During your recruiting career, it’s likely you will need to hire niche talent at some point. You might even be a recruiter specializing in recruiting a particular type of candidate, taking on a niche role yourself. Finding candidates with a strict skill set calls for a different approach and requires you to explore additional sources of talent.
Let’s dig into niche talent acquisition and a few tips for getting it right.
Niche #TalentAcquisition calls for a little extra time and a few more #recruiting strategies — get 4 tips from @ClearCompany:Niche Talent Acquisition Explained
What is talent acquisition? While recruiting is focused on filling open positions, talent acquisition is about finding the right person for the role — someone with a combination of skills and experience that make them the absolute best fit.
Talent acquisition takes the long-term into consideration in the hiring process, resulting in:
- Talent pipelines that reliably produce qualified candidates
- A great candidate experience for a strong employer brand and a strong start for new hires
- Career paths that engage, motivate, and add value for employees and the business
- Better hiring decisions, leading to reduced costs and increased retention
The niche talent acquisition process isn’t drastically different from regular recruiting. It will take longer and require tapping into more candidate sources than usual, and the interview process will be more involved. But if you already approach hiring with a talent acquisition mindset, you’re well-prepared for niche talent acquisition.
Try these four talent acquisition tips to find, hire, and build a pipeline of niche talent.
Tip #1: Expand geographically.
Limiting geographic location in your search for specialized candidates will quickly shrink your talent pool. If the position is remote, you may try opening your job search to different countries if circumstances allow. Why not try to find the best candidates in the world for niche roles?
If the position requires the employee to be in-office sometimes or all of the time, you’ll need to budget for their travel expenses or offer a relocation package. Remove the borders on your job posts and instantly expand your options.
Tip #2: Ask for referrals.
Employee referrals are an extremely reliable source of candidates — referred candidates stay an average of 70% longer. An employee referral program incentivizes referrals and increases the reach of your open positions, which is essential when you’re looking for a niche skill set. Employees in similar roles, or even departing employees, can also put the word out to their networks, where they’re likely to have contacts with the skills you’re looking for.
Referrals are a talent acquisition strategy that has more than just retention benefits:
- Referred employees are hired 13 days faster, on average
- They cost an average of $1,000 less to hire
- 70% of companies say referred employees are good fits with the company culture
- 88% of companies agree that referred employees have the best ROI
Tip #3: Make it personal.
For people with a rare skill set, the candidate experience rarely begins with a job application. Usually, they get a message directly from a recruiter — and no doubt, your message is one of many, so it’s important to make it stand out. Recruiting communications should be tailored to each person, whether it’s an email, phone call, or LinkedIn message, and they should come from the same recruiter.
Did you know that referred employees have the best ROI? Find out how to use referrals to find #nichetalent:Tip #4: Go to candidates where they are.
Reach out to potential candidates where they’re at — for example, near the end of their degree program or on niche job boards. Connect with degree or certification programs at local universities, community colleges, or trade and vocational schools. Your company can share relevant job posts and the programs can refer qualified candidates with the skills you’re looking for.
Be sure to post open positions on multiple job boards, including job boards that are specific to certain roles and industries. For example, some job boards only post software engineering roles, or construction jobs. Use these sites to reach a targeted group of potential candidates with the right skills.
These niche talent recruiting strategies require creativity, time, and a long-term vision to execute. You’ll need patience, preparation, and a set of powerful recruiting software tools. ClearCompany has the Talent Acquisition software you need to cultivate specialty talent pipelines and stay in touch with valuable candidates.
Get a firsthand look at the importance of talent acquisition software for niche recruitment. Schedule a demo of ClearCompany with our experts, personalized for your needs — get in touch today.
