If you want to capture the hearts and minds of top talent, your average job ad isn’t going to cut it.  You’ve got to craft a compelling story and cast your ideal candidate at the heart of it - as the hero.

So how do you do this exactly?  Well for a start you’ve got to come up with a great story.  Your standard story involves a hero (the candidate), some drama or conflict (problems to overcome) and a resolution.  Great talent like to be at the centre of a situation, creating a lasting and positive impact on the business - not just going along for the ride.

So what do you need to consider?

A stale, informal tone with a big list of requirements won’t cut it.  Think through how this candidate can make a positive impact for your business.  What skills do you need from them?  How will they create lasting impact?  Top talent are seeking out purpose and accomplishment - consider what their legacy in your business can be.  Then craft a compelling narrative that helps them see themselves as the hero.

Jason Beever, writing for Medium puts it the best: ‘In a sea of so many job posts all desperately trying to stand out, eliciting a powerful sense of purpose and value behind your brand will help strengthen an emotional connection for prospects who identify with and share similar goals’.

Brands are increasingly putting candidates at the forefront when crafting truly engaging job ads.  Gone are standard job descriptions that have been used for every PD for the past 10 years and instead, job stories are the focus.  

What are job stories you might ask?  Well they are a way for recruiters and hiring managers to create a greater connection with their ideal candidates, in order to better engage them and entice them to apply to work for their business.

While traditional job descriptions are static and re-used over and over, job stories help candidates imagine themselves working in the role, thereby increasing their engagement and excitement.  

Job stories are based on ideal candidate persona’s - firstly understanding what makes their candidates tick and then building our the copy on their job description to entice them.  

Work it Daily have a quiz to uncover what your own Workplace Persona is, and to help you understand the workplace persona’s of your ideal candidates.  You can try it out here.  When you can better understanding of what makes your candidates tick, you can craft compelling content that helps them imagine working for you, and increases the likelihood of a successful job application.