The first thing most people think of when they think about CharityVillage is our job postings. That’s because we’ve been the go-to place for Canadians posting or looking for jobs in the charitable sector since 1995. And because we’ve been at this for a while, we’ve figured out some of the better strategies for creating job ads that attract the best candidates.
What you might not realize is that not all job ads are created equal. Or rather, that the same job ad won’t attract every candidate. One key distinction has to do with demographics: what might attract a seasoned nonprofit veteran may not be the best approach to attracting a younger demographic. We talked with some younger nonprofit professionals as well as our colleagues at Talent Egg, a career website and online job board that caters to Canadian students and recent graduates to find out exactly what kind of job ad attracts the best younger job seekers. Here’s what they had to say.
1. Keep it simple. “If your job ad is a short essay, you have a problem,” says Mary Barroll, president of Talent Egg. “This is a generation that makes decisions quickly: you have to grab them in the first few seconds or you’ve lost them.” Emily Cordeaux, research grants & evaluation specialist, Crohn’s and Colitis Canada, agrees. “A job ad should focus on key competencies, not an exhaustive list of everything a candidate might do.” CharityVillage National Sales Director, Jane Barr, also recommends being crystal clear about your expectations with how a candidate should apply. “If you are only going to consider applicants who have included a cover letter, be sure to spell that out clearly in your posting. Likewise, if you want the application to include a certain reference number, be submitted to a particular email address or person, or provide a sample of previous work, this should be clearly outlined in a ‘how to apply’ section.”
2. Show not tell. Barroll says a job ad should help a job seeker visualize themselves in the role. This could mean using graphics, infographics or even video to tell the story of a role and an organization. It also means cutting out the boring parts. Barroll suggests carefully reading over a job description: “If you’re bored, a young candidate will surely be.” She adds that sometimes even terrific jobs are described in language that buries the resonance, meaning and life of the position. Barr suggests including a link to a page on your website with more information on organizational culture. An added benefit, she says, is that in an interview you can ask questions to see whether a candidate took the time to visit the website and do additional research. “Also,” says Barr, “if you have a presence on Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube or other social media channels, include a link in the posting so applicants can get a sense of your organization’s culture and personality.”
3. Illustrate the benefits. It’s easy to focus on the specific duties and responsibilities of a role in a job ad, but Barroll counsels those posting job ads to include the plus side of the equation: what a successful candidate will get out of working for the organization in that particular role. This could include opportunities such as working with other teams across the country, going out to do field work, connecting with the community and/or seeing results of your work in real time. This helps a prospective candidate understand the context in which their work will be done.
4. Be authentic and transparent. Cordeaux says, “It’s better to be honest about your context, even if you’ve got big thorny problems, rather than to create false expectations.” She adds, “This may be a generational difference.” Rather than expecting or wanting organizations to always put their best foot forward, “Young folks want radical candor. Don’t sell something that doesn’t exist.”
5. Write clearly. The young people interviewed for Imagine Canada’s 2017 Young People and Nonprofit Work report advises those posting jobs: “Save time and limit misunderstandings for both job applicants and hiring staff by using clear and comprehensive language in job postings. Job descriptions should be easily understood, even by those who are new to work.” It might be useful to have someone outside your subsector read through a job ad to ensure that you aren’t using excessive jargon that would be unclear to a candidate who is new to your work. Barr often sees job postings that are full of acronyms that may be common inside the organization or the sector, but not so common to first-time applicants. “I always recommend spelling out and explaining acronyms. What is an ATS, CMS, etc? Don’t assume that your applicant will know what these are.” Cordeaux also reminds employers not to write off candidates if they don’t get the jargon right in their job application, especially if they are coming from a different background or don’t have extensive experience in your field.
6. Classify the job accurately. A number of young job seekers get stuck in a vicious cycle where relevant paid experience is a requirement even for entry-level positions, a situation which can be almost impossible to remedy. While an organization always wants the most qualified candidates, the Imagine Canada report advises, “Only classify a job as entry-level if it is truly for entry-level applicants, for example, a job that requires three or five years of relevant paid experience is not entry level. If a position is entry-level, think twice before asking for relevant paid experience.” Cordeaux adds, “There is a lack of true entry level positions which means that the sector is missing the opportunity to hire eager talented young people who can’t get their foot in the door.”
7. Think twice about requirements. Cordeaux, who wrote the Imagine Canada report, observes that educational and skill requirements are not always as necessary as an employer might think, and can be real barriers for top candidates. “Think carefully about whether an MA or even a bachelor’s degree is necessary for the position you are hiring for.” She adds, “This can be an unfair hurdle especially if you are trying to increase diversity at your organization.” A good job candidate, Cordeaux says, can be trained for the job.
8. Offer permanent positions where possible. A lot of work in the nonprofit sector can be classified as precarious work, where staff are hired on contracts that may or may not be renewed. For emerging professionals who have significant student debt this can make it difficult to work in the nonprofit sector without the support of parents or a partner working in another sector. Cordeaux says, “Offering a permanent position is a huge draw for younger job seekers.”
9. Talk money. Money is always a contentious issue, especially when lower salaries can potentially mean more money to programs. But, as the Imagine report says, “When salary ranges are disclosed on job postings, job seekers have an easier time identifying whether they are an appropriate candidate and can afford to live on the salary being offered. This is a more efficient hiring process for both hiring staff and applicants.” Cordeaux adds that disclosing a salary range also says a lot about the authentic culture of an organization.
10. Remember you offer more than money. “Juliana,” a job seeker who is considering the nonprofit sector says, “My assumption is that people in the nonprofit sector are getting paid at a discounted rate as compared to private sector. The fact that they are doing social good has played into compensation – they can feel better about their job because they are doing something positive.” But there are also benefits beyond good feelings that can be offered to job seekers. Holly McLellan, executive director, Youth and Philanthropy Initiative Canada, reminds organizations that they can offer benefits such as more vacation time , while Alyssa Lai, co-chair, Connect the Sector says, “Nonprofits get bogged down with salaries and forget there are other things that make a job fulfilling. This could be the opportunity to stretch yourself and to try things out that are slightly out of your wheelhouse, but it could also be things like job titles. I hope employers think about what makes a job fulfilling beyond a salary.”
Susan Fish is a writer/editor at Storywell, a company that helps individuals and organizations tell their story well. She has written for the nonprofit sector for more than two decades and loves a good story.
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