Are you a generalist recruiter considering focussing on one market area?
Are you worried you aren’t making the most of the industry focus you have?
Do you already have a niche and want to capitalise on the knowledge you have within your sector?
Perhaps you just want to be the best niche recruiter you can be.
In a candidate rich market generalist recruiters can become swamped. In a candidate poor market generalist recruiters just don’t have the contacts to find the best people.
Did you know that 9 Out of 10 Job Openings are Filled by Niche Recruiters? The article references a study in which it was found that more than 90% of all jobs filled by third-party recruiters were filled by a speciality, or niche, recruiting firm.
The article suggests the four main reasons why a niche recruiting firm has more success in filling companies’ open positions than a generalist firm or one that doesn’t work within the industry 100% of the time are:
They’ve already built relationships with the top talent.
They’re completely familiar with the terminology and jargon associated with the industry.
They stay on top of new trends and developments.
Their familiarity with the industry translates into more speed and efficiency during the hiring process.
Our next Directors event will include a panel debate on the subject of niche recruiting and aims to provide value to those attending with the questions I set at the start of this blog.
Here are my top tips
a) Clearing define your market
b) Map your market. If there are more than 500 potential companies in your market it’s probably too big.
c) Be visible within your market. Use social media as well as traditional marketing and a presence at events to be seen
d) Create credibility. Curate information and share your knowledge
e) Build a talent pipeline (If you aren’t sure How To Identify Your Target Candidate Audience then read Andy’s excellent article)
f) Be better than your competition (offer more, be innovative, create USPs)
g) Work your nuts off!
As Jordan Rayboy says in his articles about “owning your niche” (part one and two here) “You have to differentiate yourself, otherwise you will not be successful long-term. These clients want to work with someone who understands their business. The more you know about their market, and what talent looks like in their market, the better you understand their business and the more successful you will be in your marketing/recruiting efforts.”
So:
Are you a generalist recruiter considering focussing on one market area?
Are you worried you aren’t making the most of the industry focus you have?
Do you want to capitalise on the knowledge you have within your sector?
Sign up for our 26th February Recruitment Directors Summit now.
[…] 1. Create Content Write a blog, LinkedIn Pulse articles, a client newsletter, articles for your local press; anything which showcases your expertise to your potential client base. Be proactive with your marketing of this content and show off your expert status to candidates and clients on a regular basis. Whatever you write make sure you share the backside out of. Andy Headworth tells you why content marketing is great for recruiters and Social Talent have a handy guide to Creating a Kick-Ass Content Strategy. 2. Own Your Niche If you didn’t already know the future of recruitment is NICHE (& a load of other things) then now is the time to smell the coffee. You need to become a niche recruiting ninja. […]
[…] 4. Know your niche. Number one tip really for being a successful recruiter is to pick a niche and to totally own it. If you want to know how check out my article on How to Become a Niche Recruiting Ninja. […]