How to write a job ad locals actually answer

A job ad is an ad. The good people you want already have options, so your ad has one job: give them enough real information to decide you're worth two minutes of their time. Here's what works, based on what seekers actually respond to.

Say the role and the suburb in the title

"Barista - weekend mornings, Fitzroy" beats "Join our dynamic team!" every time. People search by role and place; titles with both get found and get clicked.

Show the pay

Ads with a visible pay rate get dramatically more applications, because pay is the first thing every seeker scans for - and hiding it signals it's below market. Quote the real hourly rate including casual loading if it's a casual role, and check you're at or above the award using the Fair Work pay calculator.

Be specific about the hours

"10-15 hours across Thursday to Sunday, must be able to open at 6:30am" lets the right person self-select in and the wrong person self-select out - which is exactly what you want. Vague "flexible hours" ads attract applicants you'll have to filter out later.

List the must-haves, skip the wish list

• Required credentials only: RSA, food safety, a driver's licence. Every extra "nice to have" costs you good applicants.
• Two or three sentences about the actual work: what a normal shift looks like, who they'll work with.
• One sentence about your business - people would rather work for a place with a face than a logo.

Keep the application short

Every extra step loses candidates - especially for casual roles, where nobody writes a cover letter. On My Local Jobs an application is availability, a short note and an optional 60-second video, which tells you more about how someone will greet your customers than any resume. See the features or post your ad- our AI helper will draft it from a few dot points, and it's live in about five minutes.