually working and adjusts spending automatically. “Only a data-driven approach can guarantee that you’re selecting the right boards for your jobs,” Jim said.

The solution of using a recruitment advertising agency to manage programmatic does not always deliver on the promise of cost savings. In addition to the typical agency fee of 20% of ad spend, the agency relationship adds another layer of communication regarding changes in hiring. It also adds another level of complexity regarding data management.

Cost Per Qualified Applicant: The Key to True Job Board ROI

With the SmartJobs managed service, companies have three benefits:

• Technology that automatically optimizes their job campaigns
• Humans operating the technology who have access to data on the entire talent pipeline
• Already existing data management agreements. 

“At SmartRecruiters, we have all the data from the top of the funnel – the number of people clicking on the job, applying, and making it to the interview stage and all the way to the hire,” Jim said. “This is unique. Job boards can’t give customers data from the middle and bottom of the funnel. Our reporting includes accurate data on cost per interview, cost per offer, and cost per hire. It’s not data that has to be joined together after the fact. It’s a continuous funnel with no gaps that allows for a true ROI measurement.”

Getting beyond cost per applicant to cost per qualified applicant is an exciting way to drive value in the recruitment pipeline. “Customers have different definitions of what qualified means,” Jim said. “For some, it’s passing the resume review stage, while for others, it’s making it to the third interview. Our perspective is that every company has its own definition, and we can show it in the reporting.” 

With this rich data at their fingertips, a recruitment team can step back and compare their results before programmatic. They can also compare their job board spending to outbound sourcing, other recruitment marketing, and events. “Instead of this false indicator like cost per applicant or cost per click, you get a real ROI because the data is in one place.”

Sometimes a Programmatic Boost is All You Need

SmartRecruiters recently launched Boost, a lightweight approach to programmatic job advertising. TA teams can purchase bursts of programmatic traffic ad-hoc by entering credit card information. Boost is a great fit for high-priority roles or roles that aren’t getting enough qualified applicants. It’s also a great way to try out programmatic advertising without having to provide a centralized job ad budget to SmartRecruiters.

When I asked Jim what was most exciting in the job ad space today, he shared these phenomenal results from a SmartRecruiters client who used Boost:  

• Boosted jobs saw candidate volume rise by over 200%, and boosted candidates were 150% more likely to make it to the interview, offer, or hire stage.

The Future of Job Advertising

Recently, Indeed shifted its business model from pay-per-click to pay-per-applicant. Jim expects that in the future, this will improve their ability to deliver relevant applicants, and the business model will evolve yet again to paying per matching candidate. “It will take time to evolve, but many players are already working on this,” he said.

On another front, Jim thinks the distinction between sourcing and job advertising is likely to blur. He said, “Imagine a system that takes a req and automatically farms it out to either a programmatic advertising network, or to qualified sourcers, or both, depending on the importance of the role and the budget behind it to use for talent attraction. I’d love to see the paradigm of a true sourcing engine emerge where the details of where and how to market a job are handled conditionally and automatically, as much possible.”

Until then, you can get started on programmatic job advertising with SmartJobs and Boost in North America and the UK. If you just want to save money and time by managing your job boards more efficiently, try SmartDistribute. And if you’re looking to save money in multiple ways across your talent acquisition function, download our ebook Guide to Evaluating the Business Value of a Talent Acquisition Platform

Table of Contents

• How Some Recruiters Have Cracked the Job Ad Code
• Aha Moment: What If SmartRecruiters Could Democratize Job Ad Optimization for All Enterprises?
• Simplifying Vendor Management
• Stay Agile, But Still be Able to Take a Lunch Break
• Collect Data for Future Optimization
• The Bottom Line is a Raised Bar

Throughout my 15 years in the TA tech space, people have been making excuses for job boards and job ad performance in general. The bar seems to have lowered with time.

“Well, we do get lots of applications…”

“At least with PPC we are only paying when someone clicks!”

“Job posts are really just for branding”

As noted by SHRM and elsewhere, job boards never top the list of quality sources (they don’t come near internal mobility or referrals), yet companies spend billions on posting credits, slots, and PPC. At SmartRecruiters, we followed up on a hunch that some recruiters were cracking the code on generating consistently high-quality applicant flow. You’ll want to take a look at what we found.

