5 Ways to Reach Your Job’s Target Audience

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Your goal when you recruit is to attract top talent. It’s not to post a job board. It’s not to receive applications. It’s not to fill the job. It’s to make sure that you’re finding and hiring the best of the best.
This is what many companies tend to get wrong. They do the bare minimum to attract talent, posting on some of the most common job boards and hoping for applicants, and for many companies, it is the wrong approach to filling a vacant position.
What The Most Successful Companies Are Doing
Savvy companies go a step further. Savvy companies try to steal top talent from wherever they may be. Remember, when all you do is post to a job board, you’re immediately only getting those that are looking for jobs, which means that you’re getting people that:

  • Are Actively Seeking Employment.
  • Usually Do Not Have a Job or Like Their Job
  • See a Bunch of Other Jobs Like Yours Available

Now this isn’t always a problem. There are plenty of incredible talents that meet the above criteria. But it’s not everyone. There are also some incredible talents that are not looking for work, or that have a job and love their job, or are looking for work, but not on that job board.
Successful companies are successful because they make sure that anyone – even those currently employed – find them and consider working for them. They do this by reaching their target audience any way they can: talented individuals that would consider moving jobs for the right incentive.
Finding these Top Talent
As a company, you should always be on the lookout for ways to attract this type of talent. You can find these people in a variety of ways:

  • LinkedIn – LinkedIn allows you to look specifically at other people’s profiles, including those of your competitor, and seeing who has the relevant job experience necessary to do the job. Many companies use LinkedIn to try to steal talent, and you should consider being a part of that.
  • Industry Forums/Blogs – Forums and blogs are very popular locations for those that are experts in the field to spend time. They’re also a great place to advertise jobs, because you can try to capture people not looking for work. See if there are any websites that are read or visited by those in the industry, and create a job ad that appeals to them.
  • Word of Mouth – You have employees and connections. Don’t be afraid to use them. Incentivize your staff to recommend your company and its jobs to others, and to reach out to people they believe to be very talented in order to have them apply for various positions.
  • Networking Events and Conventions – Similarly, you reach the best talent by going to where they are, no matter where that may be. Often that’s at industry events, such as conventions, networking opportunities, etc. Make sure you’re here, trying your best to make an impact and branding yourself as an employer. Often you’ll find that someone is interested, you simply need to get out there.
  • Becoming Your Own Expert – Finally, don’t be afraid to create your own persona and have people come to you. For example, create a Facebook or social media page that shares interesting links and is genuinely interesting to others. Or create a blog that becomes a pillar in the industry community and has interested people reading. Then make sure you advertise your job there.

There are so many ways to make sure you reach those that could be difference makers in your company beyond simply posting a job ad. It’s up to you as a company to take advantage of those and try to find the best possible talent for your business.