Building an Effective Talent Network

Subscribe for updates

Get talent acquisition best practices, trends, and news delivered directly to your inbox.

By entering your email, you agree to receive marketing emails from JobScore

What happens to the candidates that come to your career site but don’t apply? Do they simply move on to the next job posting, or can they express interest in future opportunities? A talent network can help you add more of these job seekers to your applicant tracking system.

A talent network, or talent community, is a group of candidates who have opted in to receive future job openings from your company. You might also send them company news, industry insights, and job seeker tips to build a relationship and stay top of mind.

The benefits of building a talent network

A talent network can help you convert more of the job seekers visiting your careers site, resulting in:

Reduced time-to-hire: Continually adding job seekers to your candidate database can mean you’ll already have interested candidates who are familiar with your company when a new position opens up.
Cost savings: Traditional recruiting methods like job board postings and external agencies can be costly and quickly add up. A talent network allows you to reduce these expenses by re-engaging candidates you’ve already connected with.
Improved quality of hire: Talent networks attract candidates who have self-selected to stay connected with your company. They’re already familiar with your culture