Write for one person
Before the structure, the decision: which role are you actually advertising? An advert that hedges across research, applied and platform work reads to strong candidates in each as a role with no owner. Work out which shape you need first, then write for that person and nobody else.
The structure that gets replies
Most adverts are organised for the company writing them — history, mission, team, then the job. Candidates read in the opposite order, and a large share never reach the part that would have interested them.
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1
Open with the problem
Two sentences on what is actually broken or being built. This is the only part a passive candidate reads before deciding whether to continue.
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2
Describe the first quarter
What they will work on, who with, and what "good" looks like a year in. You already know this, and almost nobody writes it down.
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3
State the constraints plainly
Salary, location and days in office, and sponsorship. All three are filters candidates apply before reading anything else.
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4
Then the requirements — briefly
Only what you would genuinely reject on. Everything else belongs in the conversation, not the advert.
The phrases that cost you applications
Some standard advert language reads very differently from the other side. None of these are dishonest, but each one quietly reduces the pool:
"Competitive salary"
Read as: below market, or we want to find out your number first. Publish the range instead — it is the single highest-impact change to most adverts.
"Hybrid working"
Read as: unclear, and probably more office than you want. Say how many days, in which office, and whether it is negotiable.
"Fast-paced environment"
Read as: under-resourced. If it is genuinely fast, describe what ships and how often — that is attractive; the phrase is not.
Cut the requirements list
A long requirements list feels like due diligence and behaves like a filter — but it filters the wrong people. Candidates who would clear your actual bar frequently self-select out at the first item they cannot claim, and the ones who apply regardless are not always the ones you wanted.
A useful test: for each line, would you genuinely reject an otherwise excellent candidate for missing it? If not, it is not a requirement.
Before you publish
The final pass
See how others are pitching it
The fastest way to calibrate an advert is to read the ones it will sit alongside.