3 Mistakes to Avoid when Writing a Job Posting
Have you ever wondered where to hire the best freelancers?
I mean, maybe you’ve tried sharing that you’re hiring in a Facebook group or two and been completely underwhelmed.
Or you’ve tried to find someone awesome on Upwork and been totally overwhelmed.
Or you’ve given LinkedIn a whirl and been whelmed with disappointment. (Can you ever just be whelmed? IYKYK)
But here’s the truth: I get it!
I’ve wasted so much time, a bunch of money, and a whole lot of energy fumbling my way through all of this the first few times I hired.
But five years and about a hundred freelancers later, I know one thing… It’s not about where you find the best freelancers but how you find them.
And how you find the best freelancers comes down to one thing: THE JOB POSTING.
The Truth About Most Job Postings
The problem with most job postings is that they are usually filled with red flags that actually tell freelancers not to apply.
Vague job responsibilities, unnecessary qualifications, job titles that don’t align with the job descriptions… anything that causes a freelancer to pause and wonder if they’re right for the job is hurting your chances of finding the right one.
Think about your job posting like a lighthouse.
Does a lighthouse run up and down the beach trying to find boats to guide into its harbor?
Nope!
It’s stable. Steady. Secured to its foundation. It’s effective at guiding ships because it stays put.
Your job posting is just like a lighthouse. It needs to be honest, credible, and relevant — and serve as a beacon for you and your business.
If you have tried to hire once or even a few times and always have a small group of lackluster candidates, it is likely that your job posting is to blame.
But, it’s not your fault. It’s not like you can get a college degree in hiring freelancers as a blogger or digital business owner.
Common Job Posting Mistakes to Avoid
If you want your job posting to attract high-performing freelancers, it has to speak directly to your ideal candidates. That’s why knowing how to craft a killer job posting is so important. For 5 more reasons why you need to draft an eye-catching job posting, read my blog post on that topic here.
These are some of the most common pitfalls to avoid when crafting your job posting.
1. The job posting is too vague.
The first mistake is that the job posting is too vague.
And, by far, this is the biggest mistake rookies make when it comes to hiring freelancers.
You can see job postings that are too vague all over Facebook groups and on freelancing platforms, such as Upwork and Guru.
Typically, these vague job postings are a result of a business owner not being clear about what they need help with.
Here’s an example of one that was in a Facebook group a while back:
Virtual Assistant Required
Hi All! Looking for a VA preferably based in Australia but open to chatting with anyone. Must have exceptional English skills.
TIA
This is a great time to put yourself in the shoes of a freelancer and ask yourself, “What does this business owner need help with?”
If you have no idea, we’re in the same camp.
And the best freelancers… the talented, high-performing freelancers who are dreamy to work with, can tell that this business owner doesn’t know either, and they are not going to spend their time pursuing this opportunity.
That’s why it’s critical that you’re specific. If you’re not sure how to do that, you can start with these questions:
What do you need done on a daily and weekly basis?
What do you expect on a monthly basis?
What one-time projects do you need help with?
2. The job posting is expecting too much from one freelancer.
The second mistake is expecting too much from one freelancer.
On the surface, these job postings usually aren’t vague. They are definitely specific. But, unfortunately, not in a good way.
Below is a list that was taken from an actual job posting. This is what one business owner wanted to outsource to a virtual assistant for five hours a week.
Manage Contact List/Tags on Kajabi
Update Sales Calls/Leads Spreadsheets
Research speaking/networking opportunities
Schedule Podcast interviews
research podcast guests
Create content calendar (email, social, podcasts)
research keyword optimization for blog posts
Repurpose email content for blog posts
SEO
Create PDF guide freebies
Schedule Emails (Kajabi)
Social media trends/hashtags research
Facebook ads research
Expecting one freelancer to be able to repurpose email content for blog posts and create PDF freebies and have experience with Facebook ads and be an expert in SEO is not realistic.
By the way, I should mention that this particular mistake usually happens innocently enough. The business owner is usually used to doing all these things themselves, so they think they should be able to hand these tasks off to one person.
So sometimes, it takes an outsider’s perspective to catch this one. How do you take that step back and look at your job posting with an objective eye?
If it looks like the job would be in three to five departments at a Fortune 500 company, then it’s time to divide the duties and prioritize which role you need to fill first.
3. The job posting is too embellished.
Finally, some job postings are just too embellished.
Here are a few of the responsibilities I saw recently in a job posting for a Social Media Manager:
Create original social-first content for both organic and sponsored contexts and execute delivery on social media sponsorships.
Regularly report on content performance and effectively present social insights, optimizations, and best practices for the brand.
Test and optimize social strategy based on data and insights, developing learnings to evolve audience growth and acquisition via social channels.
Collaborate cross-functionally to support all marketing efforts, including but not limited to: influencer activations, product launches, and brand campaigns.
This mistake is usually made by bloggers and digital business owners who have experience hiring at large companies. It makes sense that they think their corporate hiring experience will translate to finding freelancers, but it just doesn’t. For more reading on why this is, check out this blog post.
Based on my time at a Fortune 500 company, I noticed that job postings with complicated, confusing language were the norm and still are.
Usually, these hiring managers think that making the job sound more important or glamorous makes it more attractive. What they don’t realize is that the company is so large and well-known that they could put pretty much anything into the job posting and people would apply. In fact, a lot of people would apply.
But when it comes to hiring freelancers as a blogger or small digital business owner, you have to make the job posting easy to understand.
If a freelancer doesn’t know what you want them to do, they aren’t going to apply.
3 Job Posting Tips
So, now that you know the most common mistakes to avoid, I want to leave you with 3 tips for writing an attractive job posting.
Be specific about what you need help with. The freelancer needs to have enough information to be able to decide if they can do what you want them to do, and if they want to do it.
Demonstrate that you’re clear about who you want to work with. What kind of experience are you looking for? What characteristics will they have? You want your ideal candidate to see themselves in your job posting.
Use simple language. Freelancers looking for work are constantly scanning job posting after job posting. And nothing will make them keep on scrolling faster than a job description that’s so filled with overly complicated words that they can’t quickly understand what the job actually is.
Simplify Finding the Best Freelancers
If you’re tired of making the same hiring mistakes or winging it and hoping for the best, you don’t have to go it alone.
My signature course, The Hiring Fix, takes all the guesswork out finding, hiring, and managing the best freelancers. It’s filled with videos, activities, templates, and samples so you can get started on your hiring journey right away.
