Rock Content Ebook Branding Hiring Persona

SAVE OFFLINE

[Type here]

[Type here]

A Guide on How to Create Candidate Persona

[Type here]

A Guide on How to Create a Candidate Persona

Candidate persona is… Fictional representation of your ideal candidate, based on data and an educated guess about their goals, dreams, fears, and background. It should be created using information gathered from different sources and it will help you:  better understand past, present and future employees;  create more effective talent acquisition marketing content;  sharpen the communication with candidates;  better attract and convert talented candidates.

I can create candidate persona… Using all the information gathered through communication with targeted candidates, also past and present employees and company executives. Gathering information from relevant people should be done by using few methods such as surveys, quizzes and interviews. A candidate persona revolves around four Ws: 1. Who 2. What 3. Where 4. Why

1

A Guide on How to Create a Candidate Persona

1. Who… Who is your ideal candidate? Naming this perfect candidate is giving him life and makes it easier to follow the process. Then simply start with basic things while keeping it within the role for which you are hiring.  John/Jane Doe’s current occupation is…  He/she has X years of pro experience.  He/she has worked in XY industry/industries.  He/she had a role of…  He/she is/has been working for competitors right now or not…

John/Jane Doe fits my company because…  he/she has great personality.  of his/her strong core values.  his/her hobbies and other outside interests.  his/her working style.  his/her preferred environment. Simply put, culture fit is very important because these attributes are a must have for your candidate persona. Looking at current and past employees who proved to be great asset can provide answers and can even set more questions. Great employees help build great employer brand which is very important for the company to control.

2

A Guide on How to Create a Candidate Persona

2. What…  are the professional and personal skills that have made individuals great in their role and still help them be great assets?  are professional goals that John/Jane Doe should have to be exceeded at this role?  is specific skill set that John/Jane Doe has considered to be great asset?  is the reason that motivates John/Jane Doe to push themselves?

3

A Guide on How to Create a Candidate Persona

3. Where…  do your candidates spend time online and where would John/Jane Doe spend their time?  and how to reach them so you can present your true face of the company?  is their point of interest – blogs, social networks, groups, forums etc. and which ones?  does John/Jane Doe go to research a future employer?  is the source of the information that John/Jane Doe considers trustworthy?

4

A Guide on How to Create a Candidate Persona

4. Why or why not… would John/Jane Doe want to work for you? This is the main question that needs to be carefully answered because info like defining company’s EVP (Employee Value Proposition) is not easy to gather. Talking to your past and present employees as well as executives can give you better insights. Then you can define exactly which elements of the EVP are most important for John/Jane Doe. Few things need to be checked out and considered to avoid potential dangers.  How good is your application process (too long, too short, out of date etc.)?  How does your interview location effect the candidates (they need to travel or it can be done remotely)?  How to talk to a person who is interested in the opening but already has a job? To improve the rate of conversion, you need to find solutions to all of these obstacles and deliver the-best-you-can marketing campaign. Defining John/Jane Doe means ignoring your own assumptions. Information needs to be gathered from people involved in hiring process, past and present employees and C-level personas in the company. Researching the candidates who already applied and even those who are about to apply can help you get more additional information which can be very helpful. This can be done by adding additional custom fields to the application form, asking questions such as: How did you hear about this role, or Which social media are you using to check out potential employer? Being creative helps you gather more information and this gives you better insights, which in the end provides better picture of John/Jane Doe! We made a template to help you speed things up and get you exactly what you want. Simply answer the questions and create your own ideal candidate.

5

A Guide on How to Create a Candidate Persona

Candidate Persona Example JOB FAMILY: .NET DEVELOPER

SECTION 1: WHO? BACKGROUND Current and past position? Experience? Industry? COMPANY FIT Personality? Core values? Style of working?

IDENTIFIERS Habits? Hobbies? Preferred environment?

  

Senior .NET Developer Junior .NET Developer 3-5 years of experience with MS technologies

    

Self-learning Can work both in team and alone Writes clean, understandable and reusable code Open minded Can quickly pick up new frameworks and technologies

   

Being outdoor Movies and sports Prefers small offices to big open space Needs quiet working environment

SECTION 2: WHAT? GOALS



Improve own skills and knowledgebase

Personal? Professional?



Move up the company hierarchy, lead his own team, become system architect

SKILLS

   

Communication and leadership Thinks outside of the box C#, VB.NET, F#, Azure, MS SQL, MVC, Javascript, HTML, CSS Good presentation skills

MOTIVATION



Demonstrate skills and knowledge

Intrinsic, Extrinsic



Get acceptance from team, superiors etc.



Take pride in finishing tasks on time



Bonuses and benefit packages



Organized team activities

Personal? Professional? Specific?

6

A Guide on How to Create a Candidate Persona

SECTION 3: WHERE? INTEREST Time spent online? How to reach them?

SOCIAL NETWORK Which they use? Blogs? Forums? Groups? RESEARCH Where would research future employer? Trustworthy information?

  



Best to reach them through LinkedIn, Stackoverflow or Github Tech meetups Senior developers prefer being contacted with full info about the job you are offering them. Don’t waste time on “Are you interested in new opportunities…” emails

 

LinkedIn, Facebook, Google+, Twitter, Stackoverflow, Github IT news portals Specialized blogs from MS community

  

Company page, career site Ask around on forums Glassdoor reviews

SECTION 4: WHY? APPLICATION



Process length? Interview location?   COMMUNICATION



78% of candidates are passive, meaning they would change their job if offered better conditions. Know which conditions you’re your required candidate and can you offer them something better. Nobody changes job for the same or worse work conditions

  

Better salary and benefits Shorter commute More vacation days

Job change? EVP elements to this candidate?

REASON Decision trigger? Does it require the candidate to travel?

Senior developers want to know as soon as possible all the information about the position you are offering them. They prefer short processes. Interview is preferably done via Skype and similar; or outside work hours Junior developers can put up with on-site interviews and longer processes

7

A Guide on How to Create a Candidate Persona

Your turn JOB FAMILY: DevOps Engineer

SECTION 1: WHO? BACKGROUND Current and past position? Experience? Industry? COMPANY FIT Personality? Core values? Style of working? IDENTIFIERS Habits? Hobbies? Preferred environment? SECTION 2: WHAT? GOALS Personal? Professional? SKILLS Personal? Professional? Specific? MOTIVATION Intrinsic? Extrinsic? SECTION 3: WHERE? INTEREST Time spent online? How to reach them? SOCIAL NETWORK Which they use? Blogs? Forums? Groups? RESEARCH 8

A Guide on How to Create a Candidate Persona

Where would research future employer? Trustworthy information? SECTION 4: WHY? APPLICATION Process length? Interview location? COMMUNICATION Job change? EVP elements to this candidate? REASON Decision trigger? Does it require the candidate to travel?

Use the following template as guide to creating your candidate personas. You can also download the Candidate Persona Template in Excel.

A complete talent acquisition platform that helps you source, engage, convert and hire a great talent. Very dedicated team follows you through whole hiring process, to help you save time and money. No download needed, simply sign up and start searching the talent, working on your employer brand, communicating with talents and surfing through selection process easier than ever. 9