Long gone are the days when a bold 1/4 page ad in a broadsheet or glossy trade journal will attract the right people to your business, and everybody knows it. Employers and job seekers alike are utilising the internet so effectively that the medium itself has virtually come to dominate the business of recruitment. The result of this shift has meant that whether you are posting an ad or looking for a position, you'll be left behind without going to the web. And never more so than in the case of the design, new media and creative industries. It also means that the web is saturated with such ads, so from an employer's perspective, it takes careful consideration to ensure that your ad isn't skimmed over by potential candidates. If it is freelancers you are interested specifically, the following suggestions will help overcome the problem of making your ad appeal to the right audience.

1) Get to the Point.

* Be concise, candidates will look first for a title and location. (i.e. Art Director; London)

* If you know little about the role for which you are advertising, take advice from someone who does. Designers won't be impressed by uninformed employers.

* Remember that font and case carry no powers of persuasion. Don't put the title in capitals or 'stylised' fonts.

* You don't need to be cold and formal. Make your ad stand out with a different or interesting headline. (e.g. Fashion is Eating its Head; Art Director required in London)

2) Details Detail Details.

Many candidates will not respond if the job spec is simply an overview, or just describes the type of business you are. They will be thinking of logistics such as:

* exactly what they'll be doing each day

* how far they must travel, or if they must work on location at all

* their potential earnings

* length of contract

* available benefits

* opportunities for career development.

To avoid wordiness, use lists to accommodate these details. Freelancers in the creative industries always buy into the project itself, so make sure you include what you are trying to achieve and your vision of the positive outcome.

3) Syntax.

Perhaps with exception of dealing with writers and wordsmiths, keep your language short and sweet with punchy sentences and uncomplicated grammar. Your aim is to ensure the potential applicant's interest is held throughout the body of text. Using lists and by drawing the reader's attention to important details, you can avoid the danger of loosing the right person before they have applied. The less scrolling and wading through waffly text the candidate must endure, the more likely they will be to follow up on the lead.

4) Choosing the right Keywords.

Virtually all online job seekers will be finding suitable positions by keying words into a career site search engine. The first point to bear in mind is the applicant's need to be able to narrow their search down to quite a specific field, but you must also know your target audience well enough to choose keywords appropriately. For example sound engineers might type in "Manchester Protools  Fixed-term" to produce a list of fixed-term contracts for sound engineers with Protools experience.

Check the job spec and choose the keywords it. It is important to be accurate, not only as it irritates candidates to find unsuitable positions listed, or a position which is perfect in every way bar one crucial detail, but also for your own benefit. Hits from unsuitable candidates will be misleading and a waste of cyberspace.

5) Make it Easy

The greatest mistake of the online recruitment ad is to assume that because your applicant is happy to search online, they will be willing to apply online. Probably in most cases a freelancer will understand the benefits of approaching you via e-mail, but you needn't withhold other contact details such as telephone, fax and address for this reason. The ad itself ought to encourage the reader to get in touch, it ought to facilitate contact by offering a range of methods.

Recruiting the right freelancers online needn't be a case of rolling the dice and trusting to luck. By following these guidelines you can reduce the risk of loosing the talent you need before it has even considered you, and enhance your chances of getting hits from the appropriate candidates.

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