Writing Classified Ads for Employment
(excerpts taken from the "Secret Formulas of The Wizard of Ads")

Rule 1: The ad should be about the employee, not the job.
Right now, someone is persuing the classifieds who is perfect for the position you hope to fill. If only you could figure out how to motivate him. How do you make your ad more compelling than the others? You need only describe the person you hope to find! Speak to his aspirations, interests and strengths. Your dream employee will probably not know of your business. he will not recognize the job you detail. he will see himself in the words you choose, the actions you prescribe, and the admirable traits you require.

Rule 2: Questions are the answer.
There's nothing more irresistible than a question. If, in your classified ads, you are willing to ask for exactly what you want, you will probably get it. By raising the bar and challenging a prospect to answer your questions, you will weed out the losers and energize the winners.

"Do you believe the best is yet to come ?"
"Are you willing to take risks?"
"Can you make a difference in our company?"

When your future employee reads a description of herself in you ad, she will feel like she's looking into a mirror. "Wow!" she will think. "This is the position I was born to fill!"

Rule 3: You get what you pay for.
You already know that the cheapest option is rarely the best. Stingy, short choppy ads communicate a lack of respect for the position. They give th eimpression that you really don't care. They effectivel say, "take it or leave it." Most will leave it.

Classifieds ads are no different than ads that sell a product or service. If you want a classified ad to be boring, write about the job. If you want it to work miracles, write about the person you hope to find, and don't be stingy with your words.