MightyRecruiterThe Science of Targeting Job Candidates
Recent years have seen an increased emphasis placed on working smarter, not harder. Corporations and professional organizations have invested billions of dollars into marketing campaigns meant to target those specific customer segments whose needs and interests are in line with the products and services that they offer. This has helped lead to unprecedented customer conversion rates. Given the success that targeted marketing has shown in the commercial world, it was only a matter of time before companies started to experiment with the same principles to help improve their employee retention. Thus, the science of targeting job candidates was born.
Utilizing Online Resources
The question that inevitably arises in this discussion is how exactly can you determine who’s right for your position before even meeting the candidates who wish to fill it. What this reflects is the age-old philosophy of prospective applicants courting the companies that they wish to work for. The problem with this school of thought is that when you have positions come open, many of the most qualified applicants have already been snatched up by your rival companies. How Because they realize that that today’s job search tools have made the science of targeting job candidates simpler than ever.
The Internet has served to completely level the playing field between employers and prospective employees. Now, many professionals simply believe that posting their resumes and/or talent profiles online is all that’s needed in order for the job offers to start pouring in. While the actual job search process does indeed require more effort on their part, online employment resources have helped to expose job candidates to more opportunities than ever. Forward thinking companies are now going out and pursuing these potential hires rather than waiting for the candidates to come to them.
What to Read into Resumes
Now, you may be thinking that it’s impossible to assign any degree of certainty regarding someone’s potential to fit well into your organization based off a resume alone. After all, without first meeting him or her, how can you know if a potential job candidate will flourish within your company’s culture This is where the science of targeting job candidates requires reading beyond what’s simply on the pages of a resume. You know the soft skills needed in order for one to fit well into your office environment, and you can often find those listed on a resume, as well. You simply need to know how to spot them.
For example, when looking at a prospective candidate’s work history, pay specific attention to the types of roles that he or she has held with previous employers. Were they management or supervisory positions If so, then you may be safe in assuming that he or she has proven in the past to be adept at:
-Leading and managing others
-Communicating well in a professional setting
-Resolving conflicts between employees
Likewise, if someone lists having a background in research, special projects, or consulting, then you could infer that he or she:
-Is self-motivated
-Possess strong analytical skills
-Remains focused in an autonomous work environment
Conversely, a job candidate that doesn’t list any information on a resume or in a talent profile that gives any indication of his or her interpersonal skills may inadvertently be admitting to a lack of them. It’s your job to read through each bit of prospective employee information available through online resources to make such a determination for yourself.
Segmenting Your Candidate Pools
However, you’re correct in assuming that the science of targeting job candidates goes well beyond a simple resume search. Once you’ve analyzed a sample of resumes from within your particular candidate pool in order to determine exactly what hard and soft skills and ideal applicant would possess, you need to then compare those to the current needs of your organization. This will help you in segmenting prospective hires into different demographics, and then determining which one of those is most likely to yield the ideal candidate. If your company is looking for seasoned professionals in order to support your operations, then you may target an older demographic whose applicants bring a certain technical expertise to the table. On the other hand, if you’re wanting fresh, new blood to bring in and place on your future managerial tract, then you’ll likely want to focus in on younger candidates whose educational background was focused on business administration.
The science of targeting job candidates is just that: a science. Like any scientific endeavor, you must have the right tools are your disposal to achieve success. Mighty Recruiter can provide those to you. With Mighty Recruiters resources behind you, finding and targeting the right job candidate amongst an ever-expanding applicant pool is not a difficult task at all.