3 common mistakes TA teams make when hiring for niche talent.

68% of human resources (HR) professionals across industries admit it is becoming increasingly challenging to recruit top candidates given the tight talent market. The challenge becomes a problem especially when hiring for niche skills.

Top talent does not like to settle or compromise. This means even a minor unpleasant experience during the hiring process can cause you to lose:

a) Direct equity - In the form of loss of business productivity

b) Brand equity: Owing to rise of channels such as social media, this problem has become severe.

Listed here are the three most common issues in the hiring process that impact its efficacy.

1. Lack of subject matter expertise

When you are trying to fill in a niche role, subject matter expertise plays an extremely critical role in attracting applications from the right candidates. Given the time and complexity, while it may be difficult to master all trades, great recruitment teams must ensure that they work towards understanding the impact of this hire on the organisation. Create a fishbone for yourself to understand the role of the person and how it will impact the overall goal of the team and serve the mission of the organisation.

2. Marketing the job

Besides the usual job boards, you need to use other social channels to extend outreach and convey employee value proposition (EVP). Approaching the recruitment process in a conventional way will not only restrict your reach but also negatively impact your chances of sourcing good candidates. Approximately, 42% of candidates look for employer information, while 33% search for employee testimonials. It is important to extend your reach across various touch points and also offer clear visibility into your company’s culture and EVP.

3. Poor information on candidates

Resumes may showcase exaggerated accomplishments, and if you miss screening candidates or verifying information during the initial stages, you may end up wasting significant amount of time and effort on an unqualified applicant. Using various social tools, and mapping the digital footprint of the candidate, you can effectively shortlist right-fit candidates.

Well-defined processes with clear objectives can eliminate a lot of common errors that tend to occur during the hiring process. When hiring for niche skills, TA leaders need to ensure they streamline every process - from outreach to onboarding - to optimise time, cost and effort while building an effective talent pipeline.