Don't make it hard for candidates to find your listing on Idealist. A few tweaks can make a huge difference! (Photo credit: Will Valnue via Flickr/Creative Commons)

Organizations post hundreds of jobs on Idealist.org every day, and we often hear from job posters who want to make sure they get the best applicants for the job. But why do some job listings attract a flood of high-quality applications while others seem to get overlooked?

We recently explored how organizations can craft job listings that stand out. Now we’ll dive into something equally important: making sure your job listing shows up when candidates start searching!  If more people see your job, more people will apply for it, so it’s important to make your listing as searchable as possible.

So before you hit “publish” on your listing, here are a few tips to keep in mind:

1. Broaden your area of focus.

Your job listing includes the areas of focus listed on your organization’s page (youth, the environment, poverty, etc.).  The more categories you select, the more candidates are likely to see your listing when they search. To add more areas of focus to your organization’s page, log in and go to your organization’s page by clicking on its name on the left side of your homepage. Then click on the blue Edit button. Select as many areas of focus as possible that relate to your organization. You can choose multiple items by holding down the “control” key and clicking on a PC or by holding down the “command” key and clicking on a Mac.

2. Include additional job responsibilities.

The site also allows job seekers to search by the responsibilities of the job.  Like areas of focus, the more job functions you select, the more job seekers will likely see your listing when they search, so be sure to include as many selections from the job functions list (writing, management, fundraising) as you can in your listing.  You don’t want to miss out on someone because they’re searching for “public policy” and you listed your job only under “advocacy.”

These last two bits of advice may seem counterintuitive: don’t you want to narrow the categories you select so you only get people truly interested in your work and mission?  This makes sense in terms of hiring, however when it comes to searching, being too narrow can actually eliminate candidates who aren’t using the same terms you’re using.  And remember, while the categories you select will bring more people to your job listing, a well-written job listing is what will encourage great candidates to apply!

3. Add your own search terms.

You’ll also want to make your job searchable by including related keywords. Think of your perfect candidate, and imagine that person is searching for a job on Idealist. What kind of words would they use? Make sure that your job’s description includes those words and phrases. You can also add keywords in the additional keywords field near the bottom of the form for any words that don’t fit organically into your description. You can add as many additional search terms as you’d like to help people find your job.

4. Pretty please: include a salary range.

Users sometimes search by salary range, and many prefer to apply to jobs that list one. We’ve found that job postings that include a salary range get a much higher response, even if the range listed is relatively low. Including a salary range will also help narrow your applicant pool to those who are more likely to accept an offer at your organization.

5. Choose the best location.

Most job seekers are looking for jobs in a specific location, and it’s the first item they enter when searching. The most common reason why no one responds to a job listing is because there’s a typo in the location field, so make sure that you enter your city and state correctly. You’ll also want to make sure you use the most common name of your city – a job in “Foggy Bottom, DC” is harder to find than one in “Washington, DC.”

Also, if you’re in a small town very close to a larger city, you also might want to consider using that city as your location. For instance, let’s say your organization is located in Darien, CT, which is an eight minute drive from Stamford, CT (according to Google Maps). While you might choose Darien, CT, there are five times as many registered users in Stamford as we have in Darien. Though we do have the option to search with a radius, if a job seeker searches only in Stamford, he won’t see a job just eight minutes away in Darien.

When it comes to optimizing your listing for a search, a few small tweaks go a long way.
–

Do you have more tips? Questions about the site? Leave a comment below. And thanks for posting jobs on Idealist!

Citizen Schools made a few changes to their job listing and saw amazing results! What can we learn from them? (Photo: Citizen Schools)

Organizations post hundreds of jobs on Idealist.org every day, and we often hear from job posters who want to make sure they get the best applicants. But why do some job listings attract a flood of high-quality applications while others seem to get overlooked?

The answer is twofold. The most successful job listings on Idealist are ones in which the job is 1. appealing to job seekers and 2. easy to find. In this two part series, we’ll give you some tips to make sure your job listing attracts more of the right candidates.

Today, let’s tackle the first challenge: appealing to job seekers. We’ll start with the story of a recruitment team, a marketing team, and a “less is more” philosophy. Let’s call it “Extreme Makeover: Job Listing Edition.”

