WP Job Openings
The time is here. It’s time to begin the search for the right candidate. But wait, how do you know who will be the perfect fit? Every hiring manager goes through this, regardless of which organization they work for, be it small or large.
Before the search for the right candidate begins, one must have a proper picture of who would fit for the open position as well as with the organization. This is where having a proper Candidate Profile Persona comes into play.
What is a Candidate Profile Persona?
As a recruiter, it is like entering a maze if you don’t have an idea about your ideal candidate. This is where the candidate profile persona plays a crucial role. The candidate profile persona is your guide, the compass that leads you out of the maze, in this situation leads you to the ideal candidate.
A candidate profile persona is a semi-fictional representation of the ideal candidate and all the qualities, skills, and talents that the candidate should possess. This candidate profile is created after hours of research by the hiring team. A lot of interviews and data analysis go into making the candidate profile persona.
The hiring team has to go through everything, all the aspects like work experience, education, demography details, soft and hard skills, and many more. This is a time-consuming effort, but the results are well worth it.
The Importance of Candidate Profile Persona
The candidate profile personas will ultimately determine the ideal candidate, the job description, and also the job post. Every piece of content that outlines the perfect candidate for the job is the outcome of a successful candidate profile persona operating in the background. The candidate profile persona helps us to reduce our search radius for the right candidate by focusing on certain key areas.
- One cannot simply post a job opening without collecting the relevant information about that particular role.
- Without a candidate persona, how can one determine the years of experience needed for this role or the skills and certifications needed?
Now, because of a proper job description that is the result of a candidate’s profile persona, the candidates themselves can analyze whether they are the perfect fit for this role or not. This in turn reduces the applications that reach the recruiters and all the applications that ultimately make it to the recruiter will be the right ones.
The candidate profile persona also allows the recruiters to know exactly where to source and find the right candidates and also optimize the recruitment process. As different job boards are mainly set up for a particular field, the hiring managers can target those boards to find the ideal candidates.
How to Develop a Candidate Profile Persona
Now that we have covered what a candidate profile persona and its importance is, it is time we take a look at how to create one.
1. Research
So the management tells you that there is an open position and the need to fill the vacancy. So, what do you do? Where do you start? You don’t know anything at this point. Every single detail counts like what the team is expecting and so on.
This is where you start the research. The research first starts within your organization.
Have a discussion with the top-level management and also with the people who are working in the department in which the vacancy has to be filled. The major part of the candidate persona can be collected within an organization itself. The management and other employees will give you an idea about the ideal candidate, the skills, and everything he/she should possess. The most important things to note down are:
- Educational background
The candidates from which educational background will perfectly fit this position or can someone with a different educational background do well and adapt? These questions can be easily answered by the management and coworkers easily.
- Experience required
Is this a high-level post or an open position? To determine this you will have to analyze the job title also. Does the job title mention senior or junior or anything else that might give you a heads-up is always a good start? Also, your team members can provide a concrete answer to the years of experience needed for this job.
- Additional certifications
Will the candidate need other certifications along with them to be capable of this position?
- Their current job title
Is the candidate new to this field, are they making a career change or not, or simply looking for a better organization and opportunities?
- Soft and hard skills
Never overlook the soft and hard skills as they can cause problems down the line. We are looking for someone who is a mix of both, and not just one or half.
- Demography
Everything from age, gender, and income comes under demography.
- Goals and motivation
What they want to achieve in this position, why they are looking for a change, and why they want to work with you. Also what motivates them to perform well and grow. Is it learning new skills, taking up projects, work environment, and so on.
2. Research the current trends
So you have gathered enough intel from within your organization. Now it’s time to do some more work. Is there new any new trend or skill out there that could act as an added advantage in the long run. Search for a similar open position online and see if it aligns with the data you have collected. If you spot something new, not on your checklist talk with the management and other team members to know if this is important and useful in the long run.
3. Time to Create the Actual Candidate Profile Persona
Now that you have everything you need, it is time to combine everything to make sense. Start from the most important ones and move to the rest.
After you have combined all the data you have collected, present it to the team and management and if they give you the thumbs up, it’s time to put the plan into action, time to post an appropriate job post, and find the right candidate.
An Example of a Perfect Candidate Profile Persona
An example of a perfect candidate profile will be like this:
| Job Title | Java Script Developer |
| Educational Background | Engineering |
| Experience | 4 years |
| Skills | Should have knowledge and experience in Node.js, MySQL, Mongo DB, Express.js, TypeScript, JavaScript Excellent communication skills |
| Salary Range | $3000-$4000 |
| Interests | Coding libraries, Developing mobile and desktop applications |
| Goals | Learn new skills Career Growth Ambitious |
| Motivation | Grow by tackling new challenges Perks and benefits Work Culture |
Based on the above, the recruiters can structure the appropriate job description and job post to start the hiring process to find the right candidate.
What would make the recruitment process simple and efficient after the candidate profile persona is complete is a powerful recruitment plugin like WPJob Openings. The tool allows you to create a career page and post job openings in a flash, provides you with customizable job forms, filter out applications, contact candidates, and more.
Wrapping Up
Every time you go through a job post, remember that a lot of research and hard work went into it. The reason why there is an apt job post and description for each and every job opening is that there exists a candidate profile persona in the background. Candidate profile personas are vital and play an important role in helping organizations always find the perfect candidate.
