What Company am I Applying To?
- Interesting title (Marketing Coordinator)
- Appealing salary range ($55k-$60k)
- Duties in line with your own experience(s)
- Requirements that you possess (3-5 years experience, 4-year degree)
Even the job location is a place you desire to relocate to. Everything looks good, but as you scan the job listing, you notice one important piece of information is missing.
What company is this open position for?
Then you notice in the designated place for the company’s name it says “confidential.” What?
Employers, just a little advice, these types of job ads are far from helpful —and could ultimately harm your chances of bringing in top talent.
Putting “a fast-paced marketing agency seeks a talented team player” does nothing for job seekers. We want to know what we’re applying to. What marketing agency? What foundation? What “innovative startup”?
Vague job ads that leave out the employer’s name can deter job applicants because:
Unable to conduct research
Applying for jobs isn’t a simple task; this takes a great deal of time. And most job seekers are selective when it comes to filling out applications. They need to research the company to understand whether or not it will be a good fit. But, if you decide to forgo putting your company name on your job ad, how are job seekers supposed to learn more information about your business? This can repel candidates from applying because they don’t want to waste their time submitting to a company they know nothing about.
Generalized cover letter
You know how everyone is always telling job seekers to tailor their resumes and cover letters to each position? Well, it’s kind of difficult to do this without even knowing the company’s name. Employers are looking for the applicant who stands out from the crowd, yet not supplying the company name on a job ad forces applicants to “look the same” as they must generalize their cover letter.
Prevents follow up
Most applicants like to follow up about their applications, but it’s darn near impossible to do this without even knowing what company you’ve applied to. This is especially true when these vague job ads require job seekers to apply using a general job board like Indeed or Simply Hired.
Puts job seekers at a disadvantage
Almost every business asks an applicant—whether during a callback or interview—“So, why do you want to work for XYZ?” If when applying a job seeker doesn’t know what XYZ company is, he or she will have a much harder time explaining why the individual desires to work there. This can put the applicant at a disadvantage when it comes to being prepared for a callback or interview.
All of the above reasons can deter job seekers from applying to your business if you leave out your company’s name on a job positing. Another major reason you can lose potential candidates for this “lack of detail” is because job seekers may deem your listing as fake.
Job seekers have to sift through more and more fake job ads, especially on popular job boards. And some even get duped into going on interviews just to find out the position either 1) doesn’t exist 2) is already filled or 3) is far from what was advertised.
Moral to the story? If you company is looking for a “specific” type of applicant and potential employee, be sure to reflect that specificity in your job posting. Just as your company desires details, job seekers need details in order to submit the best applications.