Case study: Citizen Schools

Citizen Schools has been posting jobs on Idealist for years and this winter they posted an AmeriCorps fellowship position.  While the response rate was steady, they weren’t getting the kind of applications they wanted.

Here’s the original description of the 2012-2014 National Teaching Fellowship position at Citizen Schools:

For those of you keeping track at home, that’s three pages and 1,100 words.

The reason why I didn’t include the full text is because you won’t read it. And neither will potential candidates.

But one sunny morning in March, the Citizen Schools marketing team stepped in to help. Working with the recruitment team, they trimmed that very detailed listing down to a clear and concise one, focusing on the most important information and referring applicants to the website for more information. In half an hour, they crafted this delicious piece of recruitment splendor:

Short and sweet at one page and 330 words.

Yum. But did the change produce better results?

It did! Of the 59 applications received, 30.5% of the candidates have been hired or are currently being interviewed. Additionally, the Citizen Schools website received 1,500 more visits from Idealist.org than it had during the same three month period in 2011, indicating that people wanted to learn more about the organization and its opportunities.

In short: a concise yet compelling job listing increases both the quality and quantity of applications.

Five steps your organization can take

Each organization has its own needs and challenges when it comes to recruitment. However, based on the Citizen Schools example and our own experience talking with hiring managers and job seekers, here’s how to create a job listing that gets the results you want.

1. Briefly describe your organization.

A sentence or three should do it. You want your applicant to have an idea of your organization’s work, but you don’t need to go into too much detail. They can go to your organization’s page on Idealist for more information, or you can refer them to your organization’s website.

2. Make sure the description of the work is clear and concise.

Job seekers prefer to apply to jobs that they understand. When crafting a description of the work:

• Include basic responsibilities, but not minutiae. A job seeker needs to know that part of the job will be “coaching community volunteers”; they don’t need to know that “Fellows support and coach Citizen Teachers – community volunteers who share their professional skills or personal interests with students through ten-week hands-on learning projects called apprenticeships.”
• Use common, standard terms to describe the work, like “community volunteers,”  rather than your organization’s internal language, like “Citizen Teachers” and “apprenticeships.”
• Consider bulleted lists, which are easier to read and less intimidating than blocks of text.

Not only will a clear description of the work attract more eyes, it will also help candidates tailor their resumes so that you’ll be better able to see how their experiences match what you’re looking for.

3. Be thoughtful about the qualifications you list.

When you list the qualifications of a job, you’re telling the applicant what’s important to you. Think about your deal-breakers versus what would just be extra helpful. If you won’t consider anyone without a Masters degree, say so. If you’d prefer your new teammate speak a certain language, but you’re willing to hire someone who doesn’t, include something like “Fluency in Cantonese a plus.” Candidates don’t want to spend time applying for jobs they’re not qualified for any more than you want to spend time sifting through their resumes.

4. Talk about the benefits of the job.

And no, we don’t just mean health care and vacation days (although it’s cool to include those in the listing as well!). What makes Citizen Schools’ new job description so popular is that they talk about what the candidate will get out of the experience. Besides the gratifying work (“inspire children,” “build the school of the future,” “connect education to kids’ dreams”), the listing also emphasizes how the fellow will benefit professionally (“learn how to make lessons,” “get real-world experience,” “unlock your potential”).

Sell your opportunity to job seekers. Why should they be excited about this? Will they work with interesting people or learn a lot about the charter school system or develop a new skill? Whether the position is on the front lines of your organization’s work or is back in the office making sure the lights stay on, every employee at the organization has an important part to play; make it clear to applicants what their part would be.

5. Be yourself.

Treat this as a PR piece. Your job listing might be as public and widely read as your organization’s newsletters, and it could be the first impression your applicant ever gets of your work and culture. So choose a tone that reflects your organization’s culture, whether youthful and trendy or thoughtful and welcoming.

Citizen Schools’ marketing department did a great job of promoting the mission, emphasizing the importance of the work, and making it sound overall like an organization full of passionate, driven people. Even if a job seeker chooses not to apply, it never hurts to leave a good impression.

Whew!

