Job Advert - Did I over do it??

[sparkyb999]

Have placed the following advert in 3 papers and online, and the only people to ring are agenices and had no hits from people applying, can anyone see why the advert may have put people off?

To be honest, for this type of role, I did expect quite a few to apply, but to have none makes me think I have worded the advert wrong. Did I over do it by trying the sell it?

Please comment you thoughts... Cheers

An Exciting opportunity has arisen to appoint a full time Purchasing Assistant to join a highly motivated and progressive team.

• ************ is a manufacture of high precision components and has a fast paced and continuous improvement attitude.

We are seeking someone to develop the role and implement purchasing strategies. The successful candidate will have control of all purchasing activities that will include working to targets, expediting & reporting, also be working closely with the production and other departments along with day to day office duties.
We will require you to hold strong IT & communication skills, a flexible approach and possess an excellent telephone manner. The ability to work well in a team and have a desire to achieve results is also important. You may be required to carry out off site supplier & customer visits.
In return we offer fantastic working conditions, a friendly atmosphere, competitive rates of pay and a great opportunity to progress within the company.
To apply for this role, please send you CV and covering letter to the address below or call for further details:

[Dromedary66]

You didn't put down a salary range. I have never applied to a job that didn't include that.

[Rick101]

Looks OK to me. If I was hard up I'd apply for everything.

Maybe some indicator of salary and benefits would help.

[edc]

A quick cursory read but if that is on a job site then they work by key word search. Does the advert include the words 'buyer', 'buying' or 'procurement'?

[kiethton]

IMO hard to see the target career level from the advert.

Are you looking for somebody with experience or somebody that can be trained up in the role? Is prior experience essential.

I know it was local paper advertised but where is the job based?

[Disastrous]

OP, I know you've xxx'd out the company the name but is it massively important that it be anonymous?

[Dave_newcastle]

kiethton said:

IMO hard to see the target career level from the advert.

Are you looking for somebody with experience or somebody that can be trained up in the role? Is prior experience essential.

I know it was local paper advertised but where is the job based?

As per above - I am not sure what type of person/skill set it is aimed at.

Purchasing Assistant would at first indicate to me that it is an entry level job and no prior experience needed. But then advert says person "will have control" indicating it is a more senior position with responsibilities that might put some people off applying

[Jonathan27]

I think that you need to include the experience level, and think about where you are advertising it. Most procurement jobs are advertised in specialist locations; try Supply Chain online.

[bigandclever]

Well, here's a question ... in the Oxford Press version of the ad the job is in Bicester. In the jobs.DailyMail and jobsite versions, it's Buckingham (mind you, in those you're after a "Purchasing Assitant" as well, so that might be missed in keyword searches). In the Lootrecruit version of the ad you don't even give the location.

[Hoofy]

The way I read it, I think it requires experience. If I were an experienced Purchasing Assistant, would I expect to see a salary and benefits range or assume you're just offering the going rate?

[S798]

sparkyb999 said:

An Exciting opportunity has arisen to appoint a full time Purchasing Assistant to join a highly motivated and progressive team.

• ************ is a manufacture of high precision components and has a fast paced and continuous improvement attitude.

Hm. Noting overly wrong, but I doubt a Purchasing Assistant for a Manufacturer of High Precision Components is the most exciting opportunity in the world! I take an instant dislike to job ads which try and make the company sound cutting edge and amazing to work for, only to find they are a paper distributor in some stty offices in Hull. This is my own view though and probably not a reason you're not getting any responses!

I would ease back on the excitement a little. "A full time Purchasing Assistant is required to join xxx, a manufacturer of ..."

sparkyb999 said:

We are seeking someone to develop the role and implement purchasing strategies. The successful candidate will have control of all purchasing activities that will include working to targets, expediting & reporting, also be working closely with the production and other departments along with day to day office duties.

I'm not sure what seniority you're looking for. The role is "Purchasing Assistant", which suggests entry/low level, but the above sounds a bit more like you're after someone with experience or at least a bit above "Assistant".

sparkyb999 said:

We will require you to hold strong IT & communication skills, a flexible approach and possess an excellent telephone manner. The ability to work well in a team and have a desire to achieve results is also important. You may be required to carry out off site supplier & customer visits.

Nothing wrong with this bit.

sparkyb999 said:

In return we offer fantastic working conditions, a friendly atmosphere, competitive rates of pay and a great opportunity to progress within the company.

