It’s easy to find a basic software developer or graphic designer for a business. But what about filling roles that are more distinct and specialized? When your company has roles that require NDAs, lab reports, or other very niche expertise, it can be difficult to find just the right person for the job. Whether you are trying to send rockets to Mars or you simply need someone who can navigate complex financial or legal hurdles, your applicant pool will be a lot smaller. The great news is that there are ways to overcome these hiring challenges to help fill your business with the right people at the right time. Let’s explore some smart ways to overcome your hiring challenges in specialized fields.
The Importance of Hiring Trustworthy Employees
Too many employers focus heavily on job skills and job readiness without taking other important factors into consideration. One of the most underrated traits to look for when you are hiring is whether a person is trustworthy or not. The wrong staff member can tank your business, so it’s crucial to have people in place who you can trust with sensitive information about your business, and who can be trusted around other staff.
This is especially true for niche positions that have access to critical business information, secret recipes, and even regulatory data. Being able to trust that your staff will maintain secrecy around the sensitive parts of their roles is crucial for your overall business success. Plus, having staff who can be trusted around co-workers is also important. Employees who lie, cheat, or steal can create a toxic work environment for everyone.
To find trustworthy individuals, you’ll want to incorporate questions in your interview process that can help you discern their character. Include topics about how the employee would handle ethical situations, how they interact and work with others, and if they’ve ever had access to “top secret” types of company information.
Look for Help to Find the Right People
Sometimes your HR department doesn’t have quite the right approach to help you fill those niche roles in your company. The best businesses partner with recruitment professionals to find highly skilled people to fill critical positions. Whether you’re a law firm that needs a top notch lawyer to handle highly complex cases or you’re a biotech company that needs a very specific type of scientist, finding the people best qualified for these roles takes some finesse.
It’s why law firms in California might partner with a legal recruiter in San Francisco, San Diego, or Sacramento and a biotech company might use a recruiter with connections in the scientific community or deep within Silicon Valley itself. Using specialized recruiters means that you’ll gain access to job applicants who may not have been looking for a new role. By using their connections, these recruiters may already know people who are best suited for the jobs you need to fill, and they go looking for those candidates who are qualified and interested in working for your company.
Compete With Popular Brands
Every industry has brands and companies that are considered to be the most desirable to work for. Lawyers know the best law firms in their city and software engineers know the companies that would look compelling on a resume. Many job hunters seek out roles in these places first. And while your company may be great, it probably doesn’t have the same brand appeal as Apple or a law firm that handles billionaire clients.
This doesn’t mean you can’t have great employees. It simply means that you need to be more proactive in your recruitment tactics. While some specialists would love the prestige of working for the best of the best, others simply want to have a role that pays well, where they are treated with respect, and where their contributions matter. In niche roles, the people still want clear growth paths, places where they won’t be micromanaged, and even the opportunity to innovate and be given credit for their work. If you do this well, you’ll be better able to compete for top talent against the big dogs even if your company is less well known.
What if the talent you need most isn’t really out there just yet? It may seem like a futile effort getting the right people in play to execute your vision, but there is another option. What if instead of looking out, you look inward and find people who are eager to be trained and learn new skills? Need someone to create a new AI, for example? Then help your entry level computer staff get the training they need to help create it. The point is that with the right approach, you can fill your pipeline with people who are just right for the job when you train them and help them learn what they need to know.
