Read and understand job advertisements correctly

Learn to read and understand job advertisements correctly: Which applicants are wanted? How should your application be to get the job? What awaits you?

Not only job seekers fine-tune the wording of their application – companies also think carefully about how they present themselves and the position to be filled in the job advertisement. Applicants who read between the lines can therefore often elicit useful additional information from the advertisement: What key skills does the employer particularly want? Is overtime to be expected? And how is the working atmosphere in the office really?

It is therefore worth carefully analyzing and decoding job advertisements . We will tell you which words and phrases you should pay particular attention to.

Structure of a job advertisement

A widely accepted standard has developed for the formal design of job advertisements . This is an advantage for applicants: information and requirements are presented in a similar way, orientation is easy at first glance. In any case, this popular pattern can be admired in hundreds and thousands of versions on well-known job exchanges :

In the first place or in the headline is the open position that the searching company would like to fill. As a rule, you will find common job titles here, for example: “Online Marketing Manager (m/f/d)”. Incidentally, the following abbreviations are mandatory under the Anti-Discrimination Act and confirm that the position is open to all genders – male, female or diverse.
This is usually followed by a brief introduction to the company . The applicant learns briefly and concisely which industry the company operates in, how many employees the company employs, where it is active all over the world or what special goals it is committed to.

In the main part that follows, things really get going: the employer states which tasks the applicant has to carry out, which qualifications he should bring with him and what consideration or benefits he can expect from the company. These central points are usually recorded in bullet points – the order of the subject areas can vary.

Of course, attentive applicants often come across similar formulations and popular buzzwords: companies are of course “successful”, “innovative”, “internationally active” or everything at the same time, while people want you to “work independently” and offer “modern offices”. Don’t be put off by the uniformity, however. Because between the common PR formulas and the made-up marketing German there may be important information hidden that you can use to your advantage. Each subject area has its own special features.

Presentation of the company in the job advertisement

The employer’s self-portrayal can already give you clear indications of how you can score points in your application. It allows some conclusions to be drawn about the corporate and communication culture that is hidden behind the sometimes flowery words.

Pay attention to how the company characterizes itself and tailor your application accordingly : Are record sales and successful site expansions touted? Then the application probably requires facts and figures. For example, you can point out in the cover letter that projects you managed at your previous employer led to an increase in sales. If, on the other hand, a local family business emphasizes ties to the region, you may be able to score more points with your social commitment in the local sports club or in the community.

Do you use formal address or first name in the advertisement? Does the company pay attention to sustainability in its production? Does the company present itself as family-friendly? Try to read out what is important to the company, what self-image is cultivated. This information is worth its weight in gold when formulating the letter of application and the CV , because it allows a tailor-made cut.

Care should be taken with these formulations

However, the choice of words can also signal to you that another employer might be a better fit for you. These formulations often have a downside:

Dynamic work environment : You should have a high stress tolerance, because it could get hectic. In addition, competences may not always be clearly distributed. Small teams and flat hierarchies are nice, but they can also make agreements more difficult and cause friction.
Opportunities for advancement : Yes, of course you want to climb the career ladder. But whenever an employee is promoted, either a new post has to be created – or an existing one has to be vacated. If promotions are the order of the day, this can indicate a high level of employee turnover. And that usually has a reason.
Traditional company: “We’ve always done it that way here” – and it should stay that way if possible. In traditional or family-run companies, it can be difficult to initiate innovations. The structures are rigid, and there is great resistance to change. Anyone who wants to break new ground is usually at the wrong place here.

Tasks and activities in the job advertisement

In general, the more precisely your future tasks are formulated in the job advertisement, the better . A high degree of transparency speaks for clear structures and for the sincerity of the employer. Vague formulations, on the other hand, leave the applicant in the dark (mostly consciously): “Expansion of the customer base” can mean many things, from cleaning doorsteps in an industrial area to e-mail correspondence at the desk. The wording “Telephone new customer acquisition (contacts are provided)”, on the other hand, hardly leaves any questions unanswered. A sharpened profile of requirements also makes it easier for you to apply, because you can specifically highlight the desired skills in the application and in the interview.

It is also crucial which verbs are used to describe your future activity in more detail. They usually make it clear which role you would have to fill in the company and where you would place yourself in the company’s internal hierarchy.

Organize, shape, develop, optimize, control, take responsibility : These verbs indicate that a high degree of initiative and creative drive is expected of you. You would probably take on some managerial responsibility and actively help shape the development of the company. Instead of waiting for orders “from above”, you would have to make decisions yourself and move forward. This extra freedom of action usually means longer working hours and more pressure.

