Education

Recruiter Tips: Maximizing ROI on Job Postings

December 15, 2009 3 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

As recruiters seek better return on investment in recruitment advertising, they are increasingly looking to job-posting analytics to inform their strategies. Initially, recruiters may simply use analytics reports to choose where (or where not) to advertise. But further analysis could provide greater insight. Analysis of job-performance data on TopSchoolJobs, for example, suggests that some education organizations are more strategic about maximizing their ROI. Here are three strategies that are easy to implement:

1. Use Great Keywords.

Utilizing popular and relevant keywords has never been more critical to your recruitment advertising success. Job titles and descriptions crafted with keywords candidates will use can directly impact your results—not only on your favorite job boards, but on search-engine results pages.

There are several hundred million job-related searches performed on major search engines each month. These search engines pull jobs from most major job boards and can quickly deliver an additional candidate pool, that is, if you use the right keywords.

Example: Two job postings on TopSchoolJobs advertising teaching vacancies outside of the U.S. garnered very different traffic results. A five-minute keyword review suggests that the higher performing posting may have improved its results by using two additional keywords—“overseas” and “abroad”.

Tips:
• Brainstorm a list of search terms job seekers would use to find your job.
• Browse similar job postings for ideas.
• Use the Google keyword tool to research popular, relevant terms.

2. Include All Relevant Job Categories.

Top performing job postings not only use great keywords, but also select relevant job classifications. Categorizing your posting with the occupations listed on a given job board defines your vacancy in a way that’s easier for many job seekers to find. While over one-third of all job searches on TopSchoolJobs.org use job category selections, many employers neglect to select even one.

BRIC ARCHIVE

Example: Job-performance analysis of postings for educational consultants showed that listings that included “Consultant” as a job category selection tended to outperform those that did not by a factor of at least 2 to 1. Some of the top performing postings included additional categories that related to desired skill sets or targeted audiences (i.e. Curriculum, Assist. Superintendent).

Tips:
• Take a little extra time to scroll through the entire list of job categories and determine how job seekers might search for your vacancy.
• Select as many job occupations as you feel relate to the job qualifications as well as your target candidate pool.

3. Market The Job Opportunity. Brand Your Organization. The job postings that garnered the best results in our analysis excelled not only at attracting talent with keyword and category selections, but by using basic marketing to entice viewers to apply. These job descriptions did not describe mere vacancies, but opportunities to fulfill one’s dreams. They did not simply list the organization’s name, but provided compelling reasons to work there. For candidates who might still have doubts about applying, they provided a link to frequently asked questions.

Example: The highest-performing job this year (based on job page views and applications) led with questions like “Would you like to…,” “Do you have an interest in… .” The description included descriptive copy about the organization, including phrases such as “ABC School District is dedicated to …” Job seekers were also provided multiple ways to learn more and apply to the job, including an e-mail address, phone number, Web site and a link to frequently asked questions.

Tips:
• Proofread and spell-check your ad copy.
• Ensure your posting is attractive and formatted for easy reading (bullets, paragraphs, and perhaps html).
• Describe the broader career opportunity in addition to the job details and requirements.
• Include copy about your organization to pique interest in working there (perhaps you have a Youtube video).
• Offer helpful information and links (e.g. salary, FAQs, alternative application methods).
• Add your organization’s logo, slogan.

—Jonathan Rogers
Product Manager

Events

Ed-Tech Policy Webinar Artificial Intelligence in Practice: Building a Roadmap for AI Use in Schools
AI in education: game-changer or classroom chaos? Join our webinar & learn how to navigate this evolving tech responsibly.
Education Webinar Developing and Executing Impactful Research Campaigns to Fuel Your Ed Marketing Strategy 
Develop impactful research campaigns to fuel your marketing. Join the EdWeek Research Center for a webinar with actionable take-aways for companies who sell to K-12 districts.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Privacy & Security Webinar
Navigating Cybersecurity: Securing District Documents and Data
Learn how K-12 districts are addressing the challenges of maintaining a secure tech environment, managing documents and data, automating critical processes, and doing it all with limited resources.
Content provided by Softdocs

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Education Briefly Stated: January 17, 2024
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
9 min read
Education In Their Own Words The Stories That Stuck With Us, 2023 Edition
Our newsroom selected five stories as among the highlights of our work. Here's why.
4 min read
102523 IMSE Reading BS
Adria Malcolm for Education Week
Education Opinion The 10 Most-Read Opinions of 2023
Here are Education Week’s most-read Opinion blog posts and essays of 2023.
2 min read
Collage of lead images for various opinion stories.
F. Sheehan for Education Week / Getty
Education Letter to the Editor EdWeek's Most-Read Letters of 2023
Read the most-read Letters to the Editor of the past year.
1 min read
Illustration of a line of diverse hands holding up speech bubbles in front of a subtle textured newspaper background
iStock/Getty