Is your job posting attracting the best agricultural talent?
Take a look at any job board or the career page on a company’s website and you will most likely find uninspiring job postings that severely fail at their main goal: getting candidates to apply.
Job postings have the potential to do so much, yet most barely elicit the desire to hit the “apply” button. How can you hire great talent if they’re not even interested in reading about the job you’re offering them?
Before we dive into crafting the perfect job posting, let’s clear up the difference between a job posting and a job description – two terms that are often used interchangeably, yet actually serve completely different purposes in your ag recruitment efforts.
Job postings are public advertisements of job openings, typically housed on company websites, social media, and job boards. They are used to market your openings and attract candidates to apply.
Job descriptions are documents outlining a more detailed and exhaustive list of responsibilities, skills, and qualifications required for a specific position. Job descriptions help you properly focus your recruitment efforts and outline your company structure.
Job descriptions are mostly for internal use, whereas job postings serve to advertise job openings to the public. Your job posting should be a trimmed down version of the full job description, also written in a way that should get the right type of candidate excited to click apply.
You don’t have to be a skilled writer in order to craft an alluring job posting. You only need what you already have:
Let the highlights of the job speak for themselves. Include unique work perks, such as free lunch or housing, or if it’s a traveling position mention which parts of the country (or world) they could visit. Brag about how your agriculture company has an awesome benefits package or mention the sales incentives rewards program. Job seekers are looking for more than just a paycheck these days, and how else will they find out what it’s like to work for your company if it’s not in the job posting?
However, too much information can be a bad thing. In 2024, we surveyed over 700 agriculture job seekers, and 53% said they would feel discouraged from reading a job description that extends beyond 2 pages or 400 words.
To avoid turning candidates off by presenting too much reading material, you should be able to summarize what you need to say in about a page or less. It should read smoothly, be fairly skimmable, and follow a format similar to this:
(Company name) is an equipment dealer or large farm, basic info on operation, size, locations, family-owned, years in business, etc. Keep it between 3-5 sentences. Consider including a link to your website or social media so candidates can learn more about your ag organization if they are interested.
What we’re looking for: A (Job Title) to join our team in (City, State). As a (Job Title), you will have the following impact on our company. Write a brief description of responsibilities and how this person will interact with other employees or customers.
What we offer: List the perks of being employed by this company, unique environment, your culture, benefits and compensation package, and any opportunities for advancement and training.
What you would be doing:
This job might be for you if you have:
When listing qualifications in your job posting, only list the minimum requirements, leaving out any ‘preferred but not required’ wish list items. Our job seeker survey found that 38% of ag candidates would not apply if they didn’t have a qualification that was listed as preferred, not required. Don’t scare away potential talent and limit your candidate pool with a lengthy, unrealistic qualifications list.
Relatable Titles: Lingo changes from state to state, and what you call a Store Manager may also be a Location Manager to someone else. Infuse similar job titles into your posting so it can be found by more job seekers searching keywords for those types of positions.
By learning how to write compelling job postings, you’re equipping your ag business to attract not only a wider pool of candidates, but the right types of candidates to your openings.
Download our FREE Job Description Template to help you write the perfect job posting for your agriculture jobs!
At AgHires, we know that hiring and retaining talent is not an easy task. That’s why our team is here to do the heavy lifting for you. Our agriculture recruiters come with agriculture industry backgrounds and serve as your strategic talent advisor throughout the entire hiring process. From job advertisements to full-service recruitment, our team is ready to help solve your farm or ag business’ unique hiring challenges.
Learn more about our agriculture recruiting services or contact us at (844) 244-4737 or info@aghires.com.