Writing Job Ads That Attract the Right Candidates (Not Just More Applicants)

A job ad that pulls two hundred applications feels like a win until you're the one reading them. Most of that pile won't fit, and every wrong-fit application is time you spend screening people out. A good ad does the opposite job to the one owners assume: it isn't there to maximise applicants, it's there to attract the right ones and gently discourage the rest.

Write the role before you write the ad

The best ads come from clarity you established before you opened the document. Be honest with yourself about what this person will actually do in the first six months, what "good" looks like in the role, and which two or three capabilities genuinely matter versus the long wish-list you'd love in a fantasy hire. If you can't name the outcomes the role exists to produce, the ad will be vague, and vague ads attract vague applicants. This is the same discipline that keeps a role from quietly becoming founder-shaped — worth a look at reducing founder dependency if you're hiring to get work off your own plate.

Lead with the work, not the company boilerplate

Candidates you want are choosy, and they're scanning for whether this role is a step they'd take. Open with what the person will do and why it matters, not three paragraphs about your company's journey. Describe a real week. Name the tools they'll use, who they'll work with, and what they'll own. Specificity is a filter: a person who reads a concrete description and thinks "yes, that's me" is exactly who you want, and someone who was only half-interested will self-select out before they waste your time or theirs.

Be specific about requirements, and separate must-haves from nice-to-haves

Long requirement lists do two harmful things: they scare off capable people who tick most but not all boxes (research consistently finds strong candidates, and women in particular, won't apply unless they meet nearly everything), and they attract keyword-matchers who list every skill regardless. Keep the genuine must-haves short and real, then label the rest as advantageous. If a licence, ticket, or right-to-work status is genuinely essential, say so plainly.

Get the compliance and pay signals right

This matters in the Australian context specifically:

• Include a pay range. Candidates increasingly expect it, and it's one of the strongest filters you have — people whose expectations don't match won't apply. Anchor your range to the relevant Modern Award classification so you're at or above the applicable minimum; check your award and current rates with the Fair Work Ombudsman rather than a figure you half-remember.
• State the employment type honestly — full-time, part-time, casual, or fixed-term — because it changes entitlements and sets expectations.
• Don't write anything that could read as discriminatory. Describe the job's requirements, not the person's age, sex, background, or other protected attributes. "Recent graduate" and "energetic young team" are the kind of phrasing that gets ads into trouble.

Make it easy to apply, and easy to picture the next step

Tell people exactly what to send and what happens next: who reviews it, roughly when they'll hear back, how many stages. A clear, respectful process signals a well-run business and improves the quality of who bothers. Keep the application itself light at the first stage — a tailored cover note and a CV tells you more than a fifteen-field form, and every extra hurdle costs you good candidates who have other options.

What to watch for

• The ad that describes your culture but not the job. Warm and values-led is fine, but if a stranger can't tell what they'd actually do, rewrite it.
• Buzzword soup. "Rockstar", "ninja", "wear many hats", "fast-paced" — these signal a chaotic role and repel exactly the organised people you probably need.
• No range, then surprise at expectations. If you won't state pay, you're choosing to filter late and expensively instead of early and cheaply.

A good job ad is a small act of respect for the reader's time and your own. Say clearly what the work is, what you'll pay for it, and who will thrive in it — and you'll trade a big pile of applications for a short list of the right ones. This is general information; for award classifications, pay rates, and anti-discrimination obligations, check the current position with Fair Work.