How to write a journeyman electrician job ad that gets calls

A journeyman electrician job ad that gets calls answers five things in its first lines: the rate, the hours, the per diem with its unit, how long the job runs, and the actual work. Most ads say "licensed journeyman, anything under the sun" and answer none of them, so working J-men scroll past. Fill in the template below and you'll have an ad a journeyman can judge in ten seconds.

01What the first five lines have to answer

The first five lines have to tell a journeyman whether his check goes up and whether the work fits him. He reads an ad in this order:

1. Rate. A number or a tight range.
2. Hours. 40, 4-10s, 5-10s or 6-10s, and how OT is paid.
3. Per diem. A dollar amount, per day, and whether it's 7 days or days worked. Or "local job, no per diem."
4. Job length. How long it runs, and what's after it.
5. The work. Pipe, gear, wire, controls, prints.

Everything else (your history, benefits, requirements) comes after. If he doesn't like the first five, he never reads the rest.

Where you run the ad matters as much as what it says. The cluster guide covers it: where to find journeyman electricians who already have jobs.

02The fill-in template

Copy this, fill in every bracket, and delete any line that doesn't apply. Don't leave a bracket blank and don't swap a number for "competitive."

• Headline: Journeyman Electricians, $[XX] to $[XX] an hour, [5-10s], [City, ST]
• Rate: $[XX] to $[XX] an hour. Where you land depends on [years carded, foreman experience, controls or MV work].
• Hours: [5-10s / 4-10s / 40 hours]. OT after 40 at time and a half. [Saturdays as needed / no Saturdays].
• Per diem: $[XXX] a day, [7 days / days worked], for hands who live [XX]+ miles out. [Hotel provided / find your own]. Or: Local job, no per diem.
• The job: [Building or plant type], [phase]. Runs about [X] months. After that: [next job lined up / we'll know by month X].
• The work: [conduit types and sizes], [gear you'll set and terminate], [wire sizes and pulls], [controls or low voltage], [run work from prints / layout from the foreman].
• Foreman: [Name], [X] years with us. Crew of [X].
• You need: [State] journeyman license or one [State] accepts, OSHA 10, your own hand tools, [drug test / badging].
• We supply: [Power tools, benders, lifts, PPE].
• Benefits: Health insurance starts [day X]. [401(k) with match / paid holidays / truck].
• To apply: Text [phone number] with your license number, the state, and the last job you ran.

That last line does the most screening of any line in the ad. A carded hand sends his number in ten seconds. A helper without one usually doesn't.

If you'd rather hand off the ads and the screening calls, apply here and we'll see if we can put 5 licensed electricians in front of you in 14 days.

03Why each line is there

Each line answers a question a journeyman would otherwise call to ask, or skip the ad over.

Rate up front

A real rate is the single biggest change most ads can make. "Competitive pay" and "DOE" read as "we won't tell you," and "up to $50" reads as the bottom. If you're on the fence, read whether to show pay and your company name.

Don't set the number off a national average. The BLS median for electricians is $30.38 an hour (May 2025), but that figure is straight time and the category includes apprentices, so it sits well under what a carded journeyman expects in most markets. Use current pay data for journeymen and live local ads instead.

In some states it isn't optional. Washington requires employers with 15 or more employees to post a wage scale or salary range, plus a general description of benefits and other pay like bonuses. New York requires employers with 4 or more employees to post the pay range. Other states have their own rules. Check which states require pay ranges in electrician ads before you post.

Hours and schedule

Hours are half the check. A J-man on 5-10s at $46 an hour grosses $46 x 40 = $1,840 straight time plus 10 hours at $69 = $690, so $2,530 a week before tax. On straight 40s it's $1,840. That's an example, but it's the math he's doing in his head. Tell him the schedule and whether OT is steady or "as needed."

Per diem with its unit

"Per diem available" is the line travelers trust least. Give the amount, the unit and the days: On 5-10s, "$120 a day, 7 days" and "$120 per day worked" are $840 and $600 a week, a $240 gap. Say who qualifies (often a mileage line) and whether there's a hotel.

Job length and what comes after

Journeymen hate getting short-termed. "Runs about 9 months, rough-in through trim" tells him it's worth pulling the pin. If something is lined up after, say so. If nothing is, just give the length. Don't promise a next job you don't have.

The actual scope

This is how a real journeyman tells your job from a helper job. Name it the way he'd say it: "EMT and rigid, 3/4 to 4-inch, tray, set and terminate a 3000A switchboard, pull 500 kcmil feeders, land VFDs from prints." A helper who reads that knows he's over his head. A journeyman who's done it knows he isn't.

The foreman

Good hands want to know who they'll work for. A foreman's name and how long he's been with you says the job is organized and somebody knows the work.

04Short versions for three kinds of work

Use the same template, then swap the scope lines for the work. All numbers below are examples, not market rates.

Commercial new construction

• Journeyman electricians, $44 to $50 an hour, 5-10s, [City, ST]
• 4-story medical office building, rough-in to trim, about 9 months
• EMT and MC, 1/2 to 2-inch, set panels and a 2000A switchboard, branch and feeders from prints
• Local job, no per diem. Text your license number to [phone number].

Industrial power and controls

• Journeyman electricians, $48 to $54 an hour, 6-10s, [City, ST]
• Plant expansion, power and controls, about 5 months
• Rigid and tray, pull and terminate 480V feeders, set MCCs, terminate VFDs, land control wiring and instruments from loop drawings
• $130 a day per diem, 7 days, 75+ miles out. Text your license number and state to [phone number].

Industrial hands care whether you mean "pipe and wire" or "controls," so be specific. If you want both, say so and pay for it.

Residential or commercial service

• Service electrician, $[XX] an hour or [commission plan], [City, ST]
• Truck goes home with you. On call [1 week in X / none].
• Troubleshooting, panel changes, service upgrades, talking homeowners through the fix
• Text your license number to [phone number].

Spell out any commission plan. One real Tennessee service ad posted in October 2026 paid $22.50 an hour for the first 30 days, then 20% of collected revenue minus materials and additional labor, with a stated range of $46,800 to $100,000+ a year. That's one ad, not a norm, but it shows how much detail a service hand expects.

05Words that cost you calls

Swap vague words for numbers and named work. Here are the common ones:

06Where to run it

Run the same ad where carded hands will see it, then track which channel sends licensed applicants. A job board reaches people searching, which is why a lot of ads bring apprentices instead of journeymen. Paid social reaches working J-men who aren't searching. Travel boards reach travelers. Indeed's own advice is to use keywords like "journeyman electrician" in the post, so use the title hands actually type.

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