How can an organisation attract awesome candidates? We've compiled a few tips and tricks to write a compelling job listing. We want to help you describe your role, team, project, and the opportunity you're offering.

Set expectations

To attract awesome juniors to your organisation, you need to give them essential and relevant information at their career stage. Career starters want to know the type of work they'll be doing, how they'll get supported and what kind of environment to expect. They also feel more inclined to apply when they know what to expect during your recruitment process. There's a chance they haven't heard of your company or never considered that they might be a potential employee - so it helps to give them information and context.

You're hiring based on potential, not experience or expertise. Have a look at your current job listing - does it still look approachable to a student who may not have all the skills you are after yet? We see many students and graduates enter roles knowing <10% of what's asked for and being 110% awesome once they're in the role. Don't discount those less confident, less experienced candidates!

Describe the role as clearly as you can 

• Use a mix of technical and non-technical language - think about descriptions that will make sense to your potential candidates.

• Talk about the project, the team they'll be working on and the tools they'll learn and use.

• Describe the purpose of the role and the potential contribution they'll make to your organisation.

• If there will be opportunities for exposure to different roles or parts of the organisation, or if the candidate can choose their pathway through the internship or grad role, include this in the job listing.

• Describe how they'll be supported and mentored or any training or additional development they'll have access to.

Talk about what's required.

• If you are looking for specifics, include these. Specifics might include a university subject they've studied or project experience with a particular technology.

• Include any legal requirements such as a specific work visa status or type of study. (This will apply if you have an R&D Experience Grant through Callaghan Innovation).

Remember - the more requirements you list; the smaller your candidate pool will be. You'll have a lower chance of connecting with less confident students. Candidates from under-represented demographics are likely to have additional barriers. By adding requirements, you will be excluding many people who have the potential. Our advice is to avoid asking for specific experience. If you can teach it, they'll pick it up fast.

Explain the application process

Applying for jobs is stressful, especially if you're new to the process. You can help applicants by clarifying what your selection process will be and giving estimated timelines. 

Do you have any technical tests, site visits, follow-up interviews outside of the Summer of Tech recruitment events? Include these in the listing. If you can share tips for successful applicants, do so!

Extra Tips

• Ask your recent juniors what they think of the listing. Perhaps you are missing some of the special aspects that make your workplace appealing!

• We highly recommend filtering your job ad text through a free tool like the Gender Decoder (built in 2011, but still feels relevant!) Be clear about your organisation's goals and the tangible actions you're taking to be a more inclusive employer, and outline this in the job ad.

We hope this advice proves helpful in your search for the right applicants!