If you want to attract the best candidate for the job, you need to know what you want. One way to ensure recruitment success is by creating a candidate persona. This represents your ideal job candidate and gives you a clear vision of the ideal person for the role.
This representation of the ideal prospective hire goes beyond a job description; it depicts their skills, qualifications, experience, motivations, and behaviors. When you know what you want, it makes finding the right person much easier. Your recruitment efforts are clear and focused–and you have a tangible framework to guide your search.
A job description will only get you so far. When you’ve got a candidate persona, you go beyond the surface and into nuance. A candidate persona details the desirable characteristics of a candidate so that you get a comprehensive idea of who you want to employ. It explores their personality type, communication styles, ambitions, and goals.
A lot of recruiters focus on skills and qualifications. And although these aspects are crucial, they only tell you part of the story. However, it’s also important to assess their hard skills and transferable skills that will make them a success within your organization, especially with high-volume hiring.
Beyond qualifications, a candidate person considers:
Problem-solving capabilities
Adaptability
Leadership potential
Teamwork capabilities
Why Do You Need a Candidate Persona?
Creating a candidate persona is a good idea for several reasons:
Tailored job adverts: When used to tailor a job advert, a well-defined candidate persona will resonate with the ideal applicants.
Streamline shortlisting: A candidate persona makes the shortlisting process easier. This is because it provides a clear framework to identify the top candidates.
Better interview efficiency: When you have a persona in mind, you can interview candidates with a structured approach that focuses on their suitability and how they align with the key attributes you desire.
Stronger brand: As an employer who understands candidate motivations, you can attract high-quality candidates who, in turn, can help you optimize your employer brand.
Improved dynamics within teams: Hiring a candidate that fits well within the existing team means improved success for all. Organizations can use candidate personas to hire candidates who are capable of creating a harmonious work environment.
Enhanced quality of recruits: Candidate personas often result in hires who are secure. The targeted approach taken means they are qualified as well as culturally aligned. This also means they’re more likely to stick around.
Increased acceptance of offers: Since the candidates interviewed will resonate with the cultural values of the company, it means they’re more likely to accept a job offer.
Reduction of bias: A candidate persona can be used to mitigate potential bias in the process of recruitment. This is because it places emphasis on objective criteria.
Improved ROI: By identifying and employing suitable candidates with a candidate persona, you enhance the return on investment. Essentially, this means cost savings and improved outcomes.
How Are Candidate Personas Used?
Candidate personas are used in various stages of the recruitment process. This includes:
Creating job adverts.
Shortlisting candidates.
Conducting interviews.
Shaping employer branding.
Improving the experience for candidates.
Making hiring decisions.
Driving retention efforts.
Optimizing recruitment strategies.
How to Create Your Candidate Persona
To ensure you create the ideal candidate persona, it’s a good idea to follow a structured approach. Here are the steps to take:
Define Your Goals
Before starting to think about the persona, consider what your recruitment goals are. Think about what qualities and attributes you’re looking for. Also, consider what objectives you’d like to achieve with this hire. Do you want to improve retention rates? Enhance team dynamics? Optimize outsourcing in contact centers? Whatever your goals, establishing them as the first step will guide your candidate persona creation process.
Evaluate the Competition
Another crucial step is to understand the industry landscape. Look at how your competitors are recruiting. This can provide you with valuable insights into what works and what doesn’t. Analyze and compare the talent acquisition practices of industry leaders, competitors, and your organization. This can help you to identify gaps and differentiate the brand effectively.
Research Your Audience
Who do you want to attract and hire? Research who’s out there and where they might currently be working. Explore the job market dynamics and gather insights about your ideal candidates and their preferences, motivations, and aspirations. It’s also useful to speak to your most recent recruits to get their perspectives on what makes your organization an attractive employer.
Create Your Candidate Persona
Start by organizing your demographic information and mapping out the psychographic details that capture your ideal candidate. Consider using a table to plan your thoughts. As a minimum, be sure to include:
Qualifications
Skills
Personality traits
Communication style
Cultural fit
With a basic idea of your candidate in mind, dive deeper into researching industry trends, job market dynamics, and candidate preferences. This can help identify patterns and trends in candidate behavior, which will enable you to tailor your recruitment strategies.
