The job listing, the first introduction to your organisation's secondary benefits

The job posting, the first introduction to your organisation's secondary benefits

In most of our optimisation projects, we also look at the job postings our clients currently have live. We're always curious about how benefits are communicated, and therefore what first impression potential employees get when they review an employer's package.

Because we also analyse how our clients' competitors handle this, we've now reviewed hundreds of job postings.

And there are (almost) always a number of things that stand out:

• The same benefits are described differently across different job postings;
• Employers often leave out their most attractive benefits entirely, probably without even realising it;
• Many job postings are filled with vague buzzwords like "excellent benefits" or "a fantastic team";
• It's either a bullet-point list or a wall of text, but rarely presented visually.

Is it a pension or a contribution-free pension?

To get a clear picture of how companies feature benefits in their job postings, we often create an overview of, say, five postings and the benefits mentioned in each.

You quickly notice that there are duplicates (which is logical), but also that the same benefits are described in different ways. Two examples below.

The flex budget:

a flex budget that lets you determine some of your own secondary benefits. Choose for yourself what you spend this budget on, from holiday allowance to a thirteenth month, extra days off, and much more.

vs.

a flexible budget amounting to 19.47% of your gross salary. The budget consists of a 13th month, 8% holiday allowance, and 7 extra days off. You can use it to buy a bike, pay for your gym membership, or save up for a sabbatical. It's also possible to have the full budget paid out at any point during the year.

Holiday days:

27 holiday days

vs.

27 days off, 7 of which are part of the flexible budget.

We know that in both cases this is the same benefit, yet one description is more compelling than the other. If, as a potential candidate, I know that 7 of my 27 holiday days are part of a flex budget, I know I can sell them back and create more financial flexibility. If I only see "27 holiday days," I have no idea that option exists, even though in practice it does.

You've built up an impressive package, yet all you mention is 25 days off

Many employers invest significantly in their benefits package. Existing employees often make grateful use of it, which contributes to loyalty and retention.

Yet we consistently see that this same package is poorly communicated externally. In job postings, employers regularly highlight the wrong benefits, leaving an opportunity to stand out completely untapped.

That's a shame. If you invest in a distinctive package, you want to reap the external rewards as well.

You claim to have fantastic benefits… but say nothing of substance

Buzzwords are everywhere in job postings. Things like a fun team, great colleagues, or a lively Friday afternoon drinks are more the rule than the exception.

We also frequently see generic descriptions of secondary benefits with no real content. For example: We offer excellent benefits.

But what exactly makes them excellent? A potential candidate has no way of assessing this and won't automatically assume these conditions are genuinely above average. Besides, every employee has a different frame of reference. What one person considers fantastic may be below average for another.

Benefits can often be presented visually, so why does it happen so rarely?

A long bullet-point list or a large block of text about benefits is still very common. Of course, this is better than simply saying they're "fantastic," but an overload of information can also cause candidates to drop off.

It can therefore be worthwhile to present certain things visually, for example with icons. Benefits such as holiday days or flexible holiday pay lend themselves well to this approach and leave room to go into greater depth on benefits that require more explanation.

Want to go the extra mile?

At organisations that seriously invest in their benefits, we sometimes see a dedicated page created on the careers website that explains the full package in detail.

This allows you to provide a clear overview and direct candidates in job postings to a place where they can find more information. Some employers go one step further and publish their complete terms and conditions online.

On one hand, this is admirable from a transparency perspective, but on the other hand, these are often lengthy documents in which the key points are difficult for candidates to find.

Our new service: Benefits Recruitment Copy

At the start of 2026, we expanded our services to include Benefits Recruitment Copy. We've been doing this as part of optimisation projects for some time, but are now also offering it as a standalone service.

In practice, this means we:

• work with you to identify the star benefits within the employment package;
• write a clear and consistent narrative that can be used in every job posting;
• where needed, present that narrative visually or help build a dedicated benefits page on the careers website.

The result:

• an honest and transparent picture of the benefits for potential candidates;
• a consistent and professional presentation of what's on offer;
• and an end to filler phrases like "excellent secondary benefits."

This way, you also unlock the full external potential of your benefits package, and that will ultimately show in your recruitment results.