At Guru we keep a close eye on these things, we need to as it helps us optimise campaigns and target candidates when they are most active.
This insight can be extremely useful, by launching an ad just prior to peak traffic times you can ensure high exposure and optimised listings. We caught up with a few of our job board suppliers to see what their take on this subject was and what tips they had to offer.
Posing the question “When is the optimum time to post an advert on your site” to The Guardian, Reed, Jobsite, NMA, Chinwag, Creativepool, Gumtree, Jobserve, Wired Sussex and GaapWeb we received a relatively uniformed response. 9 out of the 10 job boards we spoke to recommended that the best time to launch a campaign was early in the week with most favouring either Monday morning or Tuesday morning….
JOBSITE
The best day for applications: Mondays and Wednesdays (probably slightly more on Mondays) between 11am and 12pm any day
Top Tip: “Write for the individual, answer any potential questions and don’t just talk about your company. That means clear job titles (no gimmicky in-house names), specific salaries and precise working locations”
REED
The best day for applications: The best time to advertise a Job is a Tuesday. Many people think that the weekend is the best time however Saturday and Sunday are our lowest two days typically receiving 50% less applications than a Tuesday.
Top Tip: In regards to advice for engaging audience my advice would be to make the job spec as specific as possible
NMA
The best day for applications: I’d say the best time to advertise jobs is on a Tuesday. This is when the majority of people are in the office. Time wise I’d suggest putting jobs on a website from 8.30-9.30 and then again from 12-2pm and then 4-6pm. People looking for jobs will be searching during these times when there work load is lower and there aren’t as many people in the office.
Top Tip: For advertisers to engage with their audience the key things are: eye-catching creative’s and enhanced jobs that will entice a potential candidate such as a premium listing or Top job slot. Social media is also a growing tool but it must go hand in hand with traditional advertising. You also need a strategy and not do it just for the sake of it.
GUMTREE
The best day for applications: The best time to post jobs on our site is Monday, mid morning as our stats show us that this is the busiest traffic time. However, category selection can make a slight difference to this.
Top Tip – Write a good advert, ensure that jobseekers are fully aware of responsibilities, tasks and the company working environment.
CHINWAG
The best day for applications: Traffic peaks on a Monday and starts to drop off after Wednesday, therefore we would advise posting Monday or Tuesday morning to benefit from the high traffic.
Top Tip: Increase visibility, more views = more applications
CREATIVEPOOL
The best day for applications: Monday and Tuesday are the busiest days on our site
Top Tip: Branded Adverts and good clear, descriptive ad copy.
GAAPWEB
The best day for applications: The most popular time for traffic/applications is Tuesday between the hours of 9am-1pm. Proving that people do look for new jobs whilst they are at work!
Top Tip: Give candidates detailed information on the job and employer, give as much detail as possible in order to engage with candidates through the site.
GUARDIAN
The best day for applications: Friday afternoon or Sunday evening (Antiques Roadshow/Songs of Praise/should be doing my homework time)
Top Tip: Specifics and honesty, in particular with regard to salary and location.
WIRED SUSSEX
The best day for applications: With our site we don’t get a huge amount of traffic over the weekend, our peak viewing days for the board are normally earlier in the week, Monday to Wednesday.
Top Tip: ‘sell’ your job and your company. Quite a lot of people just focus on telling potential employees what they want from them rather than what the company could offer them.