Meta Ads for Recruiters and Employers

Employers, recruiters, staffing firms and job boards can advertise vacancies on Meta, but employment is one of the special ad categories. If your ad falls inside it, Meta restricts how you can target and how you can word the ad. This page is the industry view of those rules. They vary by country and by law, so read the linked pages and ask a qualified adviser.

What counts as an employment ad?

Meta says ads that promote or directly link to an employment opportunity are covered. Its examples include:

• full-time and part-time jobs;
• internships and apprenticeships;
• professional certification programs;
• job fairs;
• job board or aggregation services;
• guaranteed interviews or career placement;
• promotion of company perks alongside employment opportunities.

What does not count?

Meta lists three kinds of ad as not covered: general advice on how to succeed at work unrelated to specific listings, general advice for career development unrelated to specific listings, and discussing a company without sharing employment opportunities or perks. Meta says its examples are not comprehensive and not legal advice.

When must you choose the category?

Meta’s Discriminatory Practices policy says any US advertiser, or advertiser targeting the United States, Canada or certain parts of Europe, who runs housing, employment or financial products and services ads must self-identify as a special ad category and use approved targeting options. Meta says ads may be rejected if you do not choose the right category, and that choosing it does not change review time.

How is your targeting limited?

Meta’s audiences page says age, gender, postcode, audience exclusions, lookalike audiences, saved audiences and some interests are limited or unavailable. In practice:

• you can target a country, region, state, province or city, but not a postcode, and you cannot exclude locations;
• ages are generally fixed at 18 through 65+, and audiences must include all genders;
• some demographic, behaviour and interest options are unavailable, and so is excluding detailed targeting;
• city, address and pin drop targeting uses an expanded radius.

Meta says your options do not become limited to people interested in jobs. You cannot narrow the audience by age, gender or postcode.

What can your job ad say to the viewer?

The Discriminatory Practices policy bars ads that discriminate or encourage discrimination based on attributes such as race, ethnicity, colour, national origin, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, family status, disability, or medical or genetic condition.

Meta’s personal attributes policy also bars ads that assert or imply attributes of the viewer. Its list includes criminal record, membership in a trade union and disability. One of Meta’s violating examples is “Criminal record holding you back? We can help you find a job.” Its alternative is to speak about your company’s expertise.

Write about the role and your service, not about who the reader is.

What should you do before launch?

1. Decide whether each ad promotes a vacancy or perk, or only gives career advice.
2. Select the employment special ad category for the vacancy ads.
3. Plan reach by country, region or city, with the expanded radius in mind.
4. Review headlines and copy for any statement about the viewer’s age, health, family or record.
5. Ask a qualified adviser about employment advertising law in each place you hire.

FAQ

Does a career advice ad count as an employment ad?

Meta lists general advice on succeeding at work, or on career development, as not covered when it is unrelated to specific listings. If the ad promotes or links to an opportunity, it is in scope. Meta says its examples are not comprehensive, so check yours.

Can I target job ads by age or gender?

Not in the special ad category. Meta says ages are generally fixed at 18 through 65+ and audiences must include all genders, an option you cannot edit. It also says postcode targeting and location exclusions are unavailable.

Does a company culture post need the category?

Meta says discussing a company without sharing employment opportunities or perks is not covered. Meta’s examples of employment ads include promotion of company perks alongside employment opportunities, and ads that promote or directly link to an employment opportunity. Choose the category for those ads.