Human Resources 101

The University of Alberta Campus Connections newsletter included four common mistakes employers make when preparing job postings.

1. Extremely tight deadline dates
It’s seems obvious: the more time that your job posting is visible, the more people will see it and have time to apply. However, some employers expect applicants to see the postings and apply to it in as little as two days. By extending your deadline, you will have a greater pool of applicants to choose from. A minimum of at least two weeks from the time the job posting is available to the deadline date is appropriate.

2. Missing information
When applicants read a job posting, they need some basic information. All too often, jobs are posted that are missing the basics. Use this easy check-list:
- job title
- job description (including duration and conditions)
- qualifications that the employer is looking for
- a contact person (with an e-mail and/or phone number)
- a deadline date
- where to send the application package
- brief information/history about the organization

3. Posting is too short
Employers may want to be concise and to the point when they write job postings. Or, perhaps they want to be very general so that they don’t exclude any interested applicants. Whatever the reason, job postings shouldn’t be too short. Applicants are more likely to apply to job postings that give a clear and detailed idea of what the job entails. On the other hand, be cautious of including too much information – you don’t want applicants to stop reading.

4. The elusive employer
In this hot market, employers may be extremely busy and under a lot of pressure to hire quickly. However, they need to be careful not to lose that human touch. Applicants are less likely to respond to general application e-mail addresses, a posting that does not include a contact name or company name, or a posting that directs them to a website to see descriptions and to apply. Although it might take a bit more time to directly handle questions and applications, it is likely to save you time in the long run by finding the “right” candidate that much faster.