How to write a job advert that gets more applicants

If a job advert is going to fall flat, rather than being a failure of the job board, it's often a failure of the writing.

We asked 12,500 jobseekers what most influences their decision to actually apply for a role. The written content of the advert came out top at 55% - ahead of a downloadable job description at 28% and video at 18%. In other words, the single biggest thing standing between you and more applicants is not your advertising budget or your careers site, it's the words on the advert itself.

That is good news, because words are the one part of the process you control completely and immediately. This guide walks you through how to write a job advert that gets more of the right people applying, step by step, with real data from our Q1 2026 Talent Insights Report and a before and after example you can borrow from.

First, work out whether you need more applicants or better ones

Not every role needs more applicants. Some need less but better quality ones.

Applicant pressure is wildly uneven by sector. In our data, Leisure and Hospitality roles pulled in around 160 applications per vacancy, while Education roles in schools attracted just 12, and Housing around 21. If you are drowning in unsuitable CVs, the goal is a sharper advert that filters better. If your inbox is empty, the goal is reach and appeal. Both problems can be solved by writing more clearly, but knowing which pot your roles fall into tells you where to push. Check your own applications-per-vacancy before you rewrite anything.

Before we dive into the step-by-step guide below, keep one overriding principle in mind: think like a marketer. You are marketing this vacancy and want to attract your Ideal Candidate Profile (ICP), just as a marketer writes content to attract their Ideal Customer Profile (ICP). 

Write an advert, not a job description

A job advert and a job description are not the same thing - confusing them is the most common reason adverts underperform.

Job description: the internal, comprehensive record of every duty, every reporting line, every detail.
Job advert: a piece of marketing written for a busy person deciding whether this role is worth their time. It should be shorter, warmer and written from the candidate's point of view.

Given that written content is the number one influence on whether someone applies, this is where the effort should be made. Lead with what the role is, why it matters and who it suits. Save the exhaustive details of the job description and attach or link to it from the advert instead.

Use a job title people actually search for

The job title is the most important line in the advert, because it decides whether anyone ever sees it.

In our survey, job board searches (25%) and job alerts (28%) were the two biggest influences on how candidates find roles, with general web searches close behind at 20%. All three depend on matching the words candidates type (or have saved as job alerts). That means the recognisable, industry-standard title beats the clever one every time. "Registered Care Home Manager" will be found. "Wellbeing Champion" less likely. Keep it short, keep it searchable and add specifics like location or specialism rather than personality.

Include the salary

If you take one action from this guide, make it this one. Here's what a panel of Recruitment Leaders said about including salary in job adverts:

And when we asked candidates in our Talent Insights Report which single factor would decide between two job offers, salary came top at 33%, ahead of flexible working at 22% and training and development at 19%. Salary has now overtaken flexible working as the leading factor for the first time in four years of our surveys and the gap is widening. Leaving pay off an advert is quietly telling your audience to skip this job ad and move onto the next.

There is a legal direction of travel here too. In the UK there is still no requirement to state pay in an advert, though according to Indeed around 56% of UK listings did as of March 2026. In Ireland, the picture is changing faster: the EU Pay Transparency Directive set a transposition deadline of 7th June 2026 and Ireland is among the member states expected to miss it. When Ireland's law does arrive, its draft legislation would go further than the Directive and require the pay range in the advert itself. If you hire across the UK and Ireland, building salary ranges into your adverts now is the low-risk move. 

Lead with what is in it for the candidate

Candidates decide fast whether a role fits their life, so tell them early on.

The biggest single reason people start looking for a job is career progression, at 38% of jobseekers, well ahead of anything else. And 74% told us they want to commit to their profession long term, ideally with the same organisation. So the adverts that land are the ones that answer "where could this take me" and "is this somewhere I can stay". Open with the purpose of the role and the path beyond it. For frontline and care roles, where stability matters enormously, be explicit about security, support and supportive onboarding rather than burying it under a duties list.

Cut the requirements list to the essentials

Having long lists of requirements does not make you look thorough - it just helps strong people rule themselves out.

Keep your must-haves to the genuine essentials and move everything else to the "nice to have" category. This matters for fairness as well as volume.