How Some Recruiters Have Cracked the Job Ad Code

When SmartRecruiters analyzed the habits for tens of thousands of recruiters, across 4,000 customers, we found three core strategies that best predict job advertising success:

1. Have a backup plan for every job

Savvy recruiters appear to use multiple sources per job, staggering advertisements vs. putting all their spend in one basket, all at once. For example, they may start with free aggregators, then switch to LinkedIn slots, and finally try Indeed PPC or programmatic.

Why? Because there is always an element of timing and luck in advertising. Changing the channel on ads that aren’t attracting the right people at a given moment is one way to shake things up and improve the odds of finding right-fitting applicants.

2. Set pipeline “rules” and reminders

How long is too long to wait for ten candidates to pass assessments or three candidates to be scheduled for interviews? Savvy recruiters are taking a disciplined approach to setting specific, time bound goals for filling their pipelines. These types of rules appear to be foundational for making the agile optimizations mentioned above.

3. Careful planning and budgeting based on applicant quality

This pattern was harder to detect from raw ATS data itself, but it bubbled up via surveys and hundreds of quarterly business reviews with customers. Recruiters making the most hires via job ads work at companies that analyze the historical quality and conversion of candidates, rather than just focusing on clicks and costs per click. These employers in turn used these analyses to reshape hiring budgets and increase investments in quality sources.

Yes – All of These Strategies are Easier Said Than Done, Manually

Recruiters are not accountants or marketers and most of them don’t have the spare time to wear those hats. Only a small fraction of SmartRecruiters customers can devote partial, let alone full-time headcount to the analysis, manual optimization, and experimentation outlined in this post.

Aha Moment: What If SmartRecruiters Could Democratize Job Ad Optimization for All Enterprises?

The solution came to us in the form of SmartJobs, a “Smart, Managed Advertising” service that would sit inside the SmartRecruiters Talent Acquisition Suite and use the company’s own data to automate all of the strategies mentioned above, and more. Think of SmartJobs as a lean, data-driven, recruitment advertising agency.

Nonetheless, this isn’t all big data and automation. Behind the tech is our expert recruitment marketing team–including a media planner, media operations specialist, and account director–who helps TA teams create a tailored plan to deliver against their unique hiring goals.

Simplifying Vendor Management

Vendor management and performance comparison all in one spot, no more manual spreadsheets to manage. With SmartJobs you can..

• Manage and negotiate contracts
• Purchase and renew ad space
• Manage user credentials and ad credits
• Track performance by job or channel

Stay Agile, But Still be Able to Take a Lunch Break

You know how to manage your candidate pipeline and adjust according to incoming data, but you don’t have 100 hours in the day just to spend on job advertising. Let SmartJobs do some of the legwork.

• SmartJobs automates spending adjustments based on the changes in your talent pipeline
• Pause ads for jobs that have a full pipeline
• Boosts traffic to jobs that need more volume
• Switch sources when the quality is poor

Collect Data for Future Optimization

It’s hard to make meaningful changes to your strategy without strong data insights. That’s why SmartJobs has data collection and delivery built-in. ATS data is combined with sourcing analytics to give you a complete end-to-end view of your advertising performance.

• Receive detailed monthly reports
• See candidate journey with post-to-interview and post-to-hire analytics
• Compare all your sources side by side
• ROI analysis of your advertising strategy 

The Bottom Line is a Raised Bar

When it comes to making sensible investments in job advertising, costs are critical to the equation. In a world where job advertising doesn’t yield great results, the variables that matter most are cost per post, click, applicant, etc.

But in a world where job advertising attracts consistently high quality candidates, the bottom line must be reconsidered alongside all line items in a sourcing budget, and beyond. 

In other words, what if you could make 3x the number of hires from set-it-and-forget-it ads, while reducing costs of manual sourcing and external agencies, speeding up start times, and giving hundreds of hours back to recruiters? With SmartJobs, we are going back to the future of job advertising to help companies do just that. 

