8 mistakes you're making on your QSR job listing

There are more quick-service restaurant (QSR) positions open today than people applying for jobs. That means your job listing has to work extra hard to attract applicants to your business instead of to your compeititors'. 

In helping thousands of managers recruit hourly workers over the years, we've identified a few of the most common mistakes people make when writing job descriptions that keep them from sourcing enough applicants. Pull up your open listings and gut-check them against these no-nos. A few quick edits will make a big difference in your applicant pool. 

1. Using "clever" job titles 

Don't waste your time trying to come up with unique job titles. Applicants aren't searching for "Kitchen Wizard" jobs. They're searching for "line cooks," "Dishwashers," or "Cashiers." 

Instead of being clever, be specific. List your location or a must-have skill with your job title to ensure you're getting the right candidates applying—and your listing comes up in their online search to begin with. 

2. Being too generic

Yes, you can find job description templates for virtually any job on the internet. And while these are a great way to whip up a job listing quickly, take the extra step to personalize yours. 

• What makes working at your restaurant unique or special? 
• Can you throw in a quote from a current employee about their experience on the job? 
• Can you include real photos from your restaurant featuring real employees? 
• Do you offer any perks beyond what's standard or expected? 

3. Being too static 

In the age of Instagram and TikTok, attention spans are short. Your prospective employees are attracted to imagery, video—anything eye catching. 

Capture more eyeballs by going beyond a plain text job listing and including photos from your restaurant like we mentioned above, or even a quick welcome video from the hiring manager or current employee. 

4. Hiding important information 

According to research conducted by the Nielson Norman Group, 79% of internet users scan before they read word-by-word.

Applicants are not reading every word of your job description, but they are making several assumptions from their first impression. So don't bury information in giant blocks of text. Instead, make it easy for people to get enticed at just a glance. 

• Use bulleted lists
• Bold or italicize critical information
• Include white space throughout the description
• Break up big paragraphs 
• Don’t use industry jargon potential employees might not know
• Run your listing through a spelling/grammar checker before posting it

5. Hiding employee benefits 

Employee benefit packages for hourly workers have come a long way in recent years—and candidates are on the lookout for the best ones. Everything from mental health benefits and childcare stipends to more flexible vacation/paid-time-off policies are becoming the standard. 

If you offer these benefits to your employees (and you should), give them prominent placement in your job posting. Your competition already is. 

6. Listing too many job requirements

A long list of job requirements can scare people away from applying to your position. Comb through your listing and ask yourself:

• How many of these skills are genuinely mandatory? 
• Which skills can you teach employees on the job and are less critical to include?

7. Keeping pay a secret 

Pay is such a critical piece to why someone accepts a job, so having that conversation early on saves everyone a lot of time. You wouldn't want to spend all this time reviewing a resume, interviewing, and more just to find out the applicant isn't aligned to your pay range, right? 

Not only does transparency enable candidates to self-select out, it also gives you the opportunity to wow them if you have a competitive offer. 

8. Being strict about how candidates can apply 

The more applicants the better. So, you don't want to bar anyone from submitting an application. That means accepting applicants who apply in store, online, or even via text message. 

Keeping track of applications pouring in from all different directions might sound overwhelming, but with an applicant tracking system, you can stay organized and reap other benefits like posting to multiple job boards at once.

The importance of optimizing your job listings 

There are a lot of steps that go into creating the ideal QSR job listing. It needs to be searchable, scannable, personalized, and exciting. Check your open listings against the list above to ensure you're optimizing for applicants' eyes. Our free job description checklist makes it easy to cross-check each new job listing. And once your job listing is ready to go, learn how to promote it for extra reach.