Our application-outcome data shows real gaps in who progresses: candidates who declared a disability reached the application review stage 55% of the time against 79% for those who did not, and outcomes differed by ethnicity too. Some of that starts with an advert that reads like a wall of demands. Instead, use plain language, a short essential list and a quick check for wording that skews the audience, will widen your pool without lowering your bar.

Write for the phone and for skim-reading

Most people will read your job advert on a phone, on the move and in a hurry.

Access using a mobile made up 68% of all applications in our data, rising above 80% in several frontline sectors and hitting 81% in Social Care. An advert written as dense paragraphs simply won't survive that. Use short sentences. Break responsibilities and benefits into scannable bullets. Front-load the important lines. If it doesn't make sense in a ten-second skim on a small screen, it's losing you applicants before they reach the apply button.

Say what happens next and make applying easy

You can write a brilliant advert and still lose the applicant at the form.

Friction is real: 27% of candidates told us their last application took an hour or more and around 10% felt they were asked for too much. A clear, single call to action and a short first-stage form protect all the work the advert did. Set expectations too, on both the next step and the timeline. And make accessibility visible rather than buried: close to 59% of jobseekers said accessibility tools make them more likely to complete an application, which matters when the World Health Organization estimates that over a quarter of people have a disability or learning difficulty and only around 13% of the world speaks English as a first language.

Words first, then bring it to life

Video and images help but they don't do the heavy lifting.

It's tempting to reach for a slick video, but the data is clear about the order of priority. Written content drives the decision to apply for 55% of candidates, against 18% for video. So write the advert properly first, then add images or a short, honest clip to reinforce it. A picture of the real team or a genuine word from the hiring manager adds warmth and credibility. It's the salt and pepper, not the meal.

Publish, then measure and improve

A good advert is never finished. It's constantly being tested and refined.

Treat every advert like the marketing copy it is. Track where your hires actually come from, not just where applications land: in our data, company careers sites produced 34% of external hires and Indeed 30%, even though Indeed generates the larger share of raw applications. Watch your applications-per-vacancy and your completion rate and add a simple fairness checkpoint to see whether any group is dropping out at a particular stage. Then change one thing and see what moves.

Before and after: a care sector example

Here is the difference in practice, using a fictional care provider, Meadowfield Care.

Before

It reads like a job description. There is no pay, the title is vague, the requirements are a wish list, and nothing tells the reader why this job is worth having.

Same role. But the title is searchable, the pay is upfront, the must-haves are honest and short, the progression is clear and the next step is obvious and quick.

Your next step

Before you post your next advert, run it through one question: would the right person, who's reading this on their phone, be able to review it and decide in ten seconds what the job is, what it pays, where it could lead and how to apply?

If you want to see how your current adverts and wider candidate experience hold up, our free candidate experience audit is the fastest way to find the gaps that are quietly costing you applicants.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between a job advert and a job description?
A job advert is a short, candidate-facing piece written to attract the right people. A job description is the fuller internal record of duties, requirements and reporting lines. The advert sells the role, the description documents it. Keep them separate and write the advert first.

Should I include the salary in a job advert?
Yes, wherever you can. Salary is the leading factor candidates use to choose between offers, at 33% in our Q1 2026 Talent Insights survey, and leaving it out tells many people to skip your role. If you genuinely cannot state a figure, publish a clear range.

Do I have to include a salary in a job advert in the UK or Ireland in 2026?
In the UK there is no legal requirement to state pay in an advert, though most listings now do. In Ireland, draft legislation transposing the EU Pay Transparency Directive is expected to require a salary range in the advert itself, going further than the Directive, though Ireland is among the member states expected to miss the 7th June 2026 deadline. Including pay now is the safer choice. 

How long should a job advert be?
Long enough to answer a candidate's key questions, but no longer. Cover what the role is, what it pays, where it could lead and how to apply, in language that survives a ten-second skim on a phone. In depth detail belongs in the connected job description, not the advert.

What makes a job advert attract more applicants?
Clear, candidate-focused writing above everything else, since the written content of the advert is the number one influence on the decision to apply. After that: a searchable job title, visible salary, a short honest requirements list, mobile-friendly formatting and an easy way to apply.

How do I write a job advert that reaches disabled and diverse candidates?
Use plain language, keep essential requirements short and avoid wording that skews the audience. Make accessibility support visible, since most jobseekers say it affects whether they complete an application. Then check your application data to see whether any group drops out at a particular stage.