Don’t forget to seek internal insights by gathering feedback from successful hires. Also, ask current leaders what sort of person they’re looking for.
Finally, review your candidate persona and make tweaks according to the research and data uncovered. Sometimes at this stage, it may also be appropriate to review your overall branding strategies to reach the right people. For example, you may want to explore new domain names with Only Domains to ensure that your potential hires are finding you and know what you’re about immediately.
You’re now ready to tailor your job posting and messaging to resonate with the attributes of your candidate persona.
Example of a Candidate Persona for the Role of Contact Center Manager
Here are two examples of candidate personas for the example role of contact center manager. The first explains the ideal candidate in an easy-to-read grid, while the second depicts the candidate in prose so you get a feel for them as a person. Both versions have their merits and many organizations use both styles.
Example 1:
Details
Demographic data (age, location)
30-50, located in urban or suburban areas with access to major transport hubs
Current role/target designation
Employed in a managerial or supervisory position within a contact center environment, or aspiring to transition to the role from a related field.
Professional qualifications and education
Bachelor’s degree in business administration or similar. Relevant industry qualifications would be advantageous.
Professional experience in the industry
5-7 years of progressive experience in contact center operations, including 2-3 years in a leadership capacity.
Key skills
Proficient in contact center technologies like CRM systems and CCaaS platforms. Strong leadership and people management skills, excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
Career goals
To lead a high-performing contact center team and drive operational excellence. May aspire to advance to higher-level leadership roles.
Personality traits
Proactive, results-oriented, diplomatic, resilient, empathetic and adaptable. Committed to continuous learning and professional development.
Style of communication
Clear, concise and confident. Effectively conveys information to diverse audiences. Values open communication within a team and stakeholders at all levels.
Worth ethic, values, and style
Strong work ethic. Committed to integrity and accountability. Values collaboration and teamwork.
Culture fit
Aligns with the organization’s mission, values, and culture. Thrives in a dynamic and fast-paced environment. Displays a customer-centric mindset.
Example 2:
“Chloe is a 42-year-old professional who has been working in the contact center industry for ten years. She has a wealth of knowledge and expertise to bring to the table. Chloe is a contact center manager at a leading telecommunications company. Her journey in the industry began shortly after she completed her Bachelor’s degree in Business Studies. Her innate leadership abilities and passion for customer service excellence have served her well. She has consistently delivered outstanding results in her managerial roles. Chloe has successfully led her team through various challenges and transformations. She is known for her personable demeanor and strong leadership skills. She is respected by her team and peers alike. Chloe effortlessly navigates complex situations and is adaptable and resilient. She communicates calmly and clearly and fosters an environment of collaboration and open dialogue. Chloe leads by example, instilling a culture of continuous improvement within her team. She thrives in the dynamic and customer-centric environment of her organization.”
How to Know If a Candidate Matches the Candidate Persona
So, you’ve built your candidate persona, but how do you use it? Here is how to ensure your candidates align with the persona:
Evaluate their qualifications. Compare their educational background, certifications, and professional qualifications listed in the candidate persona.
Assess their skills. Review their skills and experiences to determine if they align with the persona’s competencies.
Analyze their personality traits. During the interview, assess their personality and behavioral tendencies to see if they align with the desired characteristics.
Observe their communication style. Pay attention to how the candidates communicate with you from the start of the process and including in the interview. Recruitment communication is key to understanding how they’ll communicate if offered a position.
Consider their cultural fit. Assess whether their values and work ethic are compatible with the existing organizational culture.
Conclusion
Building a candidate persona isn’t just about understanding the job role. Though many recruiters focus on the basic job description, this is more about envisioning the ideal candidate. A candidate persona paints a picture of the person who will thrive the most in your organization’s unique culture.
It’s about finding someone with the skills, knowledge, and personality to excel in the role and seamlessly fit into the existing dynamics of the team. By defining your recruitment goals in this way, you can create your vision of an ideal hire, which can serve as a guide throughout the recruitment process. It becomes a clear benchmark to measure potential candidates and is useful throughout the whole process, from crafting the job advertisement right through to the final stages of an interview.
