The opening statements or your recruitment ad are your opportunity to stand out, to capture attention, and to attract the candidates you want. One technique to accomplish this involves harnessing the power of the question. Consider - what do you do when you read a question? When you read a question do you automatically answer it? Have you ever read a question and laughed? Or read a question and said, "As if!"?

The nature and power of questions
Obviously the power of a question is profound, perhaps more powerful than we give credit. Socrates himself suggested that the way to lead is to ask questions. Asking questions prompts answers. Asking compelling questions commands engagement. Given this, then certainly using the power of questioning is a great way to engage job seekers in reading your recruitment ads. You can ask questions knowing that the reader will be inclined to answer them. This creates an opportunity for you.

For sure there are different kinds of questions, and in recruitment advertising not all are equal. There are obvious questions, rhetorical questions, amusing questions, and there are compelling questions. For example, a question such as "Would you like to make more money" could be placed in the obvious category. Also in that category: "Are you looking for a great place to work?" (I'd like to meet the job seeker that says no to that one, then again, maybe I wouldn't!) Obviously most people would like to earn more and work at a great place. You might be served better by using the question to get beyond the obvious and into specifics that will highlight your strengths and attract the right candidate.

Compelling candidates
What does compel readers and attract the right candidates? A question that identifies a gap between what the job seeker has and what the job seeker wants is compelling. You should have two objectives with your question: to leverage the strengths of your job or your organization, and to connect that strength to what your ideal candidates want and need and that their current situation is not providing. Your question can let the job seeker answer for him or her self what is currently missing and allow them to sell themselves on your opportunity.

To create your compelling question or questions for your ads, first list the unique features of the position. To the right job seeker, these features will be strengths and will help attract the candidates you want to talk to. Whether it's the control someone has over their territory or schedule, the access they have to upper management, the option to create their own schedule, access to state-of-the-art technology, or the option to combine different roles, identify the unique strengths and pinpoint one or two to build your question on.

Choosing your Questions
Obviously, your ad is not going to be composed entirely of questions. You have only a short opportunity to grab the job seekers attention and compel the right people to read your entire ad and then reply. That is to say you can ask only a few questions before you must provide answers and details. So the goal is to have your questions lead the reader to make connections.

Your questions should be limited to two or three depending on how many strengths you have, and should be followed up with a call to action such as - Join Us, Apply Online, or Contact Us Now!

If you want to tout the strengths of your company culture you could ask: "Are you seeking a company that recognizes your value?" Or, "Do you have fun coworkers? We do!"

These two questions will lead the job seeker to provide an answer. Are they are getting their needs met with their current employer or not? If not, you may have an opportunity to attract and eventually hire this person.

Does your company culture value continuing education? If so, and if this is a competitive advantage you could ask: "Are you ready to work for a company that encourages growth by offering excellent education reimbursement?"

Perhaps you prefer to advertise the strengths of a given job. What is it about the job that might meet a need or want that is missing in your candidates' current position? Example: "Would you like to create your own schedule?" or "Do you want to work with cutting edge graphic technology?"

Occasionally you may have a position that requires an unusual skill set. Here the strength of your job may be providing an opportunity for a unique talent. A great way to make it clear that you're looking for an uncommon candidate is to ask a question such as - "Are you one of those rare people who is both a database expert and can easily teach others what you know?"

Recap
So to recap the steps for creating your compelling questions:

-List the strengths of the job, the company, or both
-Decide which two or three messages are most important to communicate
-Construct questions that present your strengths and allow the reader to make connections between those strengths and the gaps in their current situation
-Use one or two questions to compel, and a final one that calls for action

Do you have strengths that set you apart as an employer?

Are you ready to use those strengths to write a great recruitment ad?

Don't hesitate, try it now