How do you understand your target talent audience?

1 Define your ideal candidate profile

Before you start looking for data, you need to have a clear idea of who you are looking for. Think about the skills, experience, personality, and values that you want in your ideal candidate. You can use your existing top performers, your hiring managers, and your business goals as references. Write down your ideal candidate profile as a detailed description or a persona.

2 Use multiple sources of data

To understand your target talent audience, you need to gather and analyze data from different sources. Your own applicant tracking system (ATS) and career site can provide metrics such as traffic, conversions, sources, demographics, and feedback from applicants and candidates. Social media platforms and online communities can be used to monitor and engage with your target audience. Surveys and interviews with current employees, candidates, or external experts can provide insights on your employer brand, value proposition, and hiring process. Market research and industry reports can give access to data and trends from sources such as Glassdoor, Indeed, LinkedIn Talent Insights, or industry publications. Moreover, tools such as Google Trends, SEMrush, or BuzzSumo can be used to analyze keywords, topics, and content that your audience searches for and consumes.

3 Segment and prioritize your audience

Once you have collected and analyzed your data, you need to segment and prioritize your target talent audience. You can use criteria such as location, industry, function, seniority, education, or motivation to group your audience into different segments. Then, you need to prioritize the segments that are most relevant, accessible, and attractive for your hiring needs. You can use tools such as Excel, Google Sheets, or Tableau to create and visualize your segments.

4 Create and test your messages

The final step is to create and test your messages for your target talent audience. You need to craft your employer value proposition (EVP), your job descriptions, your career site content, and your social media posts according to the preferences, pain points, and goals of your audience segments. You also need to test and measure the effectiveness of your messages using metrics such as click-through rates, open rates, application rates, and quality of hire. You can use tools such as Google Analytics, Mailchimp, or Hootsuite to track and optimize your messages.

Understanding your target talent audience is not a one-time task. It is an ongoing process that requires constant research, analysis, and adaptation. By following these tips, you can improve your recruiting strategy and attract the best talent for your organization.

5 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?