There is a well-known saying in the marketing world, “When you speak to everyone, you speak to no-one.” The same applies to recruitment. To attract qualified candidates and recruit the right person, we strongly recommend creating a candidate persona. So what exactly is a candidate persona? How do you go about creating one?

What is a candidate persona?

A candidate persona is a snapshot of the ideal profile you are seeking for a given position. Inspired by real people, this photofit image is used to personalise and adapt your pitch and recruitment strategy to reach and attract candidates who match the profile you are looking for. 

Several pieces of information make up candidate persona:

●       the age range and personal situation (married, single, cohabiting)

●       socio-professional category

●       background and professional experience

●       hard and soft skills

●       values

●       expectations and professional needs (preferred management style, sources of motivation, etc.)

●       career aspirations

●       problem areas

●       behaviour and habits (favourite sources of information, favourite social media, social life…)

●       job search (methods, channels used, preferred recruitment techniques, etc.)

What are the benefits of creating a candidate persona?

For a company, having a candidate persona offers several advantages:

●       Customise your job offer. The characteristics of the ideal candidate allow you to write a more accurate, engaging and impactful ad by highlighting the key elements you are looking for in a candidate.

●       Identify the best channels to broadcast the job offer. For example, a junior graphic designer is definitely active on TikTok and Instagram while a senior tax specialist will more likely be on LinkedIn and specialist job boards.

●       Do some natural selection People who do not see themselves reflected in the profile you are looking for naturally withdraw from the recruitment process.

●       Simplify the ranking of applications received: candidates to be discarded, candidates to put at the top of the list, and those whose profile is not suitable for the position, but may match another current or future need.

●       Assess candidates more objectively and efficiently. With a candidate persona, nothing is left to chance. Recruitments are not based on feelings, but on objective elements: mastered skills, values, aspirations…

●       Reduce recruitment errors. A failed recruitment can cost between €30,000 and €150,000 (direct and indirect costs).

●       Promote a positive image of the company. With a candidate persona, the description of the job offer is precise and unique. This helps you to stand out from the competition and show candidates that you are structured and organised.

What steps should you follow to create your candidate persona?

Step 1: Establish a managerial brief

Between the urgent need to find someone and an uncooperative manager, establishing a managerial brief is no mean feat. But it is an essential step towards building the roadmap of the future job and the portrait of the ideal candidate. To begin, ask the right questions to outline the new position and profile:

●       What will the future employee’s assignments be?

●       Who will he or she report to?

●       What are the department and company expectations in terms of objectives?

●       What are the primary and secondary skills?

●       What level of expertise is required? A junior profile? Experienced?

●       What previous experience should the candidate have?

●       What soft skills are essential for the position?

●       What personality must the candidate have to thrive and grow in the company?

●       Is a qualification a prerequisite? If so, what level of education is required?

In principle, the first answers will appear naturally when you define the outlines of the job and the assignments with the manager.

Step 2: Take a closer look at your best employees

If this is a job that already exists in your company, turn to employees who hold an identical position. In concrete terms, who are the top performers in the position? What do they have in common? What are their values? What motivates them? What contributes to their fulfilment and well-being at work? The answers to these questions will allow you to highlight the personality traits, skills, abilities and other characteristics required to succeed in the position.

Based on annual interview reports, progress interviews and manager feedback, complete the portrait of your ideal candidate.

Step 3: Use a tool to create the persona

There are several free tools available to create your ideal candidate profile. For example, Hubspot’s make my persona guides you free of charge in creating your candidate persona by inviting you to complete different fields:

●       personal information (age, level of education),

●       information about the company (sector of activity, size of the company),

●       career: current position, performance indicators, manager,

●       the objectives and challenges associated with the current position, their responsibilities,

●       information about the working methods (tools used, preferred means of communication),

●       information about the sources of information and social media used.

Step 4: Use ChatGPT to create and refine your persona

The managerial brief allows you to gather raw data about the position to be filled, the skills, motivations, qualities and experience sought. Based on these elements and your query, ChatGPT can create the snapshot of your ideal candidate. You can also fine tune your persona by asking ChatGPT to compare it with other internal candidate portraits and external job postings.

Step 5: Get into the head of the candidate persona

Finally, put yourself in the shoes of your ideal candidate by imagining their job search strategy: what channels could they be using? What communication formats do they respond well to? What elements and criteria are likely to influence their decision? This step is important because it allows you to customise your recruitment strategy.

To sum up, creating your persona candidate takes time, but it is a necessary step to attract the right candidates and recruit the right person!