hr desk with calendar of when to post job ad

Job Ad Application Process Applicant Tracking System

When is the best day to post a job

I would have to say that the largest myth floating around the HR community is that Friday is the best day to post a job ad. I've heard this for years and it would seem that the majority of hiring managers and human resource professionals continue to follow this rule without really questioning whether or not it's effective.

I think this myth stems from the days of newspapers, where Saturday produced the biggest, and most read paper of the week. The majority of households didn't subscribe to the newspapers during the week, but instead opted for the bigger issues that came out on the weekends. Seeing this trend, large companies decided to forgo advertising their jobs during the week and instead wait until the weekend paper to push their jobs out.

For years job seekers would rush out to grab a paper on Saturday mornings, circle the most promising of the "Help Wanted" ads and set to work on applying. But with the rise of the internet and subsequent fall of the of printed newspapers, the Saturday morning Help Wanted section has become all but obsolete.

So, with Saturday papers out of favor, where are job seekers looking for jobs?

The internet is everything in 2019. It's no secret that if you want something to be seen, the internet is the best place to put it. With job boards like Indeed and Monster hitting over 300 million unique visitors in traffic every month, it's a no brainer you'll want to push your open positions to those large boards. Using those job boards, alongside social media, employee referrals, your company's career site, and a quality job ad, there's no reason you shouldn't be receiving tons of qualified applicants.

So, what is the best day to post a job?

As soon as your job ad is ready! (Not great at writing job ads? We can help!) With this shift to using the internet to advertise your job, your job ad could begin getting views as soon as it hits the web! It may even be getting more views during the week in the middle of the day! WHAT? Sounds counterintuitive but it's true. Studies have shown that when employees aren't happy at their current jobs, they'll hop on to surf the web for new opportunities during their break time.

Now that you know when to post a job, what's next?

While it may seem like posting the job is the hard part, there are actually a few more things to consider.

1. First, you'll need a great job ad.

With the potential of your job ad being seen by millions of job seekers, you want something unique, personable and engaging to draw them in and compel them to apply! Read more about writing a great job ad, or take advantage of isolved Talent Acquisition's amazing job ad writing service and let us do the grunt work for you.

2. After you capture their attention, give them a simple way to apply.

So many job seekers start but ultimately abandon the application process because it's simply too long for an initial interaction. Consider implementing a two-stage application process to get only the minimum information necessary, requesting additional information only after their initial screening.

3. Create a hiring strategy that includes where you'll store and manage all your applicants throughout the entire process.

I cannot stress this step enough. Having a database of previous applicants as well as notes as to why they weren't hired (or where they were at in the consideration process) will save you time and money in your future recruiting endeavors. A great solution for this is to invest in a quality applicant tracking system that allows for simple applicant management and provides easy collaboration between hiring managers.