At Idealist we’re out to help you connect with the people and resources you need to make great things happen. We hope this helps you find fantastic candidates to join you in your work.

But creating a strong listing is just the first step in attracting those folks; you also have to make sure they actually see the listing once you post it on Idealist! Stay tuned for the second half of this series, where we’ll offer tips on how to do that.

—-

Special thanks to Sara Kelleher, Talent Recruitment Specialist at Citizen Schools, for all of her help with this post.

Have a story about how you’ve used Idealist to connect with stellar candidates? Leave a comment below and maybe we’ll blog about your story, too!

Photo via iMentor. Click to visit their org page on Idealist – they currently have five jobs, two internships, and a volunteer opportunity listed on the site!

In the latest issue of HR Connections, our monthly newsletter for the nonprofit human resources community, Kim Hendler writes:

At iMentor, we’ve been faced with an age-old question: When a management position opens up in our organization, do we promote an individual contributor who is great at their job, eager for next steps, and overall a high potential employee but lacks supervisory experience and training and whom we may not be able to adequately support? Or do we hire externally, facing the significant challenge of hiring great middle managers who are a sure fit with our management culture?

As Managing Director of Talent at iMentor, Kim worked with her team and with support from the American Express Foundation to create a formal program to invest in leadership development. Her goal is to train “high performing, high potential staff…to build a strong bench for future roles requiring leadership and management skills.” Curious how they did it? Find the full article here.

–

Want a dose of nonprofit HR goodness delivered straight to your inbox each month? Sign up at www.idealisthr.org.

Have you subscribed to our monthly HR Connections newsletter? Visit idealisthr.org to sign up.

In our most recent HR Connections newsletter, our HR and Operations Manager Kara Montermoso writes:

Many of us are drawn to work in the nonprofit sector by the missions of our organizations, but our satisfaction with our work and the ways it impacts the rest of our lives are key factors in keeping us motivated and engaged. And one aspect that can contribute to our sense of satisfaction is our total compensation.

Anyone working in nonprofit human resources—or preparing to negotiate a salary and benefits package—might want to check out the article, where Kara breaks down six general components, from salary and benefits to organizational culture.

There are lots of theories about how to develop leaders across the nonprofit sector. But who’s putting those theories into practice, and are younger nonprofit professionals optimistic about their implementation?

This month our HRConnections newsletter features a piece from Trish Tchume, National Director of the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network (YNPN). Trish explains that YNPN’s most recent National Voice report examined just these sort of questions. The report, titled “Good in Theory, Problems in Practice,” concludes with recommendations to help nonprofit executives, emerging leaders, funders, and others effectively implement leadership development strategies.

Visit IdealistHR or YNPN to learn more. Or sound off here: does your organization have a refreshing approach to leadership development? Do you feel you can weigh in and make it even stronger?

From Flickr user recoverling (Creative Commons)

Over and over, job seekers tell us that it’s frustrating, and unfortunately very common, to submit applications and never receive any indication that a hiring manager has reviewed or even received them. But what about when you do get through the door, have an interview, and don’t get hired? We recently asked our Facebook and LinkedIn communities:

Question: What was the nicest (or worst) rejection letter you ever received after a job interview? No need to name names/organizations. Just wondering what makes for the “best” kind of letter.

Commenters in our LinkedIn discussion and on our Facebook page sounded off with feedback for hiring managers:

Anything is better than nothing.

• “The main thing is just to get a letter or some information that the position has been filled. That common courtesy is often overlooked, but much appreciated.” – Colleen, Facebook

• “Any letter is the best letter! Organizations usually don’t bother – which is frustrating when you spend hours researching them, customizing your application packet for the position, etc.” – Rachael, Facebook

• “Probably over 80% of my applications just disappear into the ether and I never receive any follow-up after the auto-generated notice of receipt.” – Bahman, LinkedIn

Alison Green, who blogs at Ask a Manager, has covered this topic in her posts Should employers spend time rejecting candidates who weren’t even interviewed? and Am I wrong to be insulted by this rejection letter?.

Short, sweet, and personalized when possible.

