How to use targeted hiring to find quality candidates

Have you ever struggled to find candidates with the exact skills and experience you need? Targeted hiring, also known as targeted recruitment, may be the answer. This strategy involves tailoring your recruitment efforts to focus only on candidates who meet the specific requirements for an open position. It can be particularly effective when you’re hiring for a niche role or hard-to-fill position. This guide explores the benefits of targeted hiring with a step-by-step process you can follow.

What is targeted hiring?

Targeted hiring is recruiting candidates who meet specific criteria for an open position. For example, you may use a targeted recruitment strategy to find job applicants who live in a specified geographic area, have previous experience in a particular role, or possess a certain skill set. Some organizations also use targeted hiring as part of their diversity and inclusion efforts. For example, they specifically seek candidates from underrepresented groups, such as ethnic minorities or people with disabilities.

A targeted recruiting strategy is the opposite of an open recruiting strategy, where you may accept candidates with a wide range of backgrounds and skill levels. The two strategies serve different purposes when hiring for open positions. Targeted hiring has these functions:

• It improves candidate quality when hiring for hard-to-fill roles.
• It allows businesses to boost their workforce knowledge in different areas.
• It helps organizations create a more diverse workforce.

What are the benefits of targeted hiring?

Targeted hiring can have many benefits for both large companies and small businesses. Targeted recruitment strategies are more likely to attract candidates with the skills, experience, and other requirements you’re seeking. Other benefits include:

• Brand image: Using this recruitment strategy can strengthen a company’s employment brand. For example, your business may become known for hiring candidates in a specific niche, such as technology.
• Company goals: Targeted hiring can enable companies to achieve organizational objectives. If your business needs someone on staff who can speak a different language, for example, targeted recruiting can allow you to find candidates who fulfill this requirement.
• Passive candidates: This recruiting strategy can be a great way to attract passive candidates. While they may not be actively looking for a new job, they might be interested in applying to a company that values their expertise.
• Less turnover: When you use a selective recruiting strategy, you have a better chance of hiring the right candidate the first time. This results in less turnover, which can lead to improved morale and a better workplace environment for everyone.
• Lower cost-per-hire: The average cost-per-hire, according to the Society for Human Resource Management, is $4,683. Targeted hiring can lower this cost by allowing you to focus your recruitment budget on sourcing select candidates.

“Targeted recruitment strategies are more likely to attract candidates with the skills, experience, and other requirements you’re seeking.”

How to use targeted hiring

Are you ready to use targeted hiring for a niche or hard-to-fill position? Follow these steps to implement this strategy successfully.

Establish goals

Before you start recruiting, make sure you understand the hiring goals. The company may want to source candidates with specific skills, or it may need employees to work in a new office in a particular region. Knowing these goals will allow you to target your recruitment strategy effectively.

Gather information

Gather as much information as possible about the preferred candidate profile for the open position. Work with key stakeholders, such as executives or managers, to understand the attributes they want in a new hire. Ask questions to become better informed about the ideal candidate. Some questions you may ask include:

• What’s the target demographic for the role?
• What experience do candidates need to have?
• What skills should they possess?
• Are there other requirements that candidates must meet to be considered for the role?

Create a candidate persona

Once you know this information, you can build a candidate persona. This is a fictionalized representation of the ideal candidate that describes their desired background and attributes. It should include:

• Key qualifications
• Essential technical skills
• Soft skills or personality traits
• Preferred communication style
• Culture fit, or the type of employee who will do best in the organization

Write the job description

The job description is an essential part of a targeted recruiting strategy. A well-written job description can attract candidates with the exact requirements you’re seeking. In the job description, be clear that candidates should only apply if they meet the listed requirements. Include these details in the job posting:

• Amount of experience required, such as 10 years or more
• Type of experience required, such as a previous role in engineering
• Technical skills, such as familiarity with a specific software program
• Character traits
• Geographic location, if relevant

Post the job on niche sites

While it’s worth posting a targeted job description on widely used sites to reach more potential candidates, consider posting the job on niche sites as well. For example, if you’re hiring for a financial position, post the job on a financial career website. On some niche job sites, you can even target candidates by specific criteria, such as licensure requirements or geographic area. These job boards may help you find candidates with the right skills or desired industry experience.

Use other targeted strategies

In addition to niche job boards, advertise the open position using other specific approaches. Some common strategies for targeted recruitment include:

• Pay-for-performance advertising: With this type of advertising, you only pay when qualified candidates submit their applications. You can limit these ads to make sure they’re directly targeting potential candidates who fit your criteria.
• Trade journals: Post the job description in trade journals to reach people in the industry who subscribe to those publications.
• Industry organizations: Reach out to professional organizations to ask whether they have job boards where you can post the position.
• College campuses: Partner with college campuses to find talented entry-level candidates who have some technical knowledge. You can even start an internship program to source potential candidates before they graduate.

Collect and analyze data

As you receive applications for the role, collect data about the candidates who apply. Use this data to adjust your targeted recruiting strategy. For example, if you only get a few applications that meet all the candidate criteria, you may decide to post the position more widely or consider adjusting the job requirements. Some other metrics to evaluate include:

• Quality of candidate source: Did one job board consistently deliver better candidates? Track the quality of candidates you get from different sources to help with your future recruiting efforts.
• Source-to-close: The source-to-close metric shows you how long it takes for a candidate to accept a job offer once you’ve sourced them. It can show you whether delays exist in one or more stages of the hiring process.
• Candidate experience: This metric can be trickier to evaluate, but it provides valuable information about candidates’ satisfaction with the recruitment process. Consider using surveys or asking questions during interviews to measure candidate experience.

When you need to hire for a position requiring certain skills, traits, or experience, use a targeted recruiting strategy. Compared to other strategies, targeted hiring allows you to focus your search on candidates who meet specific criteria. By following these steps, you can source quality candidates who will be a good fit for your organization.

More tips on successful recruiting:

Targeted hiring can be an effective way to recruit diverse candidates. Here are some other ways you can emphasize diversity throughout the talent acquisition funnel.

Does your recruitment strategy need a boost? Make sure you’re focusing on these elements.

While successful recruiting can look different for every business, there are some common themes. Follow these five practices to improve your hiring strategy this year.

A candidate pipeline can be a valuable resource when you need to fill an open position. These tips will help you use a resume database to build a pipeline of talented potential applicants.