“Nobody answers my job ads.” Read the ad the way the person you want reads it. Before applying, anyone needs five answers: what it pays, what the hours are, where the work is, when it starts, and what to do next. An ad that leaves any of them out asks the reader to do the work of finding out, and the easier move is to scroll past. Here is how to write each of the five, how to set the pay line from the government’s wage data for your own area, and where to post the ad for nothing.
The five lines
- Pay. A real number or a real range, per hour, with any other pay (a bonus, a per diem, a tool allowance) described separately. “Competitive pay” answers nothing.
- Hours. Start time, days, typical weekly hours, whether there is Saturday work, and whether the work is year-round or seasonal. If you pay a day rate, say so, and read Overtime on a Day Rate or a Piece Rate before you print it.
- Where. Where the crew meets each morning and how far the jobs run from there. “Job sites within about 30 miles of our yard on the east side” tells a driver more than a city name.
- When. The start date, or “as soon as you can start,” and the last day you are taking applications.
- The next step. One way to apply that takes a minute: a link, a QR code on a sign, a short form. If you do not need a resume to decide whether to talk to someone, do not ask for one.
Then the other things a tradesperson weighs: what tools you supply and what they must bring, whether a company truck goes home with anyone, the driver’s license and lifting requirements the work truly needs, and the benefits you actually offer.
Setting the pay line from your area’s numbers
The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) program publishes wage estimates for about 830 occupations, for the nation, every state and metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas. The current figures are the May 2025 estimates, released May 15, 2026. The easiest door to them is CareerOneStop’s Salary Finder, a Labor Department site whose salary information comes from the same OEWS program: type the occupation and your city.
Read three numbers, not one. The 25th percentile is what a quarter of workers in that job and area earn less than; the median is the middle; the 75th is where the top quarter starts. Here is the gap between the national picture and one metro area, for construction laborers (occupation code 47-2061):
| Area | 25th percentile | Median | 75th percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| Columbus, Ohio metro area | $22.96 | $29.11 | $37.18 |
| United States | $18.57 | $22.66 | $28.72 |
Say a concrete contractor in Columbus writes an ad for a laborer at $18 to $21 an hour because a national article said laborers make about $22. Every number in that range sits below the area’s 25th percentile, so the ad offers less than at least three in four laborers there earned in May 2025. The same contractor posting $23 to $30, depending on experience, starts at the area’s 25th percentile and reaches past its median, and can say why: the top of the range is for someone who can finish, not only pour and haul.
Two cautions. OEWS figures describe May 2025, so they lag the market you are hiring in today. And your range has to be one you would actually pay, with a real bottom and a real top. Whether your state requires a range in the ad, and what those states accept as one, is covered in Pay Ranges in Job Ads: The States That Require Them.
Even where no law asks for it, a posted range is now the norm: Colorado’s labor division, citing Indeed Hiring Lab research, says the share of job postings nationally that disclose pay went from under 20 percent in late 2020 to over 50 percent in late 2023. Put the base rate first and any extras after it. The same Colorado guidance gives the example that “$18 per hour plus tips” complies with its law, but folding the expected tips into one higher rate does not. For a crew, that means the hourly rate, then any bonus described on its own, as in the sample ad below.
Words to leave out
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission says it is illegal to publish a job ad “that shows a preference for or discourages someone from applying” because of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age (40 or older), disability or genetic information. Its own example: an ad seeking “females” or “recent college graduates” may discourage men and people over 40 from applying. In a trade ad, that rules out words like “young” and anything that asks for men only. Write the requirement instead: “able to lift 60 pounds and work on a pitched roof all day.” Federal coverage starts at 15 employees for most of these laws and 20 for age, the EEOC says; check your state’s law too, and write the ad as if they all apply. The same words matter at the interview; Interview Questions You Cannot Ask (and Better Ones) covers that step.
A sample ad
Concrete Laborer, full time, year-round. Pay: $23 to $30 an hour depending on experience, plus a [describe any bonus]. Hours: 7:00 a.m. start, Monday to Friday, about 45 hours a week in season; occasional Saturdays. Where: crew meets at our yard on [street]; job sites within about 30 miles. Start: [date]. Benefits: [paid days off, health or retirement plans you actually offer]. We supply: [tools]. You need: a valid driver’s license and the ability to lift 60 pounds. Apply by [date]: scan the code or go to [link]. Two minutes, no resume needed.
The figures are an illustration built from the Columbus numbers above; use your own area’s and your own pay.
Where to post it for nothing
For the next-step line, CrewFunnel™ gives you a screening link and a printable Now Hiring sign whose QR code opens your screening questions in the applicant’s browser; its texting side is not live yet. See how it works.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change and vary by state; check with the agency named above or a professional for your situation.