Promising job advertisements should be as detailed as necessary and as concise as possible. The duties involved should be described as precisely and clearly as possible—while also sounding attractive—and the requirements should be realistic and verifiable. Job advertisements should always be phrased in a gender-neutral manner.

The position to be advertised should be designated as precisely as possible—for example, "Foreign Language Secretary for..." or "Fully Qualified Lawyer specializing in..."—while avoiding vague, commonly used phrases such as "Working in the XYZ Department" or "Staff member in the XYZ Department." Such designations reveal nothing about the actual tasks involved, indicating only the position's hierarchical placement within the team; information regarding hierarchy can instead be included in the job description. It is important to note that many readers initially focus only on the job title and will only read the full advertisement if the position aligns with their interests. Therefore, a precise title is crucial.

This title can reflect specific professional qualifications (such as a particular area of ​​expertise) or provide a concise, generally understandable description of the role—especially since various candidate profiles may be suitable for a single position. In such cases, it is all the more important to detail the mandatory versus desirable skills in the candidate profile, as well as the professional qualifications that demonstrate such expertise. Depending on the vacancy, the advertisement may also specify that the position is a permanent one. Finally, a start date should be indicated (either a specific date or "immediate start") so that applicants currently employed elsewhere can plan accordingly.

To begin with, the duties associated with the advertised position should be described as precisely and clearly as possible. The scope of this description depends on whether the role is a standard one or specific to a university or university of applied sciences. In the case of highly specialized roles requiring specific training, listing a few relevant key points may suffice. It is important to remember that the job description within the advertisement is intended to motivate potential candidates to apply. The more attractive the position appears, the greater the likelihood of appealing to the right, qualified candidates.

Applicants are generally more likely to remain satisfied after being hired if the duties outlined in the advertisement align with the tasks they are actually assigned later (e.g., as detailed in the formal job description). If the role profile is not yet fully defined, or if additional tasks may be assigned as needed alongside specific, known duties, it is fair to briefly mention this in the advertisement and provide a rough outline of the tasks yet to be specified. The goal is often to strike a balance between a precise description of duties and the flexibility to adjust responsibilities within a certain scope at a later stage.

The description should also indicate whether the role involves a leadership function or working as part of a team; specifying the team size can be significant in this regard. Terms such as "young team" or similar should be avoided entirely; such descriptions—which allow inferences to be drawn regarding the expected age of the applicant—generally constitute a violation of the prohibition against discrimination under the General Act on Equal Treatment (AGG) (http://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/agg/BJNR189710006.html).

The requirements profile for candidates should be defined as specifically as possible. It is important to distinguish between qualifications that are absolutely essential (e.g., based on internal company policies—such as requiring an engineer, a fully qualified lawyer, specific driver's licenses, etc.) and those that are merely desirable.

Please keep in mind that, in addition to purely technical qualifications, factors such as personnel management experience, teaching experience, familiarity with specific working-time models, or practical experience can play a significant role for many positions.

You should therefore limit the prerequisites classified as "mandatory" to those that are truly essential, while designating all others as "desirable" (or similar). This gives you the flexibility to weigh the varying levels of these attributes among individual candidates using a transparent evaluation system.

Commonly cited additional qualifications—such as communication and teamwork skills, initiative, problem-solving ability, organizational talent, etc.—do not define the core requirements profile; instead, they should be listed only to supplement the specific areas that are particularly important for the advertised position. The guiding principle here is: "Less is more."

Certain passages in job postings can be advantageous due to various legal requirements.

Examples:

Identifiable employers with contact details

We must be able to find the contact information provided in the job posting—such as telephone numbers, email addresses, and physical addresses—within your user account settings.

The email address you provide should correspond to the company and be clearly attributable to it for potential applicants.