The Power of Building a Custom Specialty and Niche Recruiting Strategy

By Jessica Miller-Merrell

As a corporate recruiter it’s likely that you are juggling multiple requisitions that are as varied as the colors of the rainbow. Maybe those positions are technical ones like engineers, developers, sales professionals and even operations support. Maybe you are intrigued by building a specialized network and community of candidate, but are wondering what’s in it for me?

The best way to build a custom specialty and niche recruiting strategy focuses on creating a destination and community to drive all your pipeline candidates to even before you have an opening. And that starts with building a candidate recruiting strategy. With niche and very unique degree programs and skill sets, recruiters must first research the candidates they want to reach while also considering what resources, information and answers they need. Building a candidate pipeline goes beyond just standard company information, culture and benefits answers. It means providing value and a level of engagement that peaks their interest and encourages them to apply for your job role and/or invest in your talent community.

One of my favorite times of niche and specialty recruiting is of the diversity variety. Recruiters build relationships with qualified diverse candidates like veterans, women or other minorities. These groups are targeted, specific and focused on going beyond just the standard apply now. Recruiting teams build campaigns, share resources and understand that these relationships are an investment that goes beyond just filling positions but incorporating company messaging and most importantly helping the community.

Just as the title says, there’s power in building a custom specialty and niche recruiting strategy, but how is that done? Here are three things you can do to help build a niche recruiting strategy:

Be In Sync With your Community: Are you looking for veterans, women, and/or minorities? Once you know what you’re recruiting for get in sync with that specific community and start meeting people. There are several recruiters out there that when looking for specific types of candidates they’re going to meet-ups, speeches, and anywhere that they might find this specific candidate. Don’t make the mistake of not being where your candidates are if you’re niche recruiting.

Learn the Lingo: This might sound silly, but if your recruiting a specific position and sound dumb doing it you won’t gain the respect of those candidates. Learn the vocabulary so you’re able to interact in the community. Learn enough about the position and what it entails to be able to speak intelligently. For example, if you’re hiring a graphic designer don’t say the word “font” instead say “typeface” as it’s the proper term.

Give Candidates Something They Can’t Get Elsewhere: This really applies to any type of high-level recruiting, but when recruiting niche job reqs it’s important to give that candidate a little something extra that’ll put them over the top in deciding to work for you versus a competitor.

Having a good recruiting strategy in place is one thing, but being able to recruit niche jobs is an entirely new playing field. Building a specific strategy around niche job requisitions will allow your company the upper hand in beating out competitors in important positions.

Come back tomorrow and learn how to specifically recruit veterans and see what companies are doing it best.

Jessica Miller-Merrell, SPHR is a workplace and technology strategist specializing in social media. She’s is the Chief Blogger & Founder of Blogging4Jobs. You can follow her on Twitter @jmillermerrell.