WANTED: Classified employment ads that bring the best job candidates

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OK, so you know there's a shortage. In fact, you're down a few techs yourself. Now what?

With the number of RT job vacancies on the rise, your department probably has lots of positions to fill. And you're competing against other hopeful employers, all wanting to attract and hire the best candidates.

So how do you create classified employment ads that are irresistible to the top-rung candidates you're looking to hire? Well, the trick has something to do with telling enough of the right information in the right way, and then it's got another something to do with the job candidates' dogs (more on that later).

Location, Location, Location

Make sure your ads are running in the right places — and not just the ones you always use. Lin Gresing-Pophal, employee relations expert and author of the book Human Resource Essentials: Your Guide to Starting and Running the HR Function, recommends that when you're deciding where to place your job ads, "think specifically about the demographics and characteristics of the people you're attempting to attract and make sure your ad is running in places they're likely to look. Also, consider breaking away from the traditional mode and try running your ad somewhere other than a publication's classified section — somewhere likely to appeal to the interests of your target group."

So if you've got an open RT position in, say, Hawaii, try running an ad in SCUBA diving publications, as well as in trade magazine employment sections. The key is to keep in mind what you're offering — outside of just a great job — and then place your ads in locations where RT professionals who are looking for you will see them.

Don't Be Modest

"No one really cares about pay if they are in a job that does not provide job satisfaction," says Scott Love, author and consultant on management and employment issues. "In order to capture the attention of the high performers, you must target their motivation: satisfaction at work."

Love suggests that employment ads include a quote from a recent employee (a good one, of course) that will sell the benefits of working in your organization — including job satisfaction and the ways the position contributes to the overall success of the organization.

CompHealth Group, one of the nation's largest healthcare staffing firms, also makes a policy of including "carrots" in its ads, such as appealing job features and benefits — like work schedule flexibility and sign-on bonuses — that have previously received good responses from candidates.

Online Searches

"Candidates read through hundreds — even thousands — of employment ads," says Amri Johnson, CEO of Georgia HealthWorks, a recruiting firm that specializes in online recruiting for healthcare professionals in the Georgia region. "There are many online job boards, with more jobs than one could ever read through," he says. "This is a great and not-so-great opportunity for a candidate in search of a position or a recruiter in search of a candidate — it is great because of variety, it is not so great because the right fit can be a challenge, especially because candidates have to wade through a plethora of postings that are not always in line with their needs."

Johnson makes the most of Web-based job listings by writing job ads that contain the particular words job-seekers are likely to be using in the sites' "search" functions, and then spicing the ads up with more exciting-sounding descriptions in parenthesis. For example: "Director of Radiology (in the most dynamic pediatric hospital in the Southeast)."

"Remember that e-recruitment is built for speed," says Johnson. "Active job seekers, particularly, are looking to identify the job and if it fits their likes and dislikes. If the job is liked, they'll submit a resume, then move along. They may visit your organization's Web site, but not without a great hook to keep them interested." And once you've managed to get a potential applicant to look at your ad, "you need a great opening line or hook. This takes more thinking than writing. You have less than 10 words before they are off to look at the next position — and it might not be yours."

"800" Numbers

Using an "800" number rather than your area-coded phone number has two advantages.

First, it means you've made it easy for applicants to contact you, which is a distinct advantage if you're trying to present your company as accessible and friendly. "Blind ads (ads where the hiring company's identity is hidden) can send a negative message, as can ads that say things like "no phone calls, please,'" says Gresing-Pophal. "Make it easy by including an address, a phone number (with a person's name), an e-mail address and a Web site."

Nancy Johnson, vice president of healthcare for the staffing firm OnStaff, suggests that another good reason to use an "800" number in your job ads is that it can garner you a broader and more geographically diverse pool of candidates. If you use an "800" number, "candidates from all over the country will apply, not just the ones in your own backyard — you may find it worthwhile to convince the best candidates to move to your city. This tactic will also connect you with callers who may not be interested in the job themselves, but may provide you with potential leads. After all," she says, "networking is the key to success in the staffing business."

