Targeted Recruiting

Targeted Recruiting

Targeted recruiting is a term used to describe a recruitment process in which an employer markets open positions to a specific type of candidate. In some cases, targeted recruitment may seek to identify candidates with specialized skillsets. 

Other scenarios may include a company that wants to show good faith efforts in achieving its affirmative action objectives. For example, targeted recruitment may involve distributing job postings to diverse or niche job boards or using inclusive language that will better attract women, Hispanic people, the LGBTQ+ community, people with disabilities, or other underrepresented groups. Another example would be if a company wants to attract veterans, it would use terminology that resonates with that population.

Targeted recruitment has four key functions:

• Increase the quality of applicants for positions that are difficult to fill.

• Increase organizational competency in specific disciplines. 

• Ensure the company’s workforce represents diverse segments of society. 

• Reduce the organization’s cost per hire.

Targeted recruitment reduced cost per hire by working with a smaller applicant pool. This saves the company money in the recruitment process, but it also helps reduce turnover rates and training costs than can occur because of hiring a candidate who doesn’t adequately perform a job. 

Companies need to ensure that their targeted recruiting isn’t excluding protected groups, either deliberately or unintentionally. For example, if employers only recruit on college campuses, they may be giving the perception that they are interested solely in hiring younger workers, even if this wasn’t their intent. 

Equally important, targeted recruiting cannot use job postings with language that can be interpreted as excluding candidates based on gender, age, sex, ability, race, or other characteristics. Job postings that cross into that grey area are at risk of violating Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, or The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967. 

Example:

One example of targeted recruitment is the pay-per-performance model. With pay-per-performance, recruiters or recruiting agencies are paid when a qualified candidate applies for the job. With this model, a recruiter uses pay-per-performance to set goals and build a strategy for targeted recruitment. Using this method, an organization can save money and resources to meet the specified goals, make real-time adjustments, track results, and measure ROI.