Submitted by clemgr on
in
Forums
Any opinions to share on Anonymous Job Advertisements?
BLUF – will an anonymous posting provide me targeted applicants so I can sell our company to the right candidate?
Strongly considering posting my next advert anonymously, I personally am not keen on doing it but I feel it may be necessary for the region where the position is.
The region has been poorly managed and left without an active sale person for 3 years, no brand or name building in the area for 5-6 years.
Some of our target clients thought we closed or about to.
All this has led to a lack of interest in applying to our company in this region.
Thank you all, Good Managing.
Clem
My Experience
As I've been job-hunting, seeing an ad with "company confidential" doesn't necessarily stop me from applying, but it makes me wonder why the company doesn't want to advertise they have a position. Eventually, the person is going to find out who the company is. Having it be anonymous may help you, but people might also say "oh, that's why they wanted it to be confidential" and not call you back. I'm inferring that you may have recently become responsible for this region - that may become part of the pitch of the ad. Note that that company is looking to invest in this area and is looking for someone to assist in that. You may also want to work with recruiters who can talk to job-seekers and explain the situation rather than having people decide on submitting a resume based on an ad.
Scream it from the rooftops
As I read your post I found this to be somewhat "unnerving" -
"The region has been poorly managed and left without an active sale person for 3 years, no brand or name building in the area for 5-6 years.
Some of our target clients thought we closed or about to.
All this has led to a lack of interest in applying to our company in this region."
If your TARGET CLIENTS think that you are either closed or about to I would view that as a BIGGER problem. I would go the complete opposite to being anonymous and be as vocal as possible. Not only to get new applicants but more importantly to let your prospects know that you are ACTIVELY recruiting that region and will have a presence.
Scott
I wouldn't
There are very few organizations where secrecy is warranted. If you're not them - and you're not - secrecy says weakness.
Mark
I work in hospitality in
I work in hospitality in the UK where most of the large firms don't advertise directly, they use agencies and advertise positions without site location or brand. This, I believe is due to the typically high turnover of restaurant managers, and no company wants to be seen as having a poor retention rate.
Is it effective? Debatable, but I'm just throwing in my 2 cents.