How to Build a Candidate Persona
A what now? If you haven’t heard of a candidate persona before then the synapses in your neural network have probably just rematerialised your last marketing campaign with buyer personas shimmying to the fore. No, we are not about to launch into an exposition about campaign-driven marketing and buyer funnels, but we are going to talk about how knowing who your ideal candidate is will make your recruitment process a breezier experience overall.
What is a candidate persona?
Similar to buyer personas in marketing, a candidate persona is a semi-fictional representation of your ideal candidate. If for some reason you are under the impression that simply hiring someone with a certain stack of skills in their repertoire is the key to recruitment success, then we have to burst your bubble and tell you you’re sorely mistaken.
Human beings are a complex bunch and if you’ve ever dated then you’ll know that finding a good match for even the most minimalist of checklists can be a headache- inducing exercise! In fact, the term “ghosting” has been acquired from dating culture and injected into modern recruitment discourse because perfectly good candidates can and often do simply vanish into thin air…
Are candidate personas more hassle than they’re worth?
It’s easy to offhandedly dismiss the idea of creating a candidate persona because, well, it requires time and, let’s admit it, effort. But considering that salary is one of the highest costs for a business and that the estimated cost of making the wrong hire is 30% of the employee’s first-year earnings, we think it is well worth your time and attention.
If you’re still in any doubt about how important it is to make the right candidate/company match, this eye-watering statistic from a recent survey by HR platform, Hibob, should convince you. They found that 64% of new hires leave their job because during the on-boarding process the candidates found that the job wasn’t adequately explained in the initial job description. Ouch!
How do you create a candidate persona?
Instead of just having an idea about what your perfect hire looks like in your head, you first need to force yourself to put it down on paper. There are three fundamental elements to a candidate persona:
- Researching
- Identifying trends
- Creating candidate personas
Let’s take a closer look at each stage of the process so you can get started on your own customer personas.
1. Researching
It’s time to keep your personal assumptions on a tight leash and seek out some hard facts. There are a few ways you can do this. Firstly, we’d advise talking to people in your company who currently fill a similar role to the one you are looking to fill. Particularly focus in on those top performers. Ask questions such as:
- What made them interested in the role to begin with?
- How did they find the role?
- What do they like about working at the company?
- What are their career ambitions?
- What do they like about their job?
- What skills are most important for the role?
- What would cause them to not go for a job they are qualified for?
- What is their educational background and work history?
If you can get your team to answer these questions you are already compiling some great insights into the kind of person your ideal candidate is. Next, you should talk with relevant managers and stakeholders. This is important, not only get them on board, but to ask them where they see the company going so that together you can identify skills you should look out for that you do not currently have in your team. Finally, you should validate your findings by asking your pool of candidates the same questions.
2. Identifying trends
With all this data at hand, it’s time to start identifying trends within it. The goal here is to find commonalities in terms of qualities and characteristics so that you can narrow down your candidate persona to a short list of attributes. For example, an easy start would be whether there was a trend towards having certain qualifications. Another would be common pet peeves when it comes to job descriptions. Trends can be positive or negative. The more trends you find the more apparent your ideal candidate’s “story” will be.
3. Creating candidate personas
Finally, it is time to build a 360-degree view of your ideal candidate persona. Remember, this is not a job description but a profile of a fictional human being, so give them a name! It could be Marketing Mike or Sales Sally. Their profile should include sections such as Experience, Qualifications, Skills, Interests, Dislikes, Identifiers, Salary Aspirations, Online Habits, Career Ambitions, Influences, Motivators, etc. This information should inform every aspect of your recruitment process, from the information you include in your job advertisement, where you advertise it, the kind of questions you ask in the interview, your employer brand and your on-boarding process.
Not sure how to get started? At Connexus Recruit, we use best practice talent mapping techniques to build market intelligence around your company and attract talented candidates. Get in contact with us today for more information.
