Adverts don't work, right?
Just doing some back-of-napkin maths on my last 10 job adverts on LinkedIn, where an outcome has been reached.
Average number of applicants: 26.7
Applicant to 'view' ratio: 31%
Those are accurate figures, these are fingers in the aired:
Applicant to candidate ratio: 60%
Applicant to suitable candidate ratio: 30%
Advertised vacancies filled from applicants: 50% (I use other job boards too, so the LinkedIn percentage will be lower)
Notes:
All of these roles are either key hires or skill-short vacancies, with a niche requirement. Sometimes they've been advertised directly first by the employer or contingent recruiters (I ask for exclusivity).
Many of the applicants are #opentowork, some are passive. I don't differentiate on situation, just on candidacy.
When a role hasn't been filled by an advert applicant, I've filled it through other means (linkedin, CV databases, my network, referrals, headhunting etc), and I've filled every role I've had since 2020 (exclusive vacancies not cancelled by the economy).
Half of my roles are advertised above the line (i.e. on a job board), the other half are typically confidential and rely on other channels.
I write my adverts accessibly and for an audience that has been defined from a full vacancy consultation. The adverts often look very different from a job description.
Some of them are dull as dishwater, but they appeal to the right readers, and many comment that it appealed to them for the right reasons. Whether that's transparency, ikigai, or something they are unsatisfied with.
It seems I get very few chancers, although I do get quite a few applicants who are great candidates, just not for that vacancy.
I don't use AI - the output is ineffective, even though I'm pretty good at prompt engineering (your mileage may vary).
I do work at low volume so that I have time to focus on quality, and responding to everyone in a way that reciprocates the level of investment they've made. Everybody gets a reply.
I'll always advertise if the vacancy allows, it's such a great opportunity.
Those adverts also form the basis of my below-the-line messaging, including when headhunting, so the outcomes from other channels are good too.
www.linkedin.com/in/gregwyatt/
