What do job adverts really tell you?
Writing job adverts is an art form. They are designed to convey as much information to a specific group of people (i.e. the ones the recruiter thinks can do the vacant job) in as short amount of space possible. The job ad needs to be focused enough to get the right people interested, but not over general otherwise the recruiter will be swamped with inappropriate responses.

And here's the Catch-22, the recruiter wants someone who fits the job perfectly but most applicants want a new job because it will offer them a challenge or help them develop their skills. It's a wonder people get recruited at all! But you can increase your chances by reading between the lines of the job advert, and below I've given you a few tips on how to do this.

Blind or Brand?
Does the job ad name the recruiting company or is just the recruitment agency's name given? And to whom do you send your details? An ad that doesn't give the recruiting company's name is often called a "blind ad", and they can appear for a variety of reasons. Sometimes the recruitment agency is looking to fill its database with job hunters and there may not even be a real job available.

Or, the recruiting company may not wish to be mentioned because of internal restructuring (yes companies often start recruiting for new positions before existing employees are aware of any changes) or that the brand name of the recruiting organisation may be so poor people would be put off applying in the first place.

Salary
If a specific salary is mentioned in the ad, this is likely to mean that the salary level is fixed and that the employer needs to fit salaries of new hires into an existing salary framework. This means that there is likely to be little room for negotiation on salary (it's much better to negotiate on benefits anyway, but that's another story).

If the salary isn't mentioned, the chances are that the company is not sure what salary to pay, they aren't exactly sure of the type of person they want to do the job or that the company pays low wages and doesn't want to upset existing employees by hiring new staff on higher salaries.

Job Title & Description
In a perfect world, the employer will have taken time to write a good job description; which the recruiter will have then summarised to write the job ad.

This is why you must pay attention to every detail written about the job, and to have any success in reaching the interview stage you must make sure that you can demonstrate experience in at least 90% of the activities and responsibilities of the job.

Person Specification
There should also be a brief line or two starting with something like "the ideal person will have xxx experience…"

This is a person specification and again holds all the clues necessary for you to establish if you have the skills and training deemed necessary to be successful in the job. Again, your task is to match your skills and training against what is required to ensure you have a good chance of getting an interview.

More Free Reports!
If you enjoyed this short article and would like to receive three more detailed free reports...
* Top 5 Tips to Define Your Ideal Job.
* Top 5 Tips for a Great CV.
* Top 5 Tips for a Perfect Interview.

Simply fill out the boxes below:

Privacy notice: Please note that I will never pass your e-mail address onto anyone else.