Ways to Simplify Your Job Postings for Students

By Victoria Robertson on October 11, 2017

When posting job positions online for students, it’s important to remember simplicity. While you certainly don’t want to compromise the quality of your posting, and you don’t want to leave anything out, you only hold a student’s attention for so long. In the modern age of technology, the next position is only a click away.

So how do you keep a student worker’s attention? And how do you keep your postings simple, yet still interesting?

Here are some tips to help you simplify your job postings for students.

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1. No full sentences

It has become a habit to utilize full sentences in almost every situation. However, in job postings, full sentences just don’t belong. For one thing, long sentences tend to lose meaning about halfway through. For another, postings are typically just a list of items either in terms of qualifications or job requirements, so writing them out in full sentences just doesn’t make sense.

You want to be short, sweet, and to the point. So use bullet points or other formatting tools as necessary, but avoid turning the description into a narrative, because I promise, it’s not going to read like one.

2. Don’t include everything

Including a laundry list of items in a job description is a huge mistake. For one thing, students are going to lose interest about halfway through. In addition, it’s easy to get lost in long lists and think “I’m not qualified for this.” Essentially, the longer the list, the more likely you are to lose students’ interest.

A best practice for posting positions, keep the job description concise and only include essential items. You can include such information as “nice to haves” if the “must haves” aren’t too lengthy. However, again, you want to make sure you’re keeping it as short, yet truthful, as possible.

3. List qualifications

Again, including items in a list format is going to be your best means of keeping student interest. By listing the job requirements, students can go down the list and check off those they meet (or those they don’t).

This makes it much easier for job seekers to determine whether or not they are qualified for a position, and it makes them more likely to read through the entirety of the requirements if they are clearly listed out.

4. Be clear

While you are trying to be as concise as possible, you also want to make sure you are being clear. While you want to avoid full sentences, don’t leave out pertinent information. For example, if a position requires a bachelor of science, don’t just say “Bachelor’s degree required.”

You definitely want to continue to be as specific as possible, but you don’t want to compromise the clarity/content of your posting either. So be specific but to the point. Definitely include all the details that you need but do so in a quick, breezy way whenever possible.

5. Know your audience

Your main audience here should be the focus of your posting. If you are looking to draw in recent grads, make sure that your voice is fitting to that audience. For example, if the position is an entry-level opening in marketing, your hook can relate to gaining experience in that field.

In other words, you don’t want to post positions that aren’t going to be relevant to your audience. So if you’re looking for a part-time opening for current students, be sure you are mentioning the flexibility of the schedule, etc. So sell the position you have to the audience you are targeting.

6. Include key terms

Finally, you want to include as many key terms as possible. As discussed in the previous point, the more you appeal to your audience, the better. So if you have an opening for recent grads, include terms such as “entry-level” or “foot in the door.”

These descriptors are great for search engine optimization. In addition, you want to include terms relevant to the position and industry. For example, include terms such as “clinical research” when targeting students for a pharmaceutical company.

The more deliberate you are in your word choice, the more likely you will find candidates that are interested in the position you have.

Again, when you’re making a job posting targeted towards students, simplicity is key. The quicker you’re able to pull in your students’ attention, the more likely you are to keep it.

When you’re posting a position, your main goal is to draw interest, and the best way to do that is to keep the description short, sweet, and to the point. By following the above steps, you will be well on your way to accomplishing that feat!

So get out there, post your positions, and remember to keep it simple! That’s the best way to draw in some much-needed attention!

Good luck!

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