Be Upfront

Should you include information about on-call scheduling and corporate culture in your ad? What about salary? "Sometimes you should, sometimes you shouldn't," says Gresing-Pophal. "If you know your pay scale provides a competitive advantage — or a competitive disadvantage — it may make sense to include it. Why waste the time of your applicants and your hiring managers by misleading job applicants?"

Similarly, it behooves you to be upfront about the advantages — and disadvantages — of the job you're advertising. "Include information about your corporate culture and the 'soft points.' Do you offer childcare on site? A health club? Self-directed work teams? Flexibility in scheduling?" asks Gresing-Pophal. "You should think of your classified ad as an initial screening tool to obtain the best applicants for the position. The more specific you are, the fewer but more appropriate your applicants will be."

Know Thyself

Henry Roman, recruitment manager for Hawaii Pacific Health, a Honolulu-based hospital chain of four hospitals, 24 clinics and 6,000 employees, has seen too many medical practices get "cute" with boilerplate employment ads that all sound the same and don't give any realistic picture of what the practice is actually like.

"It's not the ad agency's fault," says Roman. "They really want to do a good job for their clients. But when was the last time a hospital invited their ad agency to come and tour the hospital? When was the last time a hospital did a focus group with nurses? Every institution is unique. The bottom line: A hospital must know its personality and then, working with its agency, create ad copy that conveys that personality."

Roman strongly counsels against presenting your institutional culture in ways that do not comport with reality. "Know who you are and find a message about you that your audience agrees with.If the audience does not agree with your message, you're sunk. So be sure it's true and real."

Looks Count

Lynn Purcell of healthcare services company Team Health has some rules about how ads should look: Use color if it will look good in that publication and is financially feasible; make the ads as big as possible; put the ads on the right side of the page rather than the left; put information about location and salary in bold print.

Also, put the job title in bold, recommends ArLyne Diamond, PhD, a management consultant and professional development coach. Additionally, Diamond advises using big type and big words in employment ads. "Do not overly abbreviate and make it impossible for people to read your ad," says Diamond. "Larger is good, white space is good. And make the job description sound exciting, but brief."

At the same time, don't be too exciting — or sound too excited. CompHealth Group (CHG), for example, never runs ads with too many capital letters or exclamation points. Not only is it annoying, it's also considered extremely rude. Do this and risk offending anyone who reads your ad. In a company publication, CHG exhorts ad writers to remember that they are professionals writing for other professionals. As such, they should always use complete sentences that are grammatically correct, write in upper case and lower case and avoid Web acronyms and emoticons.

And How's Your Dog?

Roger Hurni is creative director and partner of Off Madison Ave, a creative services firm that works on employment advertising for various healthcare clients. He once designed a successful employment ad for Hudson Healthcare in which he wrote that Hudson representatives just might ask to see pictures of potential employees' dogs.

"Many of their candidates said they called about the job because of that line of copy even if they didn't have a dog," says Hurni. "That's because they identified with what the company is all about. It wasn't about a dog. It's about the verbal cues that seeing pictures of your dog represents — cues such as fun, approachable, friendly and caring."

Hurni says his firm focuses on finding a message that appeals to the type of person who makes the best fit for a company. "We want them to read the ad and identify with its personality and attitude. When that happens, the prospect immediately gets an understanding of the employer's culture," he says. "That leads to better candidates and even better employees."

When you're writing your own employment ads, try to convey more than just the education and skill level you're looking for and more about the open position than just its title. "What, exactly, is the opportunity?" asks Amri Johnson. "Pull everyone into this process — the hiring manager, employees in the department — identify their interests and what they share in common. This time spent and information gleaned will result in better placements and potentially greater retention. An exciting proposition written with clarity and directed at the target candidate will result in a smaller candidate pool and a better fit — saving time and money."

In the end, Johnson says, there is no one "best" way to write an employment ad. It is trial and error. "However," he says, "the best ads are written by people who think about the ideal candidate profile and write their ads to appeal to them, whatever the style might be."

— Arin Greenwood is a writer and lawyer living in Saipan. Questions and comments can be directed to editorial@rt-image.com.