Have you ever wondered how or why there is such a disconnect sometimes, between the job adverts that you are advertising and the types of candidate that have applied? You want pedigree candidates, and all you get are muppets that apply!!

The starting point for any job advert (for the majority of companies is the job description that you have created. But does it REALLY reflect the type of person you are trying to recruit? Chances are it doesn't……….. does it? Who wrote the job description? Did you entrust a line manager with the task? Did you palm it off to one of your juniors?

Here is a really great tip to see if you are in the right space with your job description verses the skills you are seeking to attract. You use an online tool called Wordle. Wordle creates word clouds out of text - with the more common and prominent words being larger in size. So here are the 7 simple steps to recruit the candidate you really want using Wordle.

Step 1. Take 2 or 3 CV's of previous candidates that have been successful for previous similar roles (or CV's that you really rate for the position).

Step 2. Cut and past the text of the CV's into https://www.wordle.net/create

Step 3. Change the font (above the image) and colours to your choice, and you have a word cloud of all the keywords you are looking for in the person you want to hire. Do a screen print.

Here is an example of a Retail Manager CV:

Step 4. Now do the same for the job description. Cut and past the text into a new screen - https://www.wordle.net/create - making sure to change the font and colours to the same as above for a direct comparison (just as I DIDN'T do here!).

Here is the Retail Manager Job Description:

Step 5. Now compare the two! How far apart are they? (especially in the above example!) Worrying isn't it?

Step 6. Maybe check it with another couple of CV's, and then set about re-writing the job description to reflect the skills you are looking to recruit.

Step 7. Now, re-write the advert accordingly for posting online where-ever you choose.

The trick with this tip, is the more accurate CV's of target candidates you input, the better results you are going to have. In this example I just used one applicant.

This is a quick, neat trick to see how close you are to your candidate aspirations. Give it a try!

Thanks to Shally Steckerl for the inspiration for this tip.

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