In this chapter of TA Tech history, who would have thought job boards and job ad networks would be having the last laugh? If this all leads to a leaner, more powerful way to connect talent to jobs at scale, we are happy to laugh heartily, together.

Want to learn more? Download the SmartJobs Product Sheet

With candidates viewing a job ad for less than a minute on average, recruiters can’t waste time with these common mistakes.

Picture this. It’s Friday morning. You’re ready for another great day of recruiting, a steaming coffee sits on the desk next to you. This is your zen place.

You fire up your laptop, ready to write a stellar job ad, when it hits you – this seemingly simple copy is actually super important! You can’t just write a ‘whatever’  job ad. This post will be the first point of contact for candidates to the open role, and maybe even your company.

You start downing your coffee and typing furiously. ‘This ad has to be perfect!’ you think. ‘Unless I want to have as much impact as a fly has on a windshield.’

Well, not to alarm you further, but according to a recent study, most job seekers spend a measly 49.7 seconds reviewing a job ad before clicking away.

So, it’s clear the stakes are high, but let’s return to our calm place… put down the coffee, give your keyboard a break, and let’s go over the hallmarks of a successful job ad, and the terrible, no-good, please-don’t-do-thats to avoid at all costs.

1. Sugar-Coating the Company Culture

When writing a job posting, you want to reflect your organization’s culture and connect back to your core values. Now, what you don’t want to do is sugarcoat things and mention values your company doesn’t actually live.  Make sure you are being upfront in your job ads to attract top talent with the right mix of hard and soft skills that would make a great cultural fit.

Why?

If you say your company is ‘all about work-life balance’ when really you expect workers to pull long nights and be reachable at all times, the charade will be up once the new hire starts. Ultimately, the reality will hit them that they were sold a false bill of goods. When that happens, be prepared to see them leave and don’t be surprised when the negative Glassdoor review follows.

Here’s an example of how to be real about your company culture:

We are looking for a Social Media Marketing Specialist who thrives on teamwork and accountability. If you are not OK with hard startup culture, this place might not be a good fit for you…

2. Staying Silent on Benefits and Perks

Lean on your strengths. If your company has great benefits or perks be sure to flaunt them — remote work options, dog-friendly environment, stellar dental plan, public transit passes, whatever it is, candidates will be interested.

Why?

Having selling points in your job ads that showcase how different you are, sets you apart from the competition. Creating these positive differentiators is important, especially if your brand is relatively unknown.

Here is an example of how to showcase benefits:

If you join our team, you won’t have to leave your furry friend alone at home all day, here at our company we have a dog-friendly office. Speaking of friendly, we are also eco-friendly, we encourage our employees to make use of public transit by offering free monthly passes.

3. Using Meaningless Buzzwords

We all want to hire someone who is: A laser-focused self-starter who can hit the ground running with a blue sky thinking to join our team.

So while you might think that cramming your job advert with buzzwords and fancy wording can make you sound more knowledgeable, it actually comes off as vague and lazy; it may even negatively affect your application rate.

Why?

Did you know that 64 percent of job seekers will not apply for a position if they do not understand what it is about? So, make sure to use specific and simple language that actually resonates with your audience. (If you don’t know who your audience is, this article can help you define your candidate persona.)

Here’s an example of a job ad with specific language:

“The ideal candidate is a product manager with a deep understanding of programmatic advertising and machine learning algorithms as they relate to job boards, advertising, and overall job distribution.” – SmartRecruiters, Product Manager Job Post.

4. Not Going Mobile Friendly

Here is some food for thought: Only 42 percent of recruitment sites are mobile friendly, yet 50 percent of candidates use their smartphones to look for and apply to jobs.

Why?

Mobile search is easy! People scroll through ads while watching TV, or maybe even at work. If you manage to tick the mobile box, you will be able to tap into a much larger candidate pool.

Here’s an easy checklist:

• Under 700 words
• Optimized for one-click apply
• Formatted to fit mobile screens

(Check out common mistakes of mobile recruiting!)

