How to write a job ad that gets the right applicants.

This guide is for you if you need to hire and are staring at a blank page. You will write a job ad one part at a time, from the title to the "how to apply" line, and finish with a template you can copy.

A good ad does two jobs. It brings in people who could do the work, and it helps the wrong people see quickly that the job is not for them. Both save you hours of reading CVs.

At the end we show where each part goes if you post jobs with Vakanssi, the free WordPress hiring plugin we make. The advice works anywhere.

Step 1 of 7:Use a plain job title

Use the words a candidate would type into a search box: "Office manager", "Sales assistant", "Junior web developer". Add a level, such as "Senior", only if it changes who should apply.

Leave out the clever names, internal codes and extras. Google's guidance for job listings says the title should be the job title only, and asks you not to include "job codes, addresses, dates, salaries, or company names" in it (Google Search Central). It also warns against overusing characters such as ! and *.

Step 2 of 7:Make the first lines count

Assume people read the first two or three sentences and then decide. Say what the job is, where it is, and one honest reason it is worth doing.

For example: "We are a 12-person bakery in Tampere looking for an office manager, four days a week. You will keep orders, invoices and our team schedule running, so our bakers can bake."

Save your company history for later in the ad, or for your website.

Step 3 of 7:Separate the work from the requirements

Two lists, kept apart, make an ad much easier to read.

What you will do describes the work itself. Five to seven bullet points, each starting with a verb, each a real task: "Answer customer emails and phone calls", not "Be a communication champion". If one task takes most of the week, say so.

What you need describes the person. Split it into must-haves and nice-to-haves, and be strict with the first list. Every must-have shuts some people out, so keep only what someone truly cannot do the job without.

Ask for skills, not years. "Comfortable with spreadsheets" tells a candidate more than "three years of experience".

Step 4 of 7:Say what it pays

Put the pay, or a pay range, in the ad. It saves time on both sides: people who need more do not apply, and nobody reaches a final interview only to find you are far apart.

In some places it is also the law, or close to it. Two examples:

• The European Union. The Pay Transparency Directive gives applicants the right to know the starting pay or its range, "such as in a published job vacancy notice, prior to the job interview or otherwise", and bars employers from asking about pay history (Directive (EU) 2023/970, Article 5).
• Washington State, US. Employers with 15 or more employees "must include a wage scale or salary range, a general description of all benefits, and a general description of other compensation in job postings" (Washington L&I).

EU countries had until 7 June 2026 to put the directive into their own laws, and rules elsewhere differ by country, state and city. This is not legal advice: check the rules where you hire.

Step 5 of 7:Be exact about location

"Flexible" means something different to everyone. Say which of these the job is:

• On-site: name the town or city.
• Hybrid: name the city, and how many days a week people work there.
• Remote: name the countries you can employ people in, and any time zone you need them to share.

The remote line matters more than it looks. Employing someone in another country brings its own rules, so if you can only hire in one country, say so before people apply.

Step 6 of 7:Check your wording

Read the ad as someone who does not work for you, and fix anything that turns a good candidate away for no reason.

• Use gender-neutral job titles and "you". "Salesperson", not "salesman"; "you will", not "he will". In the EU it is a requirement: Article 5(3) of the same directive says job vacancy notices and job titles must be gender-neutral.
• Drop hints about age or background, such as "young team", "digital native" or "native speaker". Describe the skill instead: "fluent written Finnish".
• Keep physical requirements to real ones. "Lift 20 kg boxes" if the job needs it; otherwise leave it out.
• Explain your jargon. Internal names and acronyms mean nothing to someone outside.
• Offer adjustments. One line such as "Tell us if you need anything to make the interview work for you" costs nothing.

Step 7 of 7:Say how to apply and what happens next

Tell people exactly what to send, and only ask for what you will read. If you do not want a cover letter, say so.

Then say what happens next and when: "We reply to everyone within two weeks. The first interview is a 30-minute video call." Add the closing date, if you have one, and a name or address for questions. A name tells candidates that a real person is on the other end.

How long should a job ad be?

Long enough to answer the questions a good candidate has, and short enough to read comfortably on a phone. For most roles that means a few hundred words.

If your draft runs much longer, look for company history, a wish list of must-haves, and duties that repeat each other.

A job ad template you can copy

Fill in the brackets and delete what does not apply.

[Job title]

[Company] is [one line about what you do and how many people you are], in [city]. We are looking for a [job title] to [the main purpose of the role], [full-time / part-time, days per week].

What you will do
- [Task, starting with a verb]
- [Task]
- [Task]
- [Task]

What you need
- [Must-have]
- [Must-have]
- [Must-have]

Nice to have
- [Skill or experience]
- [Skill or experience]

What we offer
- Pay: [amount or range, per hour / month / year]
- [Hours, holidays, benefits, training]

Where you will work
[On-site in city / hybrid, X days a week in city / remote from these countries]

How to apply
Send your CV through the form below[; a cover letter is optional]. We reply to everyone by [date or "within two weeks"]. The first step is a [length and type of interview]. Questions? Contact [name] at [email].

Where it goes in Vakanssi

In Vakanssi, a job is written like a WordPress page. Click Hiring, then Add New Job.

1. 1.Job title: type it in the title field at the top.
2. 2.Description: write the opening lines, the two lists, what you offer and how to apply in the main editing area below the title. It is WordPress's block editor: add a heading block for each section and a list block for bullet points. The Google for Jobs readiness banner (more on it below) asks for at least 30 characters, but a real description is far better.
3. 3.Team: pick one in the Departments panel on the right, so visitors can filter by team.

Below the description, the Job details box holds the facts, split into three tabs:

• Workplace & location: choose on-site, hybrid or remote, then the city and country. For a remote job, list the countries people may apply from in Eligible countries (remote), as two-letter codes such as FI, SE.
• Compensation: pay stays hidden until you set Salary display to Exact amount or Range. Then add the amount, the period and the currency. You can type "60k" for 60,000.
• Employment & application: tick the employment type, such as full-time, and add a closing date if you want one.

These details appear on the job page in a facts table, so the text does not need to repeat them. If you mention pay in your opening lines as well, make sure the two match.

Vakanssi adds the application form to every job page for you. Candidates send their name, email address and CV, and can add a cover letter, so your "How to apply" text only needs to say what happens next.

At the top of the Job details box, a Google for Jobs readiness banner either says Eligible or lists what is missing, such as a location. Google for Jobs is the panel of openings Google shows in search. Fix what the banner names, then click Publish. More in Creating and publishing a job.

Your checklist

1. 1.The title is the job title only, in words people search for.
2. 2.The first lines say what, where and why.
3. 3.Duties and requirements are separate lists, with few must-haves.
4. 4.Pay is in the ad, and you have checked the rules where you hire.
5. 5.On-site, hybrid or remote is spelled out, with places.
6. 6.The wording is gender-neutral and free of age hints.
7. 7.Candidates know what to send and when they will hear back.

Frequently asked questions