How to write a job advert that gets results

Why your job advert matters more than you think

Your job advert is like the shop window for your organisation. It’s often the first thing a candidate learns about you as an employer.

If it doesn’t give them what they need, it could also be their last impression.

In our 2025 survey of public sector job seekers, more than half told us that a vague job advert would put them off a role entirely.

Public sector employers are already managing budget pressures, skills shortages, and a workforce that’s stretched thin. If you’re competing over candidates for a hard-to-fill role, that’s a problem you can’t afford to have.

We've previously explored the biggest reasons candidates aren't applying for your roles, and the advert is often where it starts.

The good news is that writing a strong job advert doesn’t require a bigger budget.

It simply takes a clear understanding of what job seekers are looking for.

In this guide, we’ll walk you through how to structure an advert that works. We’ll draw on what public sector job seekers have told us they want to see, backed by data from over 10,000 listings live on our platform in January to March of 2026.

What is the difference between a job advert and job description?

The terms ‘job advert’ and ‘job description’ are often used interchangeably, but they’re not the same thing.

• A job description is an internal document that outlines a role's duties, responsibilities, and requirements. In the public sector it is usually attached to the job advert for candidates to download.
• A job advert is an external marketing tool designed to attract the right candidates to apply.

One informs you about the role, the other persuades you to apply.

If you work in a public body, you'll know that the job description is usually written first, in combination with the person specification. When it comes time to advertise, that same document can end up copy and pasted as the advert with very little change.

Time pressures and established processes for hiring managers often make it easier to use to what’s already there.

But candidates experience that advert very differently. Over half of job seekers on our platform are scanning roles on a phone screen, often alongside several other listings.

They're making a quick decision about whether this role is worth their time. A detailed job description gives them everything, but not necessarily in the format that helps them convert into an applicant.

A good job advert takes the most compelling parts of your role and puts them where candidates will see them. They want to answer three questions quickly:

1. What does the role involve?
2. What’s in it for me?
3. How do I apply?

The job description still matters. It helps candidates to further assess the role once you’ve hooked them, to write supporting statements, and for performance assessments.

But it shouldn’t stand in for your job advert.

What makes a good job advert? What the data tells us

There’s a lot of advice online about what should feature in an advert. But most don’t draw on evidence from the people applying for public sector jobs.

We've spent the last two years asking them directly. In research with over 1,000 public sector job seekers conducted in 2024 and 2025, we asked candidates what they look for in a role, what catches their attention in an advert, and what puts them off.

We also analysed 10,000 job listings live on our platform in January - March 2026 to see which advert features correlate with higher apply rates.

What candidates look for in your job advert first

Salary and specific job responsibilities consistently rank as the top factors for job seekers when weighing up roles.

In the public sector, work-life balance is the most cited reason for choosing the sector, followed by job security and benefits. If these details aren't clear within the first few scrolls of your advert, you risk losing the candidate to another listing.

What puts candidates off a job advert?

In research for our candidate experience action plan, we asked job seekers what common advert features are “deal-breakers”.

The results were clear:

• 44% are deterred by "competitive salary" instead of an actual figure
• 12% are put off by a lack of recruitment timelines
• 12% are frustrated by missing application instructions
• 7% feel overwhelmed by excessively long lists of responsibilities.

Candidates may also choose to skip an advert if it doesn’t include:

• Expected working hours
• Whether the role is hybrid
• How many days are on-site
• The expected interview date
• A description of what the job involves day-to-day.

What our platform data shows about job advert performance

Going beyond job seeker feedback, we also looked at our listings to see what features appear most in high-performing job adverts. We analysed 10,000 job listings posted on Jobs Go Public in January to March 2026.

The single strongest finding was the impact of a clear call to action.

Adverts that include a direct prompt to apply (e.g. "apply now" or "join our team") saw a 19% increase in apply clicks over ads without one.

We also found that adverts displaying a full salary range rather than a single fixed figure saw an 8% increase in apply rate. This suggests outlining the full potential salary range of the role’s grade increases applicant interest.

Moreover, adverts that explicitly name their benefits–pension, annual leave, career development–saw a 4% increase in apply rate compared to those that don't mention them.

One finding that might surprise you regards formatting.

Adverts using bullet points didn't show higher apply rates than those without. In fact, they showed slightly lower rates. The reason is that bullet points are often used to list a large number of responsibilities, which adds to the overall length of the advert rather than making it more concise.

Formatting is still important for readability, especially when over half of the candidates on our platform are reading your advert on a mobile. But use stylistic formatting to keep ad content focused, not to list everything from the job description.

How long should your job advert be?

When we looked at total advert length on our platform, we saw apply rates peak for two types of job advert.

Apply rates were highest for very concise ads (under 250 words), and medium-length, structured ads (750-1,000 words).

The “danger zone” begins at 1,500 words. Once adverts exceed this length, apply rates drop by 31%.

Much of that length comes from compliance content that many public sector employers are required to include: Disability Confident statements, right-to-work eligibility, redeployment policies, and equality commitments.

But with 57% of candidates browsing on mobile devices, it’s important to think about what they experience on a smaller screen. The content in the opening of the advert needs to be well formatted and focused on what candidates are looking for to catch their attention.

