How to Write a Job Ad That Attracts Good Trades

Writing a Job Ad That Attracts Good Tradespeople

The best tradespeople are already working, so a job ad has to give them a reason to leave — and vague adverts give them none. Pay range, van, hours and the type of work are the four things they scan for. If your advert hides any of them, the people you want will scroll past and the people you do not want will apply.

Start from who you are actually trying to reach

A skilled electrician with ten years behind them is not job hunting in the way a school leaver is. They are half-curious, checking a phone at lunchtime, and comparing your advert against a job they already have.

That changes what the advert needs to do. It is not a screening document. It is a pitch. Every line should answer the question “why would I move?”

The people who read every word of a long, cautious advert are the ones with time on their hands. That is rarely who you are after.

Put the money in the advert

Pay transparency is the single biggest improvement most trade adverts can make. An advert with a real range gets more applications from stronger candidates, and it saves you the two-week dance of interviews that collapse over money.

“Competitive salary” tells a good sparky nothing except that you might be embarrassed by the number. A range — with what moves someone from the bottom to the top of it — tells them you have thought about it.

If you genuinely cannot commit to a range, give the day rate equivalent, or the total package including van and overtime. Say something specific about money.

Be honest about the work

Good trades leave jobs because the reality did not match the advert. Motorway commutes that were never mentioned. “Domestic work” that turned out to be void properties. Overtime that was compulsory rather than available.

Describe the actual week: the type of properties, the typical patch, the mix of first fix and second fix, whether they are working alone or in a pair, and who they report to. Specific beats flattering. “Mostly domestic rewires and consumer unit changes within twenty miles of Reading, occasional new-build snagging” is a better advert than “exciting and varied projects”.

What to include, in order

Write it in the order a phone reader scans it:

Job title, plainly. “Qualified Electrician” or “Experienced Gas Engineer”, not “Electrical Solutions Operative”.

Location and patch. The town, and how far they will travel. Trades filter on commute before anything else.

Pay. A range, or the package. Include the van, fuel card, tools allowance and pension if you offer them.

Hours. Start time, finish time, weekends, call-out rota. Say if there is no call-out — that is a selling point.

The work itself. Two or three sentences on what the days look like.

What you need from them. Qualifications, cards, registrations, licence. Be strict about the ones that are legally necessary and relaxed about the rest.

What happens next. Who they contact, how, and how fast you will reply.

The qualifications section: be precise, not maximalist

There is a difference between what the job legally requires and what a recruiter’s wish list looks like.

If the role needs an 18th Edition qualification, an ECS card and a driving licence, say those three things. Adding “must have NVQ Level 3, JIB gold card, IPAF, PASMA, asbestos awareness, first aid and SSSTS” to a domestic role filters out most of your market for no benefit.

Name qualifications properly — 18th Edition, NVQ Level 3, Gas Safe registration with the specific appliance categories, CSCS or ECS card. Getting the terminology right signals that you know the trade. Getting it wrong signals the opposite loudly.

Red flags that put good trades off

Read your advert back and delete anything that reads like these:

“Must be able to hit the ground running” with no mention of support or training.

“Fast-paced environment” — trades read this as understaffed.

“Rate depends on experience” with no starting point.

Long lists of desirable extras that have nothing to do with the job.

“Must be flexible” without saying flexible about what.

No company name. Anonymous adverts get anonymous applicants.

Also worth avoiding: adverts written entirely in the third person about “the successful candidate”. Write to the person reading it.

Where trades actually look

Not all in one place, and often not on the big job boards.

Local Facebook groups for the trade and the town do a lot of hiring in the trades, especially for sole traders taking on their first employee. Word of mouth through merchants and suppliers is still powerful — the trade counter at your local wholesaler knows who is looking.

College and training-provider noticeboards are the route to apprentices and newly qualified people. Indeed and the trade-specific boards work, but expect volume rather than quality unless your advert is tight.

And your own customers. A homeowner who has had good work from you knows other trades.

Make it easy to apply

Every extra step loses applicants. A tradesperson reading your advert on a break is not going to build a CV in a portal.

Give a mobile number and accept a text or a WhatsApp message. Ask for three things: name, what they are qualified in, and where they are based. You can get a CV later, or skip it entirely — for most trade roles a twenty-minute phone call and a day on site tells you more than a CV ever will.

Reply within twenty-four hours. Good candidates are talking to more than one employer, and speed wins as often as money does.

Hiring only works if the work is there

The riskiest part of taking someone on is not the advert — it is the fourth month, when the wage bill is fixed and the diary is not. Before you hire, be honest about where the next six months of work is coming from.

Trade Pilot only charges when a real local job lands in your inbox, and sells each lead to no more than three trades in an area. That makes it easier to switch lead flow up as a new pair of hands comes on, without committing to a monthly cost you have to feed either way.

Frequently asked questions

Should I put the salary in a trade job advert?

Yes. Adverts with a stated pay range attract more applications from experienced trades and waste far less of everyone’s time. If you are worried about existing staff seeing it, that is a pay-review problem rather than an advertising one.

How long should a trade job ad be?

Short enough to read on a phone in under a minute. Roughly 200 to 350 words covers title, location, pay, hours, the work, requirements and how to apply.

Where is the best place to advertise for a tradesperson?

Local trade Facebook groups and word of mouth through merchants work well for small firms. Job boards give volume. Colleges and training providers are the route for apprentices. Use two or three channels rather than one.

Do I need to advertise a role before hiring someone I know?

No legal requirement for most private-sector roles. Just be consistent and fair in how you treat applicants, and keep the process free of discrimination on protected characteristics.

What should I ask for instead of a CV?

Trade, qualifications and cards held, years of experience, area they live in, and two contacts who can vouch for their work. A short phone call covers all of it.

How do I compete with bigger firms on pay?

Compete on the things money cannot fix: a predictable finish time, decent tools and van, no weekend call-out, and being paid on time every time. Plenty of good trades will trade a small amount of money for those.

Related reading: taking on an apprentice · payroll for your first employee · tradesman salaries in the UK · holiday pay and sick pay