Create a job advertisement

If you expect your role will attract many candidates, or you’re recruiting multiple candidates, you may want to consider a recruitment agency.

They can help with advertising and managing the application process. They can provide additional services such as psychometric testing as part of the selection process.

See the Queensland Government's standing offer arrangement for office-based staff (government network access required) to find out about employing permanent and temporary staff through recruitment agencies.

Speak to your HR team to see if a recruitment agency is right for your situation.

If your agency uses Queensland Shared Services to advertise your vacancies, see Advertise a role (for advertising your role internally or externally) or Create an Expression of interest (for promoting your role internally via your intranet or email).

They’ll help you write your expression of interest and provide a unique link for you to promote it or write and publish your job advertisement (as requested) to:

• internal Smart Jobs and careers (government employees only)
• external Smart jobs and careers (internal and external)
• external media (web and print).

The directive relating to recruitment and selection sets out the information you must include in your job ad. Your agency decides whether you need to include this in the job ad itself or in an attachment such as the role description.

Short description

Your job must have a short description. Sell the role to your potential candidates. Use short, sharp sentences, or provide a couple of dot points. Highlight the key features of the role. How well you do this will determine whether potential candidates view your job ad.

Job ad

Your job ad should build on the information you provide in the short description. Provide more detail about the purpose and functions of the role and work unit. Tell your potential candidates what they'll be doing, and the skills needed. Make it conversational in tone. Do not provide an extensive list of key tasks.

For experience and qualifications, make sure you’re realistic and inclusive. Don’t ask for extensive experience for a mid-level role. Don’t ask for experience that limits your potential candidates to government employees.

Under Chapter 2 of the Public Sector Act 2022, equity, diversity, respect and inclusion should be demonstrated in recruitment and selection processes when deciding the eligible person best suited to the position, including during the job advertisement stage. HR practitioners and hiring managers should:

• consider how the job advertisement demonstrates your agency’s commitment to accessibility, inclusion and cultural safety
• where relevant, describe how a person may be able to contribute to the agency’s equity, diversity, respect and inclusion obligations
• give applicants confidence to self-identify their attributes throughout a process, including at the job advertisement stage
• for identified roles, describe the mandatory attribute/s applicants must possess, and any required evidence of the attribute/s.

Speak to your HR team for further information and to find out how to get your job ad approved.

If your agency does not use Queensland Shared Services, see your intranet or speak to your HR team for help. Consider using a mix of traditional and non-traditional advertising avenues to ensure diversity and reduce the risk of bias. Options include:

• Smart jobs and careers (internal and external)
• your agency's public facing website
• Graduate Portal
• JobAccess (National Disability Recruitment Coordinator)
• external job search agencies
• newspapers or industry media
• professional networks
• diversity focused forums
• recruitment firms
• social media
• advertising overseas.

See Do I need to advertise a job vacancy to ascertain how many days a vacancy must be advertised for.