With over 28 years of experience as a recruiter hiring for roles in a variety of industries, I’ve had the opportunity to get an inside-view of the hiring process of both big and small companies. And something I’ve noticed is that no matter how big the company, or how many HR staff they employ, I see the same hiring mistakes come up over and over again. This is especially true for those hard-to-fill “niche” jobs.

One of the best parts of my job is seeing the surprised faces of HR Managers and Hiring Managers when I report back within 24 hours with a full interview schedule of qualified candidates for complex niche positions.

How am I pulling it off?

For starters, I avoid the common mistakes employers typically make when hiring for niche jobs.

Keep reading to discover the 5 biggest mistakes I’ve seen employers commonly make…

#1 Using The Wrong Platforms

As a reflex, most HR Managers or Hiring Managers go directly to Monster.com, CareerBuilder, and the other big players in the employment website space to post ads for their jobs. Although this may be appropriate for generic jobs, they usually render little to no results for niche jobs.

Why? Well, one thing you have to keep in mind is that finding a platform with your target audience is key if you want to give yourself the best opportunity to get an abundance of applications from qualified candidates.

#2 Choosing The Wrong Categories

This is something that can dramatically lower your chances of getting responses from the right candidates. Always remember to put yourself in the shoes of the job applicant. When these applicants visit an employment site, they typically go directly to the category that best suits their education and experience. So you will want to identify the most appropriate category for your listing so you can maximize your chances of getting the types of applications you’re looking for.

#3 Confusing Job Titles

Before a candidate decides if they are even going to bother looking at the posting, they will immediately judge the job title. And that’s exactly where most employers go wrong.

Too often, HR Managers choose titles that only make sense internally, but may not be immediately understandable to an applicant who doesn’t already know about your company. You might have dozens of highly qualified applicants looking at your posting every day, but you could be losing most (or even all) of them because the job title isn’t straightforward.

#4 Job Description is Not Well-Defined

Many HR Managers are not clear about the specific roles and responsibilities of niche positions. So they tend to write job descriptions that aren’t clear to the applicant. Confusion leads to inaction. You’ll want to avoid the temptation of “cutting and pasting” job descriptions, and instead take the time to gather information online and from higher-ups on the actual roles and responsibilities of the position you’re trying to fill.

#5 Unclear about Experience and Education Required

It’s extremely important to be clear about exactly how many years of experience you are looking for and what education is required for the role. In some cases, a certain number of years of experience can be a substitute for a degree. Determine what is true in your company and lay it out clearly in your job posting.

Keep in mind, it takes time for applicants to send their resume along with a customized cover letter. So they want to know that it’s a worthwhile investment of their time. Without clearly outlined experience and educational requirements, applicants might assume they are either under-qualified or overqualified and won’t bother sending in their application at all.

If you’re struggling to fill a niche position, simply avoid these 5 mistakes and you will have much greater success in hiring for hard-to-fill “niche” jobs. But if you’re like many of the employers I work with, you understand that finding the right talent is an asset for your company that is worth investing in. So if you need some more support, contact Talent Answers for a free consultation.