Jobs and the Future of Work

What makes a job advert attractive to potential employees? And what puts them off?

A person typing on a laptop.

US jobseekers like adverts that mention flexible hours and a remote work culture. Image: Unsplash/ Glenn Carstens-Peters

Martin Armstrong
Data Journalist, Statista
  • Companies need to create good job posts in order to attract the best employees.
  • Not specifying a salary range is the top dislike named by job applicants in the US.
  • But jobseekers like adverts that mention flexible hours and a remote work culture.

So often, the focus is placed on the expectations a job applicant should fulfil in order to get the role they are looking for, but recruitment is a two-way street. The vital importance of a good job posting can't be underestimated if a company wants to attract the best and the most fitting potential employees.

As a recent survey by Paychex has revealed, one of the top red flags for job applicants in the U.S. is the lack of a specified salary range. Underlining the importance, employers in New York City will be required by law from November to include pay information in their ads in order to promote pay equity. While a low base salary is an unsurprising turn-off which may be out of the recruiter's control, the third most-cited issue is when the experience requirement is perceived to be too high for position.

On the other side, employers are now increasingly under pressure to offer genuinely flexible working models. The biggest green flags for the survey respondents were flexible hours and a remote work culture. Clearly explained responsibilities were also of high value to more than half of applicants.

A graphic showing a group of applicants saying what are negative/positive in a job posting.
One of the top red flags for job applicants in the U.S. is the lack of a specified salary range. Image: Statista.
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