Support, look after, manage, process, process, implement : The situation is different with these activity words, which indicate a more clearly scheduled everyday work routine. A job described with these verbs would be more about implementing the things that have already been decided and planned at higher levels. You should be given less creative freedom, but your reliability and diligence would be required. You would probably have a more passive role in the company: you would receive instructions instead of giving them.

Qualifications and skills required in the job posting

This is about the proverbial sausage, here you have to deliver. After all, the company is looking for an employee who can confidently complete the tasks set. The decisive factor is: What qualifications do you have – and which do you not? Convince the HR manager with your application that you have the required knowledge and skills. If you provide hard facts , you score. The focus of your future employer when looking for employees is on three central points:

Education : Most companies make it very clear what level of formal education they want their applicants to have. If you are required to complete a degree but do not have such a degree, your application is probably on the wrong track.

Professional experience : Theory is good, practice is better – this credo applies almost without restriction in professional life. With the appropriate professional experience, the employer can assume that you will be able to put the theoretical knowledge you have acquired “on the road” and put it into practice. Logically, this requirement often represents a hurdle for career starters.
Industry knowledge : Every industry has its own characteristics and special features. If an automotive supplier is looking for an industrial clerk, an applicant can of course score with knowledge of the automotive industry. Anyone who has previously worked in the food industry will quickly lose out in a direct comparison. After all, a strong knowledge of the industry is always well received by employers.

Your application should therefore convince in these areas with clear arguments and verifiable qualifications . Show the company that you meet the requirements.

On the other hand, you may pay less attention to inflationary demanded properties. Because it feels like every job advertisement is looking for an applicant who acts “proactively” and is “flexible” and “reliable”. For one thing, these traits are difficult to prove — anyone can claim to have them. On the other hand, they are a basic requirement on the job market anyway. Which employer hires an employee whom he considers unreliable, inflexible and lazy? Even.

Care should be taken with these formulations

However, you should take a very close look at these terms and phrases – they could conceal the ugly reality that hides behind them:

Entrepreneurial thinking : The interests of the company come first and some time later all the rest. Deals, sales, returns – these are the terms that matter. Anyone who does not provide the required figures in this company can leave. Human and social concerns play a secondary role at best.

Resilience : You can actually expect that from every employee to a certain extent. Because sometimes it gets stressful at work, there is no way around it. However, if a company explicitly asks for increased resilience in the job advertisement, this can almost be taken as a warning: We have a different wind blowing and work ends when the work is done.
Willingness to be mobile : If you like staying in hotels, this job could be just the thing for you. Business trips, customer appointments, lectures, conferences: your work is waiting for you everywhere – just not at home. Anyone who would like to see friends and family during the week should think twice about this requirement.

Compensation and salary in the job posting

Of course, everyone wants a job that gives them fun and joy – and many people have found such a job. But as the saying goes, that’s only half the battle, because nobody can live on air and love alone. Eat, live, travel, everything costs money. So if not enough money ends up in the account at the end of the month , most people will have to look for better-paying employment.

But although payment is one of the decisive factors, if not the decisive factor, for many employees when choosing a career, employers like to keep specific details under wraps for as long as possible – the salary is often only discussed in more detail in the job interview. However, you will find numerous calculators on the Internet that you can use to at least roughly estimate your salary, depending on the industry and qualifications.

However, some employers explicitly ask in the job advertisement to submit the application together with a salary expectation. In this case, you should proceed tactically: Don’t try to curry favor and make yourself interesting with a comparatively low number. You’re just underselling yourself, putting your own abilities in a bad light with your low demands. On the other hand, you should of course not reach too high on the shelf – overconfidence is rarely well received.

Better orient yourself to average salaries that you can research for your position on the Internet and beat a little on top. If you have aroused the employer’s interest, he will usually contact you anyway. Maybe then in the interview he will try to negotiate your salary expectations down a bit. In this case, you have the best negotiating position. However, trading up salary the other way around is usually more difficult. Therefore, it can be roughly generalized: It is better to ask too much than too little.

Caution should be exercised with this wording

However , you should exercise caution when using language that suggests ” performance-based ” or ” performance-related ” compensation. In most cases, this is an attempt to conceal the fact that the monthly basic income is rather low. For example, anyone who wants to increase their salary is dependent on commissions that are paid for newly acquired customers or sales that have been made.

A type of seller may derive increased motivation from this situation – however, many people find the dependence on commissions to be a burden. So think carefully about whether a job like this is right for you: if things don’t go so well for a few months, your wallet may be low.