Is your company deep in the hiring process? The first step to finding the right person for the role is visualising your ideal candidate. Luckily, a candidate profile can help you do just that.

For a better understanding of this term, it’s helpful to think about customer profiles, which are basically descriptions of what the best-possible customer looks like for a given product. It may include their age range, interests, gender, shopping behaviours, skills, and social-media image, among other qualities.

When it comes to hiring, candidate profiles serve a very similar purpose, allowing hiring managers to determine what type of person they are looking for.

Human-resource personnel can work together to create their vision of the ideal candidate, taking into account factors such as personality traits, hard and soft skills, work experience and education, and long-term career goals.

Note, however, it is recommended to steer clear of demographics so that hires can be made based on merit instead of a person’s background.

Why it’s important

Candidate profiles make writing detailed job descriptions so much easier, as you will know exactly what you are looking for. Essential qualities can be listed, as well as additional information relevant to the role.

Such profiles also help you refine your sourcing strategy – that is, how and where you will reach out to potential candidates. Research suggests experienced employees prefer different methods of communication to newcomers; so, knowing how to best target people means you can get the top candidates for the job.

How to create a candidate profile

1. Identify hard and soft skills

The ideal new hire needs to have a good mix of hard and soft skills. These can be split into two sections: “must-haves” and “nice-to-haves”.

If you’re hiring for a sales manager, a hard skill might be keeping things organised, while a soft skill might be confidence when speaking.

Ask your hiring team questions such as “what success traits does the new hire need?”, or “what skills will they use for their day to day duties?”

2. Describe unique qualities

Define, in greater specificity, the qualities of the role – the tasks, hard and soft skills, “must-have” qualities, “nice-to-haves”, success traits, and other aspects you’re seeking in an ideal candidate. Each position is unique and, as such, requires a specific set of key traits.

While you might have filled similar vacancies before now, don’t assume any two positions are ever the same. You won’t be looking for the exact same person – rather, someone who is similar.

3. Define your company’s identity and culture

Some 88% of job seekers in the United States say company culture is important when finding a job. New employees don’t only want to know what the role entails, they also want to know whether they will fit into the organisation.

So, when you’re creating an ideal candidate profile, take the vibe of the workplace into consideration. Share details on your organisation’s values or shared vision to provide candidates a better understanding of your company’s identity.

4. Assess your top performers

Looking at successful employees among the ranks of your organisation can be useful to fill similar vacancies. Examine their personalities, skills, and other qualities to identify candidates with similar traits.

5. Know your candidate demographics

While you should avoid depending on factors such as age, gender, race, and sexuality, you can use other personal factors to start to get an idea of what quality candidates will look like.

Imagine, for example, you have two top candidates for a specific role. One might be more experienced with greater understanding of the job, while the other might be new to the field but have a flair for learning.

Being open-minded to different demographics in this regard can help you make a decision on who to hire.

6. Bring all your research together

Now that you’ve spent time considering the above, flesh out your candidate profile with as much colour and detail as possible. This process can be likened to “storytelling”, and you might need to work alongside your HR team to create the most detailed description possible of the best candidate you can imagine.

7. Keep the profile in mind

The candidate profile comes into play for the entire recruitment journey, from the moment you post on job boards, to interviewing and confirming the new addition to your organisation.

Keep the profile at the forefront during every step of the process. Armed with a vision of your ideal worker, you can quickly filter out candidates who won’t make the cut, saving you time, energy, and effort.

Vervoe‘s mission is to fundamentally transform the hiring process from mediocracy to meritocracy.