Guest Blog: How to Write An Effective Freelance Job Post

Freelancers are a great resource to tap, because they're skilled in their field and will get the job done without requiring you to hire a full-time employee. However, working with freelancers, whether remote or onsite, can create many recruitment challenges that you’re going to need to overcome.

To attract the best, most qualified candidates, you’ll need to write a carefully crafted job advertisement, which Recruiting Consultant Freddie Tubbs has done many times. Read on to learn how to write an effective job post in order to attract talented contractors.

Step 1: Research the Market

The first thing to do is head to the job boards or freelancing websites and see what kind of job posts are already out there. Read through a few to see what kind of language is used and how other companies list their skills. 

Editor's Note: Unsure of the skills you need to list? Check out Artisan's job descriptions page for some ideas.

Of course, your vacancy will need to be customized to suit the needs of your business, but this can be a great way to get into the right mindset for writing a successful job description.

Step 2: Promote Your Vacancy

Draw the most qualified and passionate people with an enticing and engaging job advertisement. It's not enough to simply list the tasks that the job entails. Try to add a bit of detail about what you’re like as a company and what it will be like working for you. Many applicants aren’t just interested in the job role they are carrying out but also want to work somewhere with an office culture they enjoy.

One way to do this is to add quotes or references from employees who already work for you. 

Step 3: Attract Candidates with Enticing Headlines and Keywords

Don't let potential stars pass by your job posting simply because you didn't lead with an eye-catching headline. The headline is the first part of your description that people are going to see so if you don’t make it attractive, nobody will want to click, but if it stands out from the rest, people will look twice. Just remember to include the keywords job seekers are most likely searching for.

Research keywords and make a list before you start writing your description. This way, you can be sure that you add the keywords into your text naturally, making it far more likely that the people you want searching for your job will find it. Writing blogs and services like Via Writing offer more information on using and implementing keywords.

Bonus Tip: Since you only want to consider someone who takes the job seriously (and that begins with carefully reading the full posting), an easy way to see who has read it is to ask for applicants to do something specific, such as include a keyword in their email header and list a few of their favorite Instagram accounts in their cover letter. 

Step 4: Implement Self Screening

This will save you a lot of time up front — by including the specifics of what is required for the job, those who don't meet the requirements are less likely to apply. This is especially true if it's explicitly stated that you'll only consider applicants who meet the requirements.

Step 5: Add Structure to Your Job Description

Although you might not have time to write a 1,000-word job description, you can be far more accurate with your posting if you break your description down into sections labeled by subheadings. A basic structure would go something like:

• Introduction paragraph
• Job role and responsibilities
• Skills and software proficiencies required
• Expectations and role information (such as pay and hours)
• Call to action and contact information

Why does structure matter?

“Adding structure to your job description is a great way to ensure that you don’t miss out on any vital information about your role which could get forgotten about until it matters, which can cause problems with your relationship with your freelancer,” explains Lee Jones, a Huffington Post contributor and Recruiting Consultant at Resumention.

Additionally, adding structure in an easy-to-read format makes the job description easier for readers to digest, maximizing the chances that top talent will read it from start to finish.

Step 6: Get a Second Opinion

After a while, you'll be blind to the errors you may have made in writing the post. It's best to let someone with fresh eyes take a look at it to catch those mistakes. You can ask a word-minded colleague, hire a professional Proofreader, or use an online service to check your content and make sure it’s readable, understandable, and error-free.

If you fail to double-check and perfect your job description and instead simply write it out and post it, chances are the description will be riddled with mistakes, typos, and errors. If this is the case, many top individuals will read your description and notice the mistakes, which will damage your credibility as a business.

What's Next?

Once you've sent your job description into the world and start getting responses, what should you do?

Reply to All of Your Candidates

It's a good practice to respond to all of your applicants. You never know if you will eventually have a place for them, so keeping that door open with a response helps leave a good impression, in case you want them to work for you in the future.

This is also simple common courtesy in the business world.

You’ll also be giving yourself the chance to talk with other applicants who may be perfect for another role or could be a backup hire if you make the wrong decision the first time. If you’re short on time to reply, use writing blogs like Assignment Help or hire a talented Copywriter to create responses on your behalf.

By taking the time to carefully and mindfully put together your job posting, you'll be sure to attract the most qualified freelancers — those who have a true passion for what they do. This way, you’ll be able to attract the top talent for your business, enabling you to hire the best of the best who will help grow your business like never before.

Don’t forget the tools and resources that are available to you and can help you start on your way toward finding and hiring the perfect person for the job.

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