Creating a great job posting is one of the first steps in a successful hiring process. A well-crafted job ad will not only attract the right quality of candidates for the job, but will also increase the likelihood that applicants will be a good fit with your organization’s culture and values, making selecting the right candidate that much easier for you.

At CharityVillage, about 1,000 job ads go live on our job board every month, so we talked to our internal experts to get their tips and advice to help you put together a successful job posting:

1. Be specific. Although you don’t want to be too detailed (a job posting is not a job description, afterall) providing specifics is an excellent way to prevent a large volume of unqualified applicants. Be especially mindful when advertising a junior/entry-level or office administration position.

2. Consider job titles carefully. Some job titles may have many different interpretations of what the role actually is, especially if it is unique or specific to a certain sector. You may want to define the role more clearly in these situations.

3. Have a clear list of job responsibilities. Always lead these off with an action verb and be as clear and concise as possible. For example, a responsibility might be to manage staff. This should be followed by additional information on what that actually means day-to-day. Examples could also include recruit, select, orient, and train staff, or develop and maintain job descriptions.

4. List the qualifications required for the position. These should normally be “must haves,” not “nice to haves.” You can break these down further into “Education and Experience” and “Skills and Abilities” if needed. Consider how many applications you traditionally receive for your advertised positions, and make these as tight and clear as possible to help reduce the number of applications from under-qualified applicants.

5. Provide a salary range. Many organizations are reluctant to do this in a job posting, but in our experience, organizations that post salary information generally get applicants who are better qualified and genuinely interested in the position.

6. Be creative. Advertise your organization’s unique or special advantages, especially if salary is not the biggest draw. Examples include flexible hours, office culture, sunny office space, proximity to transit, good benefits package, opportunities for advancement, potential bonuses/incentives, etc.

7. Describe your organization. Potential candidates will want to know about the work environment, so take the time to describe your organization’s mission and workplace culture. Include a link to your organization’s website where job seekers can go to learn more. By doing so, you can also ask candidates specific questions in the interview to determine whether they took the time to visit your website. Does your organization have a YouTube Channel, Facebook Page or Twitter Feed? Include links to these in your posting so people can get a sense of your organization’s culture and personality.

8. Provide details about the hours of work. Is your full-time position 35, 37.5, or 40 hours per week? Indicate what shifts the person will be expected to work, if there are flexible options, and if weekends or evenings are required.

9. Formatting is key. Bold and italics, if not overused, can highlight key information and subheadings. Wherever possible, put information in bullet form for easier reading. Always list critical information first.

10. Be accurate and thorough. Remember, quality applicants are scrutinizing a prospective employer the same way an organization scrutinizes the applicants. Leave them with a good impression of your organization by using clear language and avoiding spelling and grammatical errors.

11. Be clear on how to apply. If you want an applicant to apply with a code or to a specific person, be clear with those instructions. This is also true if you want specific information included in the candidate’s application, such as a sample of previous work, references or a cover letter.

12. If you have historically received too many resumes for a particular position, or too many unqualified resumes, try changing the application method to regular mail. Requiring candidates to print and mail their cover letter and resume will cut down on the number of applicants who just fire off resumes by email.