{"id":36891,"date":"2023-08-09T05:12:00","date_gmt":"2023-08-09T05:12:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.guardpass.com\/resources\/?p=36891"},"modified":"2024-03-06T06:40:53","modified_gmt":"2024-03-06T06:40:53","slug":"how-to-write-the-perfect-job-ad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.guardpass.com\/resources\/how-to-write-the-perfect-job-ad\/","title":{"rendered":"How to write the perfect job ad!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Are your job ads just not getting the responses that they used to? Are you failing to attract the quality of applicant that you need? There will be a few reasons for this. Let\u2019s take a look at the biggest mistakes\u2026.

Advertise in the right place.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For many years Indeed<\/strong> and Total<\/strong>, have been the default online recruitment portals. Times have changed however, and the usual jobs boards just do not work for roles in the physical security industry. Visit either of the above and type \u201csecurity<\/strong>\u201d in the search bar and then try to wade through the oceans of Cyber Security and Information Security roles before you find anything relevant to the guarding industry. These old style jobs boards just don\u2019t know the difference between a cyber security officer and our sort of security officer, other than maybe the former commands maybe \u00a350k<\/strong> pa more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those that do not do their research, will still go to the old mainstream jobs boards, wade through pages of rubbish and sometimes still come away without any potential jobs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is a better way.
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Now I may consult for Get Licensed<\/strong>, but I have used their fantastic app, GuardPass<\/strong><\/a>, as has the Security Company I work with, Bold Security Group<\/strong>, and there is very good reason why it is rapidly becoming the premier source of security industry jobs in the UK.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It has been developed by security industry professionals, for security industry professionals. It features the information a job seeker needs to decide whether to apply for a role or not, without any of the pointless, cliched waffle that infects the old style jobs boards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It already features the job vacancies from almost all the major UK security companies<\/strong>, in a format that makes tracking down the perfect job an absolute breeze for job seekers, but best of all are the response times for the companies posting those vacancies. GuardPass<\/strong> has done a great deal of research examining the quality of candidates, the speed, and frequency of responses to jobs on their app. I\u2019m not going to quote these figures. I\u2019m going to quote the experience of the HR department at Bold Security Group<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“My day job. Using Indeed, typically an advertisement would start to receive responses between 12 hours<\/strong> and 2 days <\/strong>after posting. When eventually I convinced a rather cynical HR manager to post Bold\u2019s vacancies on GuardPass<\/strong>, she walked in to my office an hour later, to tell me that the first application arrived 8 minutes<\/strong> after the ad was posted, and three responses had already been received in the first hour.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

GuardPass<\/strong><\/a> is now the preferred means of job posting for Bold Security Group<\/strong>. #NoBrainer<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

So you know where you should be posting your job advertisements. You are now going to have to adjust your approach from the one size fits all, old style generic recruitment portals, and think about what your target employee really wants to know.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What should the best job ads contain?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This isn\u2019t rocket science but so many employers try to make their ads seem more appealing by leaving out critical information. Front and centre you need to highlight the following:
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\u2705 Hourly Pay Rate.<\/strong> Make no mistake, this is the key factor for any security officer applying for a role. Put it first. Do not put \u201cup to<\/strong>\u201d or the depressing \u201ccompetitive salary<\/strong>\u201d. Being \u201ccompetitive<\/strong>\u201d in an industry that historically pays abysmally, simply says to a potential candidate that your pay is woeful as well, and possibly so embarrassingly poor for the role advertised, that you didn\u2019t have the gall to publicise it. Just be honest and stop wasting everybody\u2019s time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2705 Job title and key responsibilities<\/strong>. Be clear and open with a job title. \u201cElite security officer<\/strong>\u201d or \u201cshift supervisor<\/strong>\u201d etc etc will impress no one if the pay doesn\u2019t match or if the supervisor is actually going to be working alone. Be candid and list the main duties the role requires, in bullet points ideally. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2705 Frequency and Type of Payment.<\/strong> This information is essential. With the Government using legislation to try and force legitimate companies to pay their staff on a fully PAYE basis, be very wary of companies that want to pay cash in hand, or on some self-employed agreement. Even if these companies are legitimate, after you have paid your own tax and National Insurance<\/strong> via HMRC\u2019s self-assessment system<\/strong>, does your pay rate reach the national minimum wage, or is it anything like as attractive as you thought? Don\u2019t try to avoid paying tax if you do take some self-employment route. You will get caught sooner or later and the back tax, charges, and interest the court will make you pay, will ruin your life, and potentially blight it for many years until the debt is paid\u2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2705 Location.<\/strong> No need for the address, but transport to and from work is a huge factor in the ability of someone to perform the job. If the site is in the wilderness or away from reliable public transport, please state that own transport will be required.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2705 Hours of work and shift pattern<\/strong>. As just mentioned, shift start and finish times are a big factor in deciding if getting to and from work is possible via public transport. Candidates often need to work around important personal commitments like child care or looking after an elderly parent, and it may not be possible to take a role that doesn\u2019t fit around these responsibilities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2705 Type of SIA license required<\/strong>. A lot of companies seem to require a Door Supervisor\u2019s license when the role only genuinely need a Security Guarding ticket. Please do not think that the different licenses are \u201cranked\u201d in some way. They are for different purposes only. Requiring a license category other than that genuinely required for the job, will more than likely mean that you have eliminated your perfect new employee from consideration.

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That\u2019s the most important stuff. What else do I include?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

List the characteristics of the ideal candidate. What experience would be most useful and what knowledge would be of greatest benefit. Please do not ask for university degrees or unreasonable academic qualifications. You may again be ruling out the best candidate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Potential new employees want to know a bit about the company that they are going to work for. Try to avoid writing pages about how super your company is. Every company does this and I\u2019m pretty sure that they are not all as super as they claim. So, your company bio needs to be brief and include these points:<\/p>\n\n\n\n