Most job adverts are written to maximise the number of applications, but that is the wrong target for a small business. You don’t need hundreds of CVs to sort through; you need three or four people who can do the job well and fit how you work. Writing to attract the right person, rather than the most people, means being specific, honest, and a little more selective in your wording from the very first line. Here’s how to do it.
Skip the generic opener about being a “fast-paced, dynamic team” (nobody trusts this any more, and it tells the reader nothing). Instead, open with what the person will actually spend their time doing in the first few months. Specifics filter people far better than adjectives do. Someone who wants that kind of work will read on, and someone who doesn’t will move to the next advert, which saves everyone time.
Every role has a downside: early starts, a messy back office, awkward client calls, working alone most days. Naming this plainly does two things:
1. It puts off the people who would have left within three months anyway.
2. It earns trust with the people who stay, because you have shown them you won’t sugarcoat things once they join.
This feels counterintuitive, but it works. A line such as “this role won’t suit someone who wants a lot of structure and clear daily instructions” does more to filter your applicant pool than any amount of required experience or qualifications ever could. People self-select out, which means fewer unsuitable applications land in your inbox.
Long lists of “essential” and “desirable” skills tend to put off good candidates who don’t tick every box (this affects women and underrepresented groups disproportionately, according to widely cited hiring research), while doing little to stop unqualified people applying anyway. Cut the list down to the three or four things that genuinely matter, and separate “must have” from “would be useful, but we can teach it.”
If your business is small and a bit chaotic some weeks, say so. If decisions get made quickly without much process, say that too. Candidates who thrive on structure will opt out; candidates who thrive on autonomy and change will lean in. Matching culture honestly at the advert stage saves you both from a mismatch six months later.
Vague phrases like “competitive salary” put people off more than they attract them. Give a proper range, be clear on what determines where in that range someone lands, and say a word or two about what progression could look like. This is one of the biggest filters: people who aren’t motivated by what you offer will not apply, and those who are will apply with more confidence.
If you’re hiring for a role that needs attention to detail, ask for something in the application that tests for it, such as a short written response to a specific question rather than a generic covering letter. If you are hiring for a creative role, ask to see examples of the applicant’s own work. The process should start filtering for fit before you even open a CV.
If your business is warm and informal day-to-day, write the advert that way. If it’s precise and process-driven, let that come through too. Candidates form an impression of what working with you will feel like from the advert alone, so a mismatched tone sets the wrong expectation from the start.
Writing an advert this way will likely mean fewer applications overall, and that’s fine. The point was never volume; it was finding the small number of people who genuinely fit the role and the way your business works, and giving them enough honest information to say yes with confidence.
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