Recruitment Manual - Unit 6 - Advertising and Media Guidance

UNIT 6

Recruitment Manual –step by step guide

ADVERTISING AND MEDIA GUIDANCE

6.1  What should the Council include in the advertisement?

Once the Council has determined the job description and person specification for the post you need to consider how to attract candidates for the vacancy and this can be done in a number of ways:-

·        Head-hunting - an organisation actively looks for suitable candidates for you to consider

·        social media – has space limitation but used a lot in the public and private sector for signposting

·        your website

·        local community notice boards

·        traditional newspaper advert – limited reach but included in the newspaper’s web page

·        professional or trade journal – a local government publication could draw candidates from beyond the local area.  You should consider whether the salary would be sufficiently attractive for candidates to move to your area bearing in mind relocation costs.

Careful consideration should be given to where you place an advert so that the general community can see it i.e. do not place it in a media aimed at specifc audiences.

More information on using alternative means of attracting candidates are discussed later in this document.

The design and content of job adverts may be summarised by the mnemonics AIDA:-

A = Attention (must catch the attention of the target audience)

I   = Interest (must hold interest while the whole advert is read)

D = Desire (should arouse desire for the job on offer)

A = Action (stimulate action in the form of a contact or an application).

A good job advertisement should:-

·        be concise but give enough information so candidates can decide whether to apply

·        be clear on the skills and experience needed based on your person specification and job description

·        draw attention to itself

·        be non-discriminatory; be aware of unconscious bias

·        explain how the candidates should respond to the advertisement e.g. by completing an application form

·        include a timeline/deadline

·        include:

• job title, location and salary

• brief description of job and nature of organisation

• brief description of ideal candidate

• organisation’s benefits and facilities

• any unique features of job

• application process and closing date.

The content of advertisements, including online, can in certain circumstances constitute a contractual offer. Any mistakes, if uncorrected, could be difficult to overturn once the job offer has been accepted.

The key need is to give enough information about the job to target and attract the right people so only suitable applicants apply.

Your advert should be clear, inviting and interesting, and not too long and wordy whilst reflecting the style and culture of the Council.

6.2  How can the Council find the right candidates using other forms of media?

You need is to be systematic and methodical in your approach, timing, content and

choice of media to obtain a good response to finding the right candidate and the most suitable method of advertising your job.

Apart from your own direct sources (e.g local newsletters, website, internal staff bulletins) you may want to see how you can reach specific audiences within a sector or locality (e.g through the use of local, regional or national media or trade/professional magazines) or use internet sites which can reach a wide audience quickly or have a database of candidates that you can search.

However, you do need to check the costs (internet sites can be cheaper than advertising in a newspaper or magazine) and to time the advertisement carefully e.g. avoid holiday periods whilst planning how you will deal with responses.

There are a number of alternative approaches and possible advertising media and/or source for recruiting including:-

·        your County Association and NALC

·        your Unitary/County/District/Borough Council internal vacancy list, website or jobs bulletin as available

·        your existing employees - who can also introduce friends/family (an Introduction Scheme operates in some Councils) - but beware of relying on this alone as it can be discriminatory

·        your own Council website, premises and notice boards

·        word of mouth and networking – but beware of relying on this alone as it can be discriminatory

·        local or national press

·        professional, specialist or technical journals e.g. Local Government Chronicle, Municipal Journal etc

·        SLCC “The Clerk” journal (published bi-monthly), website, member bulletin

·        local job centre and/or online at Jobcentre Plus

·        internet recruitment websites (but beware that you may be inundated with many unsuitable applications which are automatically generated by the use of keywords)

·        headhunters, employment agencies or recruitment consultants

·        local radio or television

·        open days

·        liaison with local colleges or other relevant community organisations in the area

·        Linkedin or other business/professional networking sites.

A number of the above are free and only require a phone call to arrange but clearly cost is a major consideration and your choices from the above must be realistic given the level of the post and the likelihood of a relevant response being achieved as against the potentially high cost of advertising say in a national newspaer.

A further consideration is your responsibility to have a diverse workforce, reflecting the community you serve. There are two aspects to this. One is to ensure your advertising and other recruitment methods reach the right communities (e.g ethnic groups, those with disabilities, across age ranges etc) but also secondly that you do not inadvertently target your recruitment methods only on one group at the exclusion of others - thereby creating a potential discriminatory situation.

The key decision is to decide therefore which of the above suits your budget and is most likely to generate suitable candidates but please remember when deciding on your advertising media it is not a competition to get the most applications - it is simply about getting the right ones! If you only get one application and it is from the right candidate your advertising has been a success!

6.3 Specimen Advertisements

Specimen advertisements for the post of Clerk and Responsible Financial Officer are enclosed at Appendix 6 (a) along with one for a Responsible Financial Officer (or other suitable title if you prefer) at Appendix 6 (b) for your Council to consider and amend as necessary for your post.

It may also be used as model for other appointments as appropriate.

If you are seeking to improve the diversity of your workforce, you can add a legally acceptable statement encouraging applicants from specific protected groups (Equality Act 2010) but you should seek further guidance however as this is a sensitive area.

6.4  Further Help

If you require training, help or any other assistance with your recruitment and selection processes or have any questions on anything in the Recruitment Manual please email your county association.

Updated November 2022

Appendix 6 (a) - Specimen advertisements for the post of Clerk to the Council and Responsible Financial Officer

Appendix 6 (b) – Specimen advertisement for the post of Responsible Financial Officer