How to Run Facebook Ads for a Job Posting

Quick Answer

To run Facebook ads for a job posting, accept that employment ads fall under Meta's Special Ad Category, which limits targeting to location and broad age bands. Use the Leads objective with a lightweight application form. Target by location radius and broad interests in adjacent fields. Budget $20-100/day per role. Expect $5-30 per qualified application depending on role seniority.

Recruitment ads have targeting restrictions

Meta requires all employment ads to use the Special Ad Category for jobs. That means:

No detailed targeting by job title, employer, or industry
No age targeting beyond broad bands (18+, sometimes 25+)
No gender targeting
No ZIP-based exclusions (you cannot exclude neighbourhoods)
Lookalike audiences are limited to 1%, location-based

This is a US legal requirement around housing, employment, and credit, but Meta enforces it globally. Don't try to work around it, your ads will be paused.

Pick the right funnel

Role type	Funnel	Form
Hourly / shift work	Lead form on Meta	3 questions max
Skilled trades	Lead form or landing page	Trade qualifications
Office / professional	Landing page with full job description	Full application
Executive / specialist	Lead magnet > nurture	Phone screen first

For volume hiring (warehouse, retail, hospitality), the Meta lead form works best. For senior roles, send to a job page.

Lead form template

Headline: We're hiring [Role] in [City]
Description: [Pay rate], [shift type]. Apply in 60 seconds, no CV needed.

Questions:
1. Full name (auto-fill)
2. Email (auto-fill)
3. Mobile (auto-fill)
4. Are you 18 or over? (yes/no)
5. Can you start within 2 weeks? (yes/no/no)
6. Do you have any experience in [field]? (yes/no/some)

Thank you screen:
"We've got your application. You'll hear from our team within 48 hours. Save [phone] to your contacts so you don't miss our call."

Disclaimer: By submitting, you agree to be contacted about this role and similar future openings.

Creative that pulls applications

Three angles:

Pay-led ("£14/hr starting, weekly pay, hire today")
Lifestyle-led ("4 days on, 3 days off. Start next Monday.")
Story-led (current employee testimonial, 30 sec)

Best format: 30-60 second video shot at the worksite. Show the actual environment. Show real employees. Avoid stock footage. Native-feeling video pulls 3-5x more applications than studio-quality.

Targeting (with limits)

You can target by:

Location radius (1-50 miles, useful for local hiring)
Broad age (often 18-65)
Custom audiences (email lists, past applicants)
Lookalike 1% of past employees

You can't use:

Job title interests
Industry interests
Educational background

Workaround: target broad locally and let creative do the qualifying. A specific role mentioned in the headline filters out the wrong applicants more effectively than targeting can.

Campaign template

Campaign: [Role Title] – Hiring
Objective: Leads
Special Ad Category: Employment
Optimisation: Leads
Daily budget: $40

Ad Set:
- Location: 15-mile radius around worksite
- Age: 18-55 (broad band)
- No detailed targeting (locked out)
- Placements: Auto

Creatives:
- Ad 1: 45-sec workplace tour video
- Ad 2: Static graphic with pay + shift + apply CTA
- Ad 3: Current employee testimonial 30 sec
- Ad 4: Carousel of perks (pay, benefits, schedule, growth)

CTA: Apply Now
Form: Native Meta lead form

Speed wins

Job ads win on response time. The first employer to call back gets the candidate. Set up auto-text via Zapier so every applicant gets a message within 60 seconds:

"Hi [name], thanks for applying for [role] at [company]. We'd like to chat. Are you free to talk in the next 24 hours? Reply with a time."

This alone doubles your show-up rate to interviews.

Budget guide

Role type	Daily budget	CPL target	Apply-to-hire ratio
Warehouse / shift	$30-60	$5-15	20:1
Retail / hospitality	$30-75	$8-20	15:1
Skilled trades	$40-100	$15-40	8:1
Office support	$50-150	$20-60	10:1
Specialist / senior	$100-300	$40-150	5:1

Plan budget around the apply-to-hire ratio. If you need to hire 5 warehouse staff and the ratio is 20:1, budget for 100 applications.

What kills job ads

Ignoring Special Ad Category requirements (instant pause)
Asking for a CV in the lead form (drop-off rate spikes)
Boring creative ("now hiring" graphic)
Slow follow-up (more than 4 hours and you've lost half the candidates)
Not running a "we're still hiring" reminder ad to past applicants for new roles

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