Final Thoughts

Often, the best candidates are already employed aka ‘passive talent’, but that shouldn’t dissuade your recruiting efforts. In fact, 51percent of those who do have jobs are searching for new ones or watching for openings. So, your job ad still counts!

If you manage to avoid these job advertisement writing pitfalls, you will max out the odds of sourcing your next Elon Musk.

Quality candidates know what they want from employers, and companies who don’t define and market their value risk losing them to competitors.

It’s no secret that top-quality candidates are more savvy than ever before, and with the majority being passive candidates, companies are realizing the value in communicating through advertising and targeted social media campaigns to vocalize why candidates want to work there. This has led many companies to reevaluate the criteria that attracts quality talent to the workplace. Spoiler: it’s more than just a great paycheck.

Today’s job candidates stress the importance of company culture, social initiative, and work-life balance more than previous generations, motivating companies to double-down on their candidate-facing strategies, namely their Employer Branding and Employee Value Proposition (EVP). Where Employer Branding speaks to the company’s reputation as an employer, the function of an EVP is to make a company or role more attractive, unique, and meaningful to candidates. Both concepts revolve around the qualities that make a company a great place to work, as well as the benefits, career growth opportunities, work-life balance, and company culture that attract top talent.

The Basic Elements of a Strong EVP

How can companies demonstrate their value as employers? Candidates who are open to new opportunities want to see the measurable value of another company, and according to the Corporate Executive Board Company, the criteria candidates find most important are:

Rewards: Salary, benefits, and vacation

Work: Job-interest alignment and work-life balance

Organization: Market position, product/service quality, and social responsibility

Opportunity: Career growth opportunities, development and training opportunities, and organization growth rate

People: Company culture, Manager and coworker quality, senior leadership reputation, and camaraderie

Employee Value Propositions are particularly important in today’s job market, as a majority of candidates heavily evaluate companies before they even consider applying for open positions. Knowing what makes a strong EVP and why it matters in recruiter marketing tactics such as job advertising is crucial to attracting and hiring great employees.

It might be tempting for organizations to list off job features and perks, slap an EVP sticker on it and call it done, but a truly successful value proposition tells candidates what an organization stands for, and the reasons employees are motivated to work there. But defining these criteria are only useful if they can be communicated to candidates through intelligent marketing efforts.

Job Advertising Gets the Message to the Right Place and the Right Time
Recruiter marketing campaigns are designed to attract candidates before they even apply, and methods like paid media advertising are ideal for appealing to passive job seekers. Candidates value transparency, so showing a look at what a day in the life of that particular role looks like is one of the easiest ways to highlight the work experience.

Job ads are many candidates’ first impression of a company, making them an ideal opportunity to communicate an organization’s EVP. While it’s all too common that companies copy-paste the same, boring job descriptions, including an accurate and compelling Employee Value Proposition can make a job ad stand out, and is far more likely to attract candidates than a template.

Alternatively, an increasing number of companies are turning to video. According to Hubspot, over half of all marketing professionals worldwide name video as the type of content with the best ROI, with one digital marketing expert claiming that one minute of video equals 1.8 million words. Video content typically holds viewer attention longer than text alone, and with social video generating 1200% more shares than text and images combined, companies need no other excuse to tap into the internet’s preferred medium of consumption.

When EVPs Fail to Attract

Even with the most airtight marketing strategies, a poorly-constructed employee value proposition can break the hiring process. Some of the ways EVPs fall short are when they don’t differentiate from competitors, the wrong attributes, or fail to deliver on their promise to employees. Before prominently featuring a company’s Employee Value Proposition in recruiter marketing efforts, it’s imperative that companies spend time researching, designing, and implementing an EVP that accurately represents the company’s value to employees.

Research, Design, Implement, Hire

Modern recruiting strategies have adapted to pace the changes in today’s job market, and with the rise of social recruiting, larger skill gaps among tech workers, and unemployment at a record low, companies require new strategies. Additionally, candidates have resources like Glassdoor to find out what employees think of an organization. Successful companies know what candidates care about, build a culture around it, and publicize it. Defining an authentic EVP is an important step to bringing that talent to the company’s doorstep; knowing how to sell it to candidates ensures that they choose your company over a competitor.