In the previous article, we talked about just what a candidate persona is and its importance when it comes to employer branding and recruitment.
Corporate marketers are largely responsible for developing the concept of personas, as they're the ones that first came up with this research-driven approach to understanding one’s target audience. They’ve coined the term buyer personas, which aid marketers in evaluating potential customers.
Much of what marketers do is ultimately guided by these personas. After all, their explicit function is to help companies reach prospective employees and customers far more effectively.
What is a candidate persona
A candidate persona is a semi-fictional representation of the ideal candidate based on market research and real data on existing employees.
In this article, we’re going to discuss how to create a candidate persona from scratch. Although creating high-quality job candidate personas can be time-consuming, the process might not be as complicated as you think. But for optimal results, it’s essential to reserve ample time for planning and thoughtful preparation.
Before we start with the actual process, let’s remind ourselves of the many benefits of candidate personas.
1. Candidate personas translate into more compelling job description and place job ads
Creating candidate personas helps to inform a significant part of your recruitment efforts and should be referred to when creating Recruitment Marketing content. With candidate personas already defined, you can ensure that you’re using the right language in your messaging, ultimately reaching candidates on the right channels and continuing to attract the right talent that will excel within your company.
2. Candidate personas greatly inform employer branding strategies
In order to craft an employer brand strategy, it’s vital that your company identifies its target audience. The more specific these kinds of prospective employees are, the more your company can do to reel them in for recruitment.
3. Candidate personas are essential to creating an Employer Value Proposition (EVP)
Creating candidate personas enable companies to better curate attractive job advertisements, all while developing their Employer Value Proposition, or how a company would like to be perceived by employees and candidates.
4. Candidate personas lead to higher quality hires and increased employee retention rates
When candidates know what to expect from their role because a company has made it clear throughout the recruitment process, employees are much more likely to stay with the company longer.
5. Decrease time to hire rate, better sourcing of passive candidate
Once you’ve really nailed a candidate persona and know exactly who and where the right candidates are, the time it takes to hire will decrease drastically. Why? Because you won’t be wasting time on candidates or platforms that aren’t quite the right fit!
6. Candidate personas open up the floor for better questions during the interview process
A well-defined candidate persona will not only present the candidate with the most accurate information about the company and the role but also the opportunity to ask more interesting questions. This, in turn, can make for better interview experiences for more candidates.
7. Candidate personas help companies to create more informative content for candidates
Candidate personas help to create meaningful, relevant, and engaging Recruitment Marketing content that informs job-seekers about a company and its opportunities. While a relatively simple concept, these personas can entice prospective employees to take action, such as joining a company talent network or applying for a job.
to be continued in next article :)