The digital age means that the timing of a job advert is now almost as important as the ad itself and where it’s posted. We speak to two experts and discuss when is the best time to post in order to connect with your target audience…
Traditional marketing methods meant that the classifieds were the go-to place to run job adverts. But the digital boom and seemingly unstoppable increase of mobile media has upended this approach and now, like all media, ads can be consumed anytime, anywhere – including on the commute or even in the office.
There’s a wealth of data to advise us when to post but of course it isn’t a one-size-fits-all situation, and responses vary between industries.
Image: iStock
Stacey, an Account Director, says:
“We get the majority of our applications on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. This makes sense, as Tuesday is said to be people’s most productive day, and it’s often a bad case of the Monday blues that drives people to decide to change jobs. We also have the most success with ads that people view at lunchtime, so we post ours at 11am, ensuring that they’re at the top of a board at noon.”
This theory is given weight by research from US firmSmartrecruiters.com, which studied 270,000 job listings to discover the trends behind posts and responses, in order to understand the connections between them.
They found Tuesday to be the most popular day for recruiters and hirers to post job adverts on online jobs boards (it’s also the day of the week that they found most job offers are extended to candidates). Tuesday is also the most popular day for people to apply for jobs, followed by Thursday, and the researchers pinpointed the time that the majority of people do this to be around 2pm.
Others, however, including Senior Recruitment Manager Dan, stick to the traditional TGIF theory.
“For us, Fridays are still the height of the recruitment week; that’s when I personally post my ads. People are winding down for the weekend, and are browsing on their phones away from the watchful eye of their bosses.
“In terms of time of day, between 6am and 10am is our peak time – although this is a recent development and can be linked directly to the increased use of mobiles. The type of sector makes a difference too, of course, so we get a higher success rate early in the morning for roles in finance, while for jobs in creative industries, which typically start around 9.30am or 10am, we get more hits later.
Image: iStock
“When it comes to time of year, it’s pretty steady. Obviously, we see a surge of interest in January and a slight lull in summer holidays and ahead of Christmas, but that’s about it in terms of differentiation.
“It’s worth thinking about the channels that you’re using, too, and overlaying information on those with what you know about who you are targeting. For example, my understanding is that the best time to post on LinkedIn is between 7.30am and 8.30am, noon, and 5pm to 6pm, Tuesday to Thursday. So combine that with what you know about your audience and you should be on to a winner.”
[Source: Jobsite]
