Follow these steps to increase your chances of getting applications.
On rare occasions, companies have reached out to us wondering why their job listing is receiving a lower than expected amount of applications.
We always recommend trying these tips to boost traction and get your job listing all the notice it deserves:
First, check your application link ⚡
Candidates don’t apply for roles on We Work Remotely. The application link in your job listing must include a link to your career portal, website, or email account where they’ll physically apply for your job.
If you accidentally added text here instead of a link or email, or if the link is broken or incomplete, job seekers won’t be able to apply. So double-check this section first.
Make your job listing search-friendly 🔎
Using a title like “Design Unicorn” may be funny and appealing to some, but your job posting will be left out of search results, and you’ll miss out on qualified applicants.
Use an accurate, searchable job title. Job seekers are looking up common keywords and phrases like “content writer,” “UX designer,” and “customer support specialist.”
Sprinkle in some relevant remote work keywords. Remote job searches have seen an enormous surge recently. To make your job listings appear in search results, try adding keywords like:
- Remote job
- Work remotely
- Telecommute
- Virtual job
- Work from home
- Work from anywhere
Along those lines, make sure to:
Explicitly describe your remote work situation 🎯
Candidates flag us everyday to report job listings that aren’t really remote. In most cases, the company actually does meet the remote requirements but fails to explicitly state their remote situation or what kind of remote company they are.
So try to answer questions like these in your job listing to give applicants the confidence to proceed:
- Are you remote-first or remote-friendly?
- Are you looking for candidates in a specific region or time zone?
- Why are you a remote company?
- What are your logistical requirements? Ex. “We meet quarterly for in-person team meetings (all flights and accommodations are covered) and have status meetings once a week.”
Be transparent about your remote expectations. Do you hold mandatory meetings on Monday? Do you require your team members to cover their own work equipment, or will you provide their home office setup? Honesty here breeds trust in your company.
Start selling your company and its values 🌟
Job postings sell the position, your company, team, remote-ness, and why you’re awesome. So does your job listing include all the sweet reasons why it’s a stellar place to work? We’re not just talkin’ benefits and perks; we also mean, what are your company’s values?
More and more, job seekers are searching for companies that align with the way they work and think. It’s a win-win situation, really. You want employees who support your vision and want to filter out candidates who may not align with your mission or values.
💡 Read next: The Importance of Value Alignment for Remote Companies
Tell your company story. Who is your company? In a brief paragraph of 3-4 sentences, describe the problem your company solves, how long you’ve been around, the company culture, and the stability of your company.
Update your company profile. If you really want to stand out as a remote company worth applying to, fill out your company profile on WWR. You can add details about your organization’s story, company culture, benefits, and hiring process.
Use this guide to create a company profile that attracts top talent 24/7!
Think of your job listing more like sales copy 📣
Writing a job listing is just like writing a blog post or sales copy. You want to grab someone’s attention, keep them interested in the details, and motivate them to take action.
So what’s your hook? Captivate the candidates you’re looking for by including 3-5 details that they’ll find exciting. What makes the role better than all the others they’ll find on their job search?
Use your brand voice. Your job listing may not be getting any traction because it’s missing your company’s brand voice. This is your chance to introduce your company to potential new hires. So how would your brand speak to these candidates?
Be authentic here, inject some personality, and don’t try too hard to sell your company that it feels forced or fake -- candidates can tell. Get a few different eyes on the job listing before pushing it live. Proofread, proofread, edit, proofread, edit, proofread.
Update your job description to be more inclusive 🤝
Job descriptions communicate the responsibilities and expectations of the role. So rather than describing your ideal candidate, provide a clear outline of the position’s duties and all the requirements essential to the job.
For example: What will their day-to-day look like? Who will they work with? Who will they report to?
Use inclusive language. Words that subtly convey candidate biases prevent a big chunk of applicants from applying. Avoid words that contain gender bias (competitive, rockstar, ninja, etc.), age bias (recent graduate), nationality bias (native language speaker), and other coded language.
💡 Read next: How To Reduce Bias In the Hiring Process
Stop looking for a unicorn 🦄
A giant list of requirements will scare off even the most qualified applicants. So make sure you’re not setting impossible standards very few people can reach. Combining marketing and web development? 🤔 Seriously?
Share the salary range and highlight your employee benefits 🧲
Providing a salary range helps candidates immediately see if it’s worth their time to apply for your position. They’ll know whether their current experience aligns with the role and if it provides career growth potential.
A salary range also prevents everyone from wasting their time. After all, you don’t want to interview candidates with salary expectations outside your budget.
But most importantly? A competitive salary range attracts applicants like a magnet.
Same goes for sharing your employee benefits. A staggering 83% of job seekers say they specifically look for benefits when considering which roles to apply for.
💡 Read next: 7 Great Perks To Include In a Competitive Remote Employee Benefits Package
If you’re a startup or young company without benefits to sell quite yet, state that! Honesty and being upfront is really what it’s all about.
Download our Job Posting Template 📄
After reviewing thousands of remote job listings, we here at We Work Remotely created a free template for you to create a job posting that sells!
➡️ Download the WWR Job Posting Template
Feel free to make a copy and edit it with your listing information.
Read these guides for more helpful tips! ✅
✨ Don’t forget: Featuring your job on We Work Remotely will give you 5x the exposure and double the tweets. It’s really the quickest way to snag applicants and make your dream hire sooner.