Job ads that tradespeople actually read

Why the first two lines decide everything

Most job ads are written as if the applicant were sitting at a desk with time to read in peace. The reality looks different. The journeyman scrolls on the phone, in the lunch break, between two building sites, or late at night on the couch. He reads two lines, decides in four seconds whether he keeps tapping, and jumps to the next ad.

That changes everything. The second half of your ad is irrelevant to the applicant if the first half does not hold him. The finely worked requirement bullet points, the legally clean collective-agreement notes, the we-offer list at the end – all of that is only read if the first two lines have achieved what they should: say what it is concretely about, where, and with which first anchor.

Stefan, a plumbing and heating contractor in Carinthia with 14 employees, went through this in practice. His old ads were formally clean – and brought hardly any applications. His new ads are formally shorter and bring measurably more fitting applications. The difference lies in the first two lines, plus consistently in the language and in the omitted phrases.

What is visible first on the phone — and why that changes everything

A smartphone typically shows a job ad in a narrow column with a font size between 16 and 18 pixels. At an average resolution, roughly 35 to 50 characters fit in one line. Above the fold, that is before the applicant even scrolls, you see about three to five such lines.

That is the space in which your ad decides. If it reads "Employee (m/f/d) in the area of plumbing and building technology", the applicant has used three of the five lines for formalities and still knows nothing about the position. If it reads "Plumber with experience – Villach – company car privately too", he has the job, the place, and a concrete anchor in one line.

That is not marketing magic, that is space economy. Anyone who uses the scarce opening space for mandatory information or generic advertising has pushed the actual content downwards – where fewer eyes see it.

Before and after — the plumber position

Stefan's old ad started like this: "We're looking for YOU as a motivated addition to our committed team in the area of plumbing and building technology (m/f/d). Our modern family business with a long tradition offers you a varied field of activity in a future-proof industry."

Four lines, zero substance. The job only in passing, no place, no conditions, no information that brings the applicant to a decision. It could just as well have come from the sanitary firm in Vienna as from the electrician in Bregenz.

The new version: "Plumber with experience – Villach – company car privately too, tools fully provided, collective agreement plus 15 percent. After onboarding you drive your own maintenance and heating tours in Villach and the surrounding area. Stefan and four colleagues, all on board for at least three years."

Three lines, all substance. Job, place, three concrete advantages, a concrete statement about the working day, a team statement for trust-building. The applicant knows after three lines whether he wants to read on – and if he reads on, then with a clear picture in his head instead of an empty one.

The background on why this kind of language attracts different applicants than advertising sentences is in the article on why the wrong people keep applying.

Before and after — the apprentice position

Apprentices between fifteen and seventeen read job ads differently than experienced journeymen. They are suspicious of advertising language, they want concrete reality, and they decide within the family – parents often read along.

Stefan's old apprentice ad read: "Apprenticeship plumbing and building technology – become part of our team and shape your future. We offer an exciting, varied training in a future-proof industry with a chance of being taken on after successful completion."

The new version: "Apprenticeship plumber – Villach – start September. First year of training: getting to know the tools, helping in the workshop, from month three riding along to the building site. Apprentice pay collective agreement plus 10 percent, vocational school fully paid, trainer Stefan is also the boss – short paths. Taking on after completion offered every year in the last five years."

Four lines, all concrete, nothing lied, nothing embellished. Parents read along and can assess what their son or daughter will actually be doing. The apprentice sees the plan, the conditions, and a note on the practice of being taken on – so not "chance of being taken on" as an empty phrase, but a documented tradition.

Before and after — the workshop management

Higher-qualified positions are read differently. Anyone looking for workshop management often already has a job and examines options calmly – but examines them more critically too. Advertising language does not deter this target group, because they know it. But it filters them out, because it does not cover their information need.

Stefan's old ad for the workshop management read: "Responsible leadership task in our dynamic family business. You take over the management of our workshop and lead a committed team. We offer performance-based remuneration and a modern working environment."

The new version: "Workshop management – Villach – responsibility for four journeymen, one apprentice, and the weekly planning. Gross pay 4,200 to 4,800 euros depending on experience, plus company phone, company car privately too, own office space in the workshop. You plan the tours on Monday morning, I take over the customer contacts and the quotation phase – we discuss the week in pairs on Tuesdays."

Three lines, a concrete task picture, an honest pay band, and a concrete cooperation statement. The applicant knows what he will have to do, what he gets, and with whom he will concretely work. That is more than most competitors ever deliver – and it costs twenty minutes of writing.

Seven words you can strike from every job ad

From around 60 job-ad audits in recent years, the same seven words keep coming up. They seem harmless, almost positive – and fill valuable space without delivering information. Anyone who strikes them without replacement has a shorter and more concrete ad^[1].

"Dynamic" – says nothing about how the business works. Replacement: a concrete description of what a typical week looks like.

"Motivated" – is an expectation of the applicant, not information. Replacement: what the position concretely demands.

"Committed" – synonym for "motivated", only doubles the hollowness. Strike it.

"Modern" – in the trades context almost always undocumented. Replacement: a concrete statement about tools, workshop, software.

"Future-proof" – has no equivalent in the position reality. Strike it.

"Varied" – describes every job that no one does uniformly for eight hours. Strike it or replace it with a concrete statement.

"Family-like" – is often used as an embellishment for "small business with informal structures". If that is what is meant, write it like that – "business with twelve people, everyone knows each other by first name, no dedicated HR".

Anyone who strikes these seven words from their ad immediately gains space for concrete statements. That is the fastest step from the phrase ad to the plain-language ad. The mindset behind it – thinking of the career page and job ad as a marketing discipline instead of an HR duty – is in the article The career page is marketing, not HR.

Frequently Asked Questions

What you can do this week

Take your currently advertised job ad, strike the seven phrase words from the section above, replace them with concrete statements from the real working day. Read the result on the phone. If you now see more information in the first five lines than before, you have used the fastest lever right in front of you.

Anyone who wants to take the step from the individual job ad to the structural rework will find the bigger picture in the overview of career pages that bring applicants – including the question of how job ad and career page interact.