How to structure a job advert

A well-structured advert helps candidates find the information they need quickly. The structure below follows the same framework as our free job advert template, which you can download at the end of this article.

Write a job title candidates actually search for

Your job title is the first thing a candidate sees. It’s often the only thing that determines whether they click on your listing.

If you use an internal title that doesn't match what people type into a search bar, your advert may never reach the right candidates.

In the public sector, this is a common challenge. Internal grading structures can produce titles like "Scale 6 Officer" when candidates are simply searching for "Housing Officer."

Lead with what the role offers, not what you need

Many adverts open with a long paragraph about the organisation's history or strategic priorities. Candidates are unlikely to read it.

You need an opening hook.

Job seekers want to know what the role involves, where it’s based, and what makes it worth applying for.

Your opening paragraph should answer those questions in a few sentences. Think of it as an elevator pitch.

If you can include a standout benefit–flexible working, a career development programme, or a particularly interesting project–this is the place to highlight it.

Keep your text scannable

Nielsen Norman Group found that concise, scannable text makes digital content 124% more usable for readers. This matters in the current landscape of digital user behaviour.

Use named text sections with headings: "About the role," "About you," "About us". This helps candidates navigate. Short paragraphs and clear headings make it easier for people to find the information that matters to them.

If you need to use bullet points, keep them focused. Four to six key responsibilities will give candidates a clear picture of the role. A longer list risks turning your advert into a job description.

Sell your benefits and what it's like to work for you

Public sector benefits are genuinely competitive, but they're often undersold in job adverts.

The local government pension scheme is one of the strongest in the UK. Annual leave is typically 25 to 30 days. Many organisations now offer flexible and hybrid working as standard.

Our platform data shows that adverts which explicitly name their benefits see a 4% increase in apply rate compared to those that don't. Don't assume candidates know what you offer.

Spell it out.

If you’re not sure where to start, our guide to developing your EVP in the public sector can help.

Tailor the benefits to the audience you're trying to attract. For example, experienced candidates may care more about pension and development than entry-level applicants.

Make your advert inclusive

Inclusive adverts attract a wider pool of candidates.

Keep your essential criteria genuinely essential. Long lists of requirements can deter strong candidates who meet most but not all of them. Research in the Harvard Business Review demonstrates this disproportionately affects female job applicants.

Use clear, straightforward language that doesn't rely on jargon or internal acronyms. And if your organisation is Disability Confident, explain what that means in practice. Our 2024 survey found that candidates want to see proof of inclusivity, not just a statement.

Make it easy for job seekers to apply

Tell candidates exactly what to do next. This sounds obvious, but 12% of respondents in our 2024 survey said a lack of clear application instructions puts them off a role.

Include the application method, the closing date, expected interview dates, and a contact for questions about the role. If your application process involves a supporting statement or specific form, say so.

In the public sector, application processes can be more involved than in other sectors. Being upfront about this helps candidates prepare and reduces the number of people who start an application and don't finish.

Our data also shows that adverts with a clear call to action see a 19% increase in apply clicks–it's the single most impactful change you can make. Signpost this to the reader: tell them to “apply now!”

Job advert examples: a public sector role before and after

To show these principles in action, here's how the "about the role" section of a housing officer advert could be improved with a few changes to formatting and content.

We’ve used a constructed Housing Officer role to illustrate.

Before

After

The role is the same. But the rewritten version leads with the impact of the work rather than legislation, uses a short list of key responsibilities to keep the content focused, and brings the benefits into the section candidates are most likely to read.

Job advert mistakes to avoid

Even well-intentioned adverts can fall into patterns that put candidates off. Here are some of the most common pitfalls we see on our platform, and what you can do about them.

Leading with your organisation, not the role. Candidates want to know what the job involves before they read about your corporate strategy. Keep your organisational introduction brief and put it after the role description.

Listing every requirement as essential. Long lists of essential criteria put off strong candidates who meet most but not all of them. Be honest about what's genuinely needed from day one and what could be developed in the role.

Using internal language. Job titles, acronyms, and grading terminology that make sense inside your organisation may mean nothing to someone outside it. Write for the candidate, not for your colleagues.

Missing the practical details. Our survey data consistently shows that candidates are put off by adverts missing salary, working hours, recruitment timelines, or clear application instructions. These are quick wins that cost nothing to include.

Not considering the mobile experience. With 57% of candidates browsing on a mobile device, your advert needs to work on a small screen. Walls of unbroken text, long paragraphs, and poor use of headings all make it harder for candidates to find what they need.

None of these are things you're doing wrong. Many are inherited habits or the result of time pressures that hiring managers know all too well.

The principles in this guide don’t take long to put into practice.

Lead with what candidates care about, make your text easy to scan, and don't assume they already know what you have to offer. Small changes to how you present the same information can make a real difference to who sees your advert and decides to apply.

About Jobs Go Public

Jobs Go Public is a specialist job board for UK public sector recruitment. We work with local authorities, schools, housing associations, and other public bodies to connect them with the right candidates. Our recruitment insights are drawn from direct research with public sector job seekers and analysis of hiring activity across our platform: giving employers practical, evidence-based guidance rooted in how public sector candidates actually search and apply for roles.