How to personalize the position

Hello recruiting colleagues, Hireez asked me to share with the community my recruiting experience as a Recruiter/Head Hunter that has a good reply rate, so I am here for the challenge!

I would like to share with you the process that helps me to better understand positions and to build the content for emails I send to candidates. I have been applying this process for the last few years of high market competition, and it serves me especially when I am searching for candidates for complex positions for the high –tech and bio-tech industry. It might be for early-stage startup companies or ones that are not yet known, the candidates did not hear about them as they have not yet been branded; they might be in a none-attractive location, or it might be a stealth-mode startup, in which case I cannot elaborate about the company and the product. I first applied this process when I started to recruit for an industry I was not familiar with, the biotech industry, and for companies that develop computational platforms – mainly aiming at computational research positions.

In a highly competitive market, in which I have to quickly catch and engage with talents while differentiating my approach as a recruiter, I knew I must have an in-depth understanding of the position so that I specifically target who to look for. I realized that I must speak directly with the hiring manager, as the formal job description that I have is not enough. I must learn what the value of the position is. I need to hear the hiring manager’s words on presenting the company, the specific role, the position’s main responsibilities, which candidates he would like to see and what is the right persona; the required experience, background, former roles in the industry, the criteria the hiring manager will not compromise on - what are musts and what are not. I need to hear the technical language he uses, how he presents the company to his target audience, so that I understand the specific relevant nuances. This helps me to focus my sourcing efforts and to reach the right candidates, but the most important thing that I must get from this conversation is: why should the candidate consider the job in this company? In a market condition of (almost) all workers being employed and employers being so competitive, I need to know the benefits of working in the team - what is in it for the candidate? What would attract him\her to apply for the position? It should address both professional/technical and personal aspects. What will the candidate gain professionally, technically, and personally from this position? Sometimes the hiring manager speaks about the company’s uniqueness and its contribution to the world etc., it is all good, but it is not enough; I need to know what makes the position unique: what are its main challenges, how it differs from other positions in the industry, why would the candidate want to join this team. Don’t be afraid of a short brainstorming session. Keep in mind that having the one precise answer, is sometimes all that is needed to get across the unique message of the position.

This process can be perceived as one of personalization of the position - so that the relevant candidates can authenticity connect to its essence.

I hope this post was of interest to you, and I wish us all great success in our recruiting efforts.