11 JUL 2018

Get a new perspective to turn your unsuccessful FE recruitment advert into a winner.

We know that some vacancies can be really challenging to fill and there are so many elements that need to be aligned to successfully attract a great pool of candidates. The content of your advert, timings and where your advert is placed are just...

If you are lacking the responses you need to recent FE recruitment advertising, consider our top five insights that might help your advert stand out from the crowd and attract the attention it deserves.

Insight 1:

Location, Location, Location: Is your FE recruitment advert on the right job board?

Chances are if you’re having to repeatedly run your advert with little to no responses, it’s in the wrong place. It’s just not being seen by the right people.

We don’t like to leave things to chance but with our years of experience, we’ve racked up quite a lot of trial and error, so we know what works and what doesn’t and crucially we also know when to admit defeat and try another avenue. If you need support in considering alternative board options, just give us a call.

Insight 2:

Information is Power: the importance of campaign statistics

Campaign statistics can be easily overlooked post campaign when you are jumping into the new roles and priorities, but it pays to take the time to look at the results you are getting and what patterns of engagement (or lack of) are telling you.

At onlyFE our campaign reports are brief but detailed and share invaluable information that can be fed into your next steps. The reports sharing both data and analysis at the end of your campaign to reflect on what works and what doesn’t so that we know which way to go with your next campaign. But if we’re not generating suitable responses during the campaign, we’ll bring that review forward and develop new strategies for success.

Insight 3:

Broaden Your Horizons Thoughtfully: A world of opportunity outside traditional FE recruitment job boards

Confining your advert to specialist FE job boards naturally limits its reach to those within the sector or those who are actively seeking a move into it.

With more and more vocational courses available, targeting and attracting candidates with the relevant experience requires a broader approach.

For example, we were recently approached to create a campaign to advertise for a Part Time Work Based Trainer/Assessor in Estate Agent Management. Specialist roles like this would be sure to flounder on specialist FE job boards, so we took the initiative and created a campaign targeting estate agents who mostly like would never have considered a role in Further Education. But we personally reached out to our target audience, persisted, educated and succeeded resulting in a happy client with an enthusiastic selection of industry-experienced candidates.

Insight 4:

Is The Content Of Your Advert Working Hard Enough?

Have a fresh look at the content of your advert. Is the job title clear and the short description you’ve given really reflective of the role? Is there any more information you could include to be clearer or maybe you’ve included too much and the volume of text is turning potential candidates off?

If you would like a new perspective on your adverts before you list them again, we’re here to offer our expert advice about all elements of your advert contents, not just it’s placement.

Insight 5:

Honesty Is Always Our Policy

Is your current recruitment advertising provider being honest with you and providing a transparent service?

Are they really taking the time to look into why your advert isn’t working and suggesting new ideas to resolve it?

Or perhaps you place the adverts yourself, in the same places because, well, you always have?

Whichever way it is done, recruitment is a time-consuming process, that’s why we’re specialists in it and it’s all we do! For our fixed fee per advert, we can recommend the best combination of job boards and other more targeted solutions to help you find the best selection of candidates.

Having to repeatedly place the same advert for the same vacancy doesn’t reflect well on the reputation of your College. For those who do see it, they might be wondering why no one wants to work there – what’s wrong with the place? Getting the campaign right as quickly as possible not only saves you time and money, it also enhances the reputation of your College!

If it is broke, fix it!

If your recruitment advertising strategy isn’t bringing the returns it used to or you are continuing to struggle with particularly difficult roles where there is a skill shortage, it pays to explore adjustments to your strategy.

Recruitment advertising doesn’t always work first time and we want your FE recruitment advertising campaign to succeed as much as you do, so if something isn’t working, we’ll be honest with you and provide intelligent, insightful solutions. It’s all part of the service.