• “They all are a bit crushing but whenever I’m provided concrete reasons, that helps considerably.” – Kate, Facebook

• “The best rejection letter I ever received managed to make me feel better about not getting the job by telling me that they were impressed with my credentials and made clear that they had actually taken the time to look at my application.” – Marianne, LinkedIn

• “Keep it really positive, tell the interviewee that they are welcome to call or email for additional feedback regarding the choice (if that is feasible), and wish them luck in their search. Short, sweet, to the point. Honestly, any communication at all after an interview is a big step up from my experience in the job hunt!” – Lauren, LinkedIn

To Lauren’s point, for those of you who have submitted apps, gone through interviews, and are left to ask “Why not me?,” here’s another Alison Green column—this one at U.S. News— called How to Get Feedback When You’re Rejected.

People, not robots.

• “I think the worst one was an email with the subject line ‘Reject after application- External.’ Not only did it deliver bad news but it also did not attempt to hide the fact that it was automated, made me feel that a human being didn’t even bother to glance at my application.” – Marianne, LinkedIn

• “Those that are clearly form letters add insult to injury in situations where you have invested literally hours in an interview process and were considered one of the top candidates.” – Kate, Facebook

Be mindful of personal relationships.

• “A couple of rejection letters that I received from [a local chapter of a national organization] did soothe the hurt of rejection a bit. It said that not being selected was ‘in no way a reflection of your considerable abilities and skills’ or something to that effect. They were signed by the Executive Director, whom I have known personally for about 15 years.” – Robert, LinkedIn

File this under “Not OK.”

• “The worst ever? When i was told by the person in charge of the school that they wanted to schedule an interview with me, on a specific date, I arrived at the place, to find no one to show up. It took me three weeks to finally get an apology and told that position was filled.” – Casey, Facebook

–

Thanks to all of the job seekers who shared your experiences. I’d love to hear from any hiring managers out there: what are the processes, time constraints, or legal considerations that sometimes prevent you from getting in touch with candidates, or from giving them personalized feedback? Have you found creative ways to manage this less-than-fun part of your job?

Not all HR people are like Toby from The Office. (Photo: claudiolobos, Flickr/Creative Commons)

Sometimes human resources professionals get a bad rap. Nancy Kowalski, an HR Manager at a Washington, DC nonprofit, doesn’t like seeing her field depicted as a bunch of “strict, robotic naysayers.” If you don’t either, check out our latest installment of HR Connections, where Nancy offers three ways she’s positioning HR as a positive force in her organization.

Have strong opinions of your own about HR? Want advice from others in the field? Leave a comment if you’d like to propose a topic for an upcoming newsletter.

This month’s IdealistHR newsletter is hot off the presses! November’s issue features an article about behavioral interviews (Does your hiring process need an overhaul?) and another about alternatives to the “potentially stomach-knotting office gift exchange” (‘Tis the season…).

"Oh look! A barking hot dog steamer!" Don't let this happen at your office. (Photo: Jonathan Lidbeck, Flickr/Creative Commons)

Peruse the IdealistHR archives or sign up for monthly emails by and for nonprofit human resources professionals at idealisthr.org.

We've all been there. (Photo via Alex E. Proimos, Flickr/Creative Commons)

It can be hard to find a silver lining when a hiring process goes awry. In the latest issue of our human resources newsletter, we try to help you avoid those growing pains.

• For an organization, the loss of time, money, and energy is huge enough – but there’s often a significant blow to staff morale. Amelia explores ways to design a hiring process that can minimize unfortunate outcomes.
• Meanwhile, Kara considers one crucial step: making sure we get the best possible applications. What makes a job application successful? You can weigh in here.

Click here to read the report at idealisthr.org.

This past spring, we reached out to the organizations on Idealist to learn how you had been impacted by the financial crisis of 2008, and how you were feeling about the future.

More than 3,000 of you responded: human resources professionals, executive directors, fundraising managers, volunteer coordinators – and often, all of the above. You work for small nonprofits and large ones. And as of June 2011, your mood overall seemed to be one of cautious optimism. Click here for the survey results.

Of course, this offers just one snapshot. Do the survey results ring true for what’s happening at your organization? Did things change this summer?

Sound off in the comments below, or join the conversation at idealisthr.org, our new space for nonprofit HR professionals.