Employee Management for Small Business. Lin Grensing-Pophal
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or not to include your company name in the advertisement. While blind ads (those where the name of the company is not revealed) are commonly used, the consensus is that open ads draw more, and better, candidates for job openings. There are a few reasons for this:
• Blind ads rarely draw responses from people who are currently employed.
• Many people will not answer blind ads for a variety of reasons, so your response is dramatically decreased.
• Your company misses out on some public relations opportunities when you choose to use a blind ad, particularly if new positions are being created. You will help yourself in the long run by letting people know who you are.
If blind ads are so bad, why are they used so frequently? One reason is that the company is looking outside for employees and does not want its current employees to know. Another (hopefully not one you have to worry about) is that the company does not have a good reputation and potential applicants would be scared off if its name were used.
A common mistake that is made when running recruitment ads is to oversell the position. You are anxious to find someone to fill a position so you naturally want to make the job sound as attractive as possible. Misrepresenting the position will only create problems — and waste time — later. Candidates may resent finding out at an interview that the job is not quite as attractive as it sounded in the ad. Or after accepting the position, they may become disillusioned and leave, putting you right back in the same position again.
Include in the advertisement information about any specific requirements or idiosyncrasies of the position that might create concern. For instance, is evening or weekend work required? Is overtime required? Travel?
The more accurately you can present the job and its requirements, the more appropriate you will find the résumés you receive. Your job of filling the position will be made easier and you will avoid frustrating yourself and the job seekers you’ll be dealing with.
4.1 The four elements of your recruitment ad
4.1a The type of person you are looking for
If you are not clear and specific in your ad about the qualifications you expect applicants to have, you are going to be disappointed when résumés start coming in. Clearly stating the qualifications you’re looking for minimizes the number of unsuitable résumés and applications and makes choosing interviewees much more manageable. Your ad should indicate:
• Specific job skills required
• Experience and background required
• Educational requirements
• Travel or relocation requirements
• Whether or not training will be provided
When stating these requirements, be particularly careful to avoid the excessive use of empty adjectives like “dynamic” or “creative.” Be precise and realistic. Don’t exaggerate the qualifications or responsibilities of the position.
4.1b Pay
Whether you actually state the salary for the position is up to you. However, some mention of pay should be made. You might simply state “Competitive salary” or ask applicants to submit salary requirements.
On one hand, by stating the salary you will decrease the number of responses if your salary is lower than that paid by other competitive businesses, but you won’t have to worry about the possibility of losing applicants if the salary is not up to their expectations — and you won’t waste everyone’s valuable time.
On the other hand, by stating the salary you may not get the opportunity to convince applicants to start at a lower rate of pay than they had expected because of the other benefits your company has to offer.
4.1c Benefits
While salary is still a top priority for job seekers, medical and other benefits are becoming increasingly important. Company benefits can attract good candidates.
According to a 2007 report by the Employee Benefit Research Institute in the United States (www.ebri.org), employers spent nearly $8 trillion USD on total compensation for workers in 2007 in the United States. Wages and salaries accounted for the largest share at $6.4 trillion USD (about 81 percent) — and benefits made up the remainder at $1.5 trillion USD of about 19 percent). EBRI also notes that total employer spending on health benefits is beginning to approach the amount spent on retirement benefits.
Employee benefits represent a key advantage for those companies that are able to provide competitive and valued benefits to employees. In fact, benefits may represent a higher value than pay in some cases. Most notably, health care coverage has become a much sought-after benefit and can play a major role in a prospective employee’s decision to choose one job over another. The value of benefits will vary based on each company’s specific employee demographics, but it is important to note that it is the total compensation package that is most relevant, not simply pay rate or salary. This can be an important factor, particularly for small employers, who sometimes struggle to compete with larger organizations for staff.
4.1d Where and how to apply
Be specific here, and be careful that you don’t omit the obvious. It is not uncommon to find an employment advertisement that says “Send résumé” but neglects to say where.
If you are running an open ad, you will want to include your company’s name, address, and phone number (if you are accepting call-ins). If you use a blind ad, you still need to indicate where résumés should be sent. Be specific about what applicants need to do to indicate their interest in the position. Should they send in a résumé, phone in, or apply in person? Do you want to give them more than one option? Is there a deadline after which you will no longer accept applications? Spell out the details clearly to limit the chances for misunderstanding. Refer to Checklist 1 as a guide.
Checklist 1: Creating a Recruitment Advertisement
4.2 Equal opportunity requirements (United States) or human rights legislation (Canada)
If you are placing an ad in the United States, you must be careful that your ad does not contain any language that violates Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) requirements. You cannot make statements such as “Recent college graduates please apply” or “No applicants older than 40, please.” You should also include a statement of your status as an equal opportunity employer.
Similarly, in Canada, statements that unnecessarily restrict certain people (based on age or sex, for example) are prohibited by federal and provincial human rights legislation that regulates discrimination.
You should also be aware that Internet recruitment presents some challenges. One major question that continues to be debated is “What is an applicant?” If you receive an unsolicited résumé when you have not posted a job, do you need to consider that résumé when an appropriate job — or any job — opens up?
In certain cases, your company might be required to demonstrate it practiced fair hiring practices by defining the eligible population for your job search. This means you must determine the proportion of people of a certain sex or ethnic background in the general population and compare that to the number of applications you received from members of that sex or ethnic background. If the proportion of applications is similar to that group’s representation in the general population, you can be confident your hiring process didn’t inadvertently create barriers for that group. Defining the eligible population in your city is relatively easy. Defining that population online presents some unique challenges. One way to avoid problems if you are using the Internet for recruitment is to use other sources of candidates as well.
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