Nothing wrong with this bit either, but a salary range would be helpful, especially given the vague nature of who you're looking for. You might be putting off experienced candidates based on the fact that the role title suggests something low level or vice versa you may be putting off less experienced candidates who think you're after more of a Purchasing Manager. The lack of salary range means there is nothing to indicate who you're after.

A salary indication would attract a few responses, I'm sure.

Edited by S798 on Tuesday 4th February 18:59

[stevenjhepburn]

As already said above, it is very unclear what level this position is aimed at. The title sounds entry level, the description sounds senior.

In addition it reads a bit like a scam with the "Exciting opportunity" description, which isn't helped by the fairly poor grammar and sentence structure.

For example:

sparkyb999 said:

• ************ is a manufacture of high precision components and has a fast paced and continuous improvement attitude.

Which if broken down would say: "***** has a fast paced attitude" and "***** has a continuous improvement attitude". I don't believe a company can have an attitude.

Maybe try:

"************** is a manufacture of high precision components. We have a fast paced culture and support continuing professional development for all staff."

You also don't say much about what you are looking for in a candidate. This is what I pull from your ad:

• IT skills
• communication skills
• a flexible approach
• an excellent telephone manner
• The ability to work well in a team
• a desire to achieve results

What are you looking for in terms of qualifications, experience, and skills specific to purchasing?

Also, a salary range would be very useful.

[98elise]

Dromedary66 said:

You didn't put down a salary range. I have never applied to a job that didn't include that.

Agreed. To me it simply means you want to pay under the market rate so don't want to put it in the advert.

[sparkyb999]

some fantastic replies, thanks a lot for looking through it,

I had worried after I posted the advert, I am looking for an assistant but then stating they will have control of everything. This could put people off and confuse people. I think I need to dull it down.

There is no job role at the moment, the purchasing is done between 4 of us in the office, but our company has doubled in size in just 2 years, and we are seriously understaffed in the office.
I will pick through comments here and try to reword it for next week.

Basically I am looking for someone great to get on with, committed, keen, and will push themselves and will add something to our "team". No previous experience needed but certainly someone that enjoys a challenge

I was told not to put salary by an agency as this can put people off, so have always just worded "competitive salary"

Regards to all the job boards, I didn't have control over these this was done by the papers.. I noticed they got the locations wrong!

Also since I had a complete **** harass me I am a bit sensitive over identity especially on forums, sorry about that, that's the only reason

[S798]

sparkyb999 said:

I was told not to put salary by an agency as this can put people off, so have always just worded "competitive salary"

The trouble with that is that competitive in this context is completely subjective.

I'd suggest dumbing it down a little and putting in a range. I.e. £16-20k depending on experience. The last three words allow you to be a bit more flexible if you need to be, but likewise a college leaver is not going to be expecting the higher end of the range with no or little experience.

[KFC]

sparkyb999 said:

Also since I had a complete **** harass me I am a bit sensitive over identity especially on forums, sorry about that, that's the only reason

Then delete this thread - its extremely easy to find your company name from what you've posted in this thread already, it took me 2 seconds.

[edc]

Purchasing roles in manufacturing have reasonably well defined salary bands for the experience. Even junior roles or expediter roles can pay circa £25k

[Disastrous]

KFC said:

sparkyb999 said:

Also since I had a complete **** harass me I am a bit sensitive over identity especially on forums, sorry about that, that's the only reason

Then delete this thread - its extremely easy to find your company name from what you've posted in this thread already, it took me 2 seconds.

Yes, that's what I was trying to get at, without making it quite as blatant!

Good luck with the hunt OP...

[New POD]

What qualifications does one need CIPM, BSc, HNC, A levels, 4 GCSE's, ?

I'll apply, but I want £50K and a car.

[98elise]

sparkyb999 said:

I was told not to put salary by an agency as this can put people off, so have always just worded "competitive salary"

If the salary will people off, how does keeping it secret make things better? At some stage you will need to reveal it, so why wait until someone is part way through the process? It will definately put people off if you don't put a salary.

Imaging you are looking for a new car, loads of cars have a price, but one says "competitive price" instead of an actual number. Would that car even make your short list? Would you bother calling to see what they wanted for it? I wouldn't!

This is probably why nobody is calling about your job