99% of driver recruitment advertising relies on well-written job titles and descriptions. More budget will create more exposure for advertised jobs, but it does not guarantee that those leads will result in driver interest, let alone hires. Leads generated from a higher budget rather than more advanced targeting result in more unqualified candidates and countless hours wasted for recruitment teams.

In a 2019 FATj.com survey, one of the biggest challenges reported among recruitment teams in transportation was the amount of unqualified applicants recruiters received. The challenge of attracting qualified candidates and reducing unqualified candidates will not go away on its own. Creating the right recruitment advertising strategy to hire more drivers starts at the core, job title, and description.

To get started with refreshing an advertised job title or description, the team from FATj.com has prepared three methods any recruitment team can implement today to attract and hire more drivers.

Method 1: Keep job titles short, sweet, and transparent

Job titles are often too long, confusing, and vague. Recruitment teams do not do this maliciously, as this job title style ends up doing more harm than good. What type of damage can a job title possibly do to a business in transportation? It can waste a recruiter’s time and a department’s advertising budget by not encouraging the right candidates to learn more about the open position.

Take the following job title: LTL Linehaul Full Time and Part Time Owner Operator & Lease Purchase Truck Driver Opportunity. Somebody can view a job title written like this as saving time and budget since it describes multiple job opportunities within one job posting. But does this appeal to a candidate? The most common answer is “no” because they may not understand what job is promoted. Unqualified candidates or confused candidates may end up clicking on this job, only to find out they would never have applied for it anyway. Irrelevant clicks from uninterested candidates result in a waste of budget.

Ensuring a job title is written for one specific job will reduce the number of irrelevant clicks from eating away at an advertising budget. A modified version of that same job may look like this: CDL A Owner Operator Truck Driver - Home Daily - $150,000 Annual Gross. Job titles that clearly describe the position with the most engaging information result in more relevant clicks and eventual applications.

Method 2: Make jobs easy to read through

With job descriptions, sometimes less is more. Less does not mean leaving out important aspects and benefits of the job but reducing the amount of additional formatting a recruiter may find engaging. Fancy job descriptions (extravagant colors, numerous exclamation points, multiple images, and videos) do not improve click-through rates. They will often overwhelm drivers and motivate them to leave the job.

Consistent and appropriate formatting can encourage more candidates to apply for a job and have a better conversation with a recruiter during a phone screening. The easier a job description is to read, the more likely a driver will apply for that position. Some of the best ways to format a job description include:

• Include the most important information in bullets. Bullet points should be only one or two sentences long and should speak to a unique job aspect.
• Separate the responsibilities, requirements, and benefits into different sub-sections of the job description. This segmentation makes the information on the page more digestible to the reader.
• Keep content on company culture to a minimum. Company culture should be used for retention, not recruiting.
• Include a clear call to action (CTA) in every job description. Candidates know that job descriptions exist to apply for a job, but the description itself should encourage an application.

There’s no such thing as a perfect job description, as every company and candidate has different needs they will need to prioritize. Also, sometimes the formatting methods stated above aren’t possible with the media channels recruitment teams use to advertise their positions. For example, bulk job boards do not always offer the same functionality as a direct lead source. However, when possible, recruitment teams that implement methodological formatting for job descriptions will see an increase in their jobs’ readability and ultimately generate more leads.

Method 3: Don’t let the candidate’s attention wander

Maintaining and engaging an applicant’s attention with a job description involves reducing questions and over-explaining the information that matters most. An engaging hook in a job title, such as a unique benefit or salary information, will lead a driver to learn more. A detailed job description keeps the driver on the hook and helps them make a more informed decision to apply for a job.

One mistake seen by agencies and recruitment platforms recently is the prioritization of company culture over job information in the description. According to a 2020 FATj.com driver survey, the #1 reason drivers said they leave their jobs was company culture; however, it was the least important factor when looking for a new one. If the information on company culture is an overwhelming part of the job description, it can lose a driver’s interest.

Other attention-grabbing details in a job description are detailed benefits and requirements sections. Jobs that only list 401k and Health Insurance as benefits will not cut it for a driver because that information blends in with the competition. Job descriptions should always, when applicable, provide a generous amount of information, including:

• Home time
• Compensation
• General Benefits
• No-touch freight
• Rider/Pet Policies
• Mileage
• Vehicle information

When candidates understand the most valuable aspects of a job and a particular company’s offering, they will be more inclined to apply. An additional bonus to this method is that the more information and transparency a company can provide, the more educated the applicant will be during initial phone screenings and interviews. Ultimately, these tactics make significant impacts on the ROI and time-to-hire for recruitment advertising campaigns.

Summary

The winning formula for generating more leads and hiring more drivers does not always come from an increased advertising budget. The recipe for increasing lead flow can be found with free and simple strategies that can take time, patience, and technique to master. These methods have been discovered through FATj.com’s insights from thousands of job ad campaigns from companies across the country, and every new result improves future campaigns. For any recruitment team looking for an immediate win or boost to recruitment efforts, start with evaluating current job title and description strategies.