More ways to optimise your advert – salary and filtering

When creating your job advert you may find that you face the dilemma of whether or not you should include the salary. You may want relevant candidates applying for the job role rather than because of the pay package, or you might be open to paying a range dependent on the quality of the candidate.

We would definitely recommend including the salary as it not only increases your application rate, by making candidates more motivated to apply, but also helps you ensure the relevant candidates apply.

More relevant candidates apply
Candidates take the vacancy more seriously when they know what they could earn

Firstly, the salary acts as a screening criterion. When candidates see the salary they can gain an idea of the level of experience required, and this allows them to figure out if they are worth this amount. You will then be more likely to receive the most relevant applications as those that see themselves as under-qualified or over-qualified on the basis of the salary will be deterred from applying.

When you fill in your description form, you can enter the salary directly into the salary field and this will then appear with the job title in the search results page. If the salary is still up for negotiation and you’re not ready to state an exact figure, including a salary range is a good idea as candidates can have an indication of the amount offered.

We discourage you from using lines such as ‘salary open to negotiation’ and ‘competitive salary’ as candidates are likely to be suspicious of this, as it could suggest a low figure or you are still unsure of what to pay yourself.

Eligibility criteria

Pre-screening candidates makes the recruitment process easier for you, ensuring you attract only the most relevant applications.

See below for an example:

When you create your job advert you will see a ‘Qualifications required’ section. This is your opportunity to state the criteria you expect the candidate to meet before they can apply for your job. This is a great way of filtering ineligible candidates in order to receive only the most relevant applications, and save you from the gruelling task of reading through hundreds of unsuitable applicants.

Eligibility criteria that could help you screen candidates can include key skills, qualifications and competencies needed to effectively carry out job functions, plus others factors that such as the ability to commute to location or availability for work.

The key is to remain specific when setting your criteria, as it can be difficult to define what makes an individual capable of certain competencies and key skills. For example the criterion ‘good numeracy skills’, is rather vague as candidates could have different interpretations of what they see as good numeracy skills, there is no borderline in which to measure it with.

Here are some examples of eligibility criteria you could include to help you in pre-screening candidates:

• Willingness to commit to (state how many months) temporary contract
• Willingness to commute to (name of location)
• Minimum 2:1 in subject required
• Minimum one year’s work experience in similar field
• Previous experience of working within role
• Minimum C in A Level English
• Minimum C in GCSE English, Maths & Science
• Immediately available to work/ Available to work from (insert date)

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