Unique Thinking for Out-of-the-box Matches

These days, recruiting top talents to any company is a challenge. With an increase in digital job listing opportunities to attract employees, and despite a steady 3.6% unemployment rate in the US over the past year, companies seeking to fill a specific position must think out-of-the-box and stand out if they wish to secure the best talents for the job. This is especially true when it comes to recruiting experts.

In the words of textile innovator Levi Strauss, “An expert is a person who knows all the answers - if you ask the right questions.” To be an expert, a person needs to be more than simply skillful, successful, talented, or experienced in a particular field. Experts must also be motivated to continuously learn on the go, stay up to date on best practices, and provide views and practical applications of specialized knowledge and services, which very few others can match.

Special challenges when recruiting specialists & experts

Companies are looking to leverage employees with unique to make the most of their money, hiring for roles capable of directly (and beneficially) impacting their bottom line. Even better, they’re willing to pay more for more knowledge and expertise in particular specialties and have begun to lean into hybrid work to make these experts as happy and comfortable on the job as possible, promoting retention. However, for better or for worse, when it comes to recruiting experts, “It’s a small world after all.” Everyone pretty much knows everything about everyone in this small, highly-specialized professional community. As such, when matching experts with companies in need, discretion is extremely important. The last thing any company wants to hear is, “I heard he also interviewed for that position,” opening the doors to conflicts of interest, market dispersion, and salary/term wars.

Savvy recruitment experts will take a deep dive into the expert community and obtain the precise information they need to make the right matches between companies and candidates with rare specialties. Here, it’s imperative that first-hand information be secured without alerting the community’s members. In doing so, recruiters can leverage the right information to motivate the right specialists to interview with hiring companies and fill positions, according to fair terms. Easier said than done? Possibly, but true recruitment experts can most certainly excel at this task.

Expert recruitment best practices

Practically speaking, recruiting highly-skilled employees is about more than simply making it known that the company is a great place to work, as experts tend to have their pick of the job market litter. While employer branding is important, and encouraging the client’s employees to use social proof is a great way to publicize that the company is hiring, it simply isn’t enough. When it comes to recruiting experts, proactive, professional recruitment is of order.

Don’t wait for specialists to come knocking on your door. Because experts are few and far between, chances are that if they’re employed, they have great working terms and relationships and are less inclined to seek other employment opportunities. Doing your due diligence, researching who the relevant experts are for the position at hand, and contacting them directly to inform them of superior job options is of the essence.

Recruit outside of the box. Think all relevant experts are active on LinkedIn? Think again. LinkedIn may be the world’s largest professional network, but experts may be too involved in their field of expertise to look at - or even create - LinkedIn profiles. To find experts, a little creative thinking is of the utmost importance. Joining dedicated digital communities and forums, scanning relevant websites and articles for standout names, and checking out who’s attending and speaking at specialized conferences can help narrow the playing field to the most relevant candidates.

When Noa Even Tsur, one of our executive search and expert recruitment consultants, was tasked with recruiting archaeologists and statisticians from a particular field within the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), she didn’t just turn to LinkedIn and cold-message potential candidates about the positions. Rather, she served as a trusted advisor and located a digital directory of all relevant CBS positions, lists of conference speakers, and anyone affiliated with the Antiquities Authority. She then contacted by phone or email, adding them to her list of potential hires from LinkedIn, to find the best-fit specialists for the company in need.

Become an expert yourself. Learning about the specific domain is a great starting point for any company or recruiter looking for professionals with unique specialties. Doing so sheds unprecedented light on why they love their field, and what may motivate them to consider other professional opportunities.

Experts in recruiting experts

At Hunter, we view experts as people who specialize in thinking and working outside of the box. We understand that they apply acquired knowledge and experience in extremely unique and highly-specialized ways, and seek to emulate this behavior when looking to match experts with companies hiring experts for niche roles within their organizations.

We specialize in matching companies and candidates, therefore we know, more than anyone else, just how hard it can be to find the right (available and willing) expert to fill extremely specialized positions. We know that these employees understand just how rare a commodity they are. We also know that, since they know their experience is rare, they often need a little “extra” motivation to move from one company to another. Our expertise extends to understanding exactly what push will help all of our candidates make smart, successful employment decisions, based on each client’s unique needs and desires. This enables us to serve as a trusted advisor, throughout - and beyond - the entire relationship-building process.

What growth opportunities could an expert drive within your organization?