The costs of hiring the wrong person can be high. Apart from the time and effort involved, the appointment of a bad egg can be disruptive and damaging. It all starts with the job advertisement. I routinely scan the ‘positions vacant’ section in the agricultural press, and find that the quality leaves much to be desired.
READ:The right person for the job
Consider these two ads which appeared recently:
Farmer manager needed – Must be able to manage four to five livestock farms, develop and implement budgets. Minimum eight years’ experience in livestock farming. Must be computer literate.
Mechanic needed – Responsible for all mechanical work on farm – tractors, vehicles, trucks, implements, packhouse, irrigation. Basic experience: electrical, auto elec, welding, good labour skills. Fax CV to…
Now, take a look at the same advertisements, written with a bit more creativity:
General manager livestock farms
The owners of a progressive, growing livestock business on XXha seek a general manager. Do you have a love of livestock, at least eight years’ experience in livestock farming? And are you willing and able to take full budgetary responsibility? If so, we offer a competitive market-related salary, free serviced housing, a company vehicle, medical aid, pension, insurance and XX days’ leave. Please send CV to…
Mechanical foreman
Live next to the Kruger Park with a view of the Crocodile River! A leading banana and cane farm seeks a top-class mechanic to join its team and take charge of all farm machinery and equipment. Potential candidates should have an appropriate qualification, management experience and a love of the outdoors. We offer a monthly salary of RXX, free housing, a company bakkie, medical aid, pension, insurance and 20 days’ leave pa. Contact us for an application form…
Which two ads grab your attention and why? Which build a greater desire to be part of the advertised firm?
A convenient formula
Anyone can write a good ad if they do it the AIDA way:
A – Attention
Get the reader’s attention.
I – Interest
Stimulate an interest to continue reading.
D – Desire
Create a desire to be part of the organisation.
A – Action
Call for action to apply for the position.
Irrespective of the type of job you’re advertising, spend time on the ad and make sure it conforms to the AIDA acronym.
What sort of information should you include?
Good ads usually contain the following:
- A brief but punchy description of the firm.
- A description of the job and what is required of the appointed person.
- A description of the kind of person most suited to the job (such as ‘must love outdoors’), with a clear outline of the essential qualifications.
- Clear instructions on when and how to apply for the position.
Before you start writing…
In order to provide this information you need to do your homework before drafting the advertisement:
Step 1: Job specification
The starting point of any successful recruitment process is to be clear about the job. You therefore need to write a job specification. Decide on the job title, then write a succinct description of the job and its objectives. List the main duties, tasks and responsibilities. Identify the position in the company and the reporting lines.
Step 2: Candidate specification
Identify the attributes, educational qualifications, skills and experience you’re looking for in a candidate. Distinguish clearly between what is essential, and what is desirable.
Step 3: Package and benefits
Compile a detailed list of the conditions of service. In addition to the salary, include all those perks normally offered only by farmers – housing, electricity, water, domestic help, farm produce, school transport for the children, and so on.
Step 4: Application process
It is far better for candidates to use a standard application form. This makes it much easier for you to extract the information you need. Create an application form you can email to all candidates. Acknowledge all queries promptly, and tell the applicant what happens next.
Step 5: Where to advertise
Decide whether to have a classified or a display ad. Choose the medium that you feel will best reach your target audience: the Farmer’s Weekly, for example, a local or national newspaper, or a website. You might want to use more than one of these. Study some of the better advertisements in the selected media before drafting your own. Finally, use the AIDA acronym to check your draft and test it on your staff. If it gets their attention, stimulates interest, creates a desire to respond and leads to action, send it off!
This article was originally published in the 10 October 2014 issue of Farmers Weekly.
