Are candidates seeing your job ad? Make these changes
A great job ad should do more than attract applicants, it should help you find the right candidate. With applications per job ad at near record highs, the challenge for many small businesses isn’t getting people to apply, it’s identifying the best fit for the role.
If you’re advertising roles now, there are simple steps you can take to refine your job ad so it attracts candidates who truly align with your business needs.
Each part of a job ad should work to draw the right candidates in, and with good reason — people weigh a lot of different factors before they decide to apply for a role.
Here are ways to boost your ad to help you attract the right candidates.
Use an effective job title
Being accurate when you label a role is critical to attracting the right candidates.
SEEK’s search algorithms are based on relevancy, which means that your job title needs to be aligned with the market and accurately represent the role description. SEEK Senior Manager of Customer Success, Marissa Mouat, says that’s why it’s important to keep job titles clear and simple.
“Don’t confuse the search algorithm by adding in unnecessary text or buzz words,” Mouat says.
You should think like a candidate when writing your role title and use the terms they are likely to search for. The most effective job titles avoid unnecessary text, buzz words and jargon, or internal role titles. “Think ‘marketing specialist’ versus ‘marketing guru’ or ‘maintenance manager’ versus ‘jack of all trades’,” says Mouat.
Spend time on the summary
Job search results are often the crucial first point of contact between a candidate and your job ad, so how your ad appears here is important. That’s why your job summary is key to catching a candidate’s eye, because it appears in search results.
Mouat explains that hiring managers and recruiters often spend more time on the detail in the job ad and see the summary as an afterthought. But the summary is something candidates really care about. “Candidates spend roughly 80% of their time on the search summary results page,” she says.
What’s more, candidates are also spending more time searching on mobile now, so making sure your summary is well-structured, easy-to-read and concise can help capture their attention.
So, spend time writing the summary so it includes relevant and specific information. Mouat says to pinpoint elements that are important to your ideal candidates. “Rather than blanket, over-used statements like ‘great work-life balance’ or ‘fantastic culture’, which are subjective, speak to the specifics that make up work-life balance,” she says.
This may mean including benefits such as working from home a certain portion of the week, or highlighting monthly team lunches or social time on Friday afternoons to show a great work culture. “Candidates want to make well-informed decisions fast, so they can take action,” Mouat says. “Give them this information upfront and you are much more likely to have them click into your job ad!”
Appeal to your ideal candidates
Understanding what attracts candidates to a job will help you craft an engaging job ad. SEEK’s Workplace Happiness Index shows that candidates are increasingly prioritising roles that offer purpose, strong leadership, and meaningful day-to-day responsibilities — the top three drivers of workplace happiness.
Getting this insight can help you decide what to emphasise in the job ad summary and detail. “For example, if purpose is the number one driver of happiness, think about how you can clearly articulate the impact of the role and how it contributes to the business or broader community,” Mouat says.
You can also highlight elements like team environment, work-life balance, and job security, all areas where Australians report higher levels of happiness at work, to better connect with the right candidates.
Show them the money
One key job ad element that’s often overlooked or ignored is the salary or salary range, but the data shows this is something that’s incredibly important to candidates.
“Candidates tell us they want transparency,” Mouat says. “Showing a salary or a salary range upfront can save both parties a lot of time."
If you’re worried your salary isn’t competitive, be sure to mention benefits other than just the salary, such as on-site car parking, flexible work policies, staff discounts or a gym membership. “These can help candidates take the full picture into consideration,” says Mouat.
Choose the correct classification
It might sound obvious, but it’s important to make sure your job ad is classified right. If you’re not sure of the classification and sub-classification, you can find out: “Run a keyword search on SEEK for the same job you want to advertise and see what classification and sub-classification the majority of hirers are posting it under,” Mouat says.
It’s also worth looking at some ads for similar roles to double check you’re using a job title that’s well known in the market. “That’s important for our search relevance algorithms to surface your ad to the most relevant candidates,” says Mouat.
5 easy ways to supercharge your job ad
A clear, concise and market-relevant job title: Remember, the most effective job titles avoid unnecessary text, buzz words and jargon, or internal role titles.
Use the summary wisely: Include relevant role information (what the candidate will actually do), location, and benefits (salary, company, career development/progression).
Include salary: Job ads on SEEK that display salary receive on average 37% more applications than job ads that don’t.
Use small paragraphs with bolded headings: “Close to 70% of SEEK’s audience will be reading your content on a mobile device so make it easy to scan,” Mouat says.
SEEK’s Workplace Happiness Index insights: “The harder the role is to fill, the more important it is to understand what truly matters to candidates, from purpose and leadership to work-life balance, so you can reflect this in your job ad,” Mouat says.
How one company boosted engagement and applications
After implementing these refinements, Aimee Tink, the director of Tink Recruitment saw a clear uplift in both engagement and completed applications. “We saw a noticeable increase not just in clicks, but in the number of candidates who actually followed through and completed the application process,” she says.
Tink adjusted her job ads to ensure the short description was highly targeted, using clear, action-driven language that speaks directly to the candidate’s experience and the outcomes of the role.
Previously, a typical job ad summary might read: “Situated in the Northern Beaches, our client is seeking an experienced property manager to join their team.”
Now, her approach is more specific and outcome-focused: “Use your Certificate of Registration and property management experience to manage a residential portfolio of 170 properties Eastern Suburbs Sydney NSW.”
“I’ve moved away from long, generic sentences and instead focus on clarity and impact,” Tink explains. “Most candidates are viewing ads on mobile, so if it’s not easy to read and immediately relevant, they won’t engage."
Tink also refined her approach to better reflect what candidates actually value in a role, aligning her job ads with key drivers of workplace happiness like salary, work-life balance and team environment.
“In our sector, real estate and property, the key drivers remain consistent: salary, work-life balance, and the overall working environment. The difference now is how clearly and specifically we communicate those benefits.”
Since refining this approach, Tink Recruitment has seen application completion rates increase from 79.5% to 92%. “Highlighting what truly matters to candidates and presenting it in a clear, concise way has made a significant difference,” she says.
While it can feel daunting to think about changing the way you write job ads, Tink’s experience shows that simple tweaks can make a big difference.
If you’re advertising a job now, try some of these simple adjustments to optimise your ad. A job ad plays a crucial part in finding the right person for a role, and ensuring your job ad is as appealing as possible will make it an even more effective tool for attracting talent.
Source: Research conducted for SEEK by Nature, between July and September 2025 via an online survey. Responses were gathered from over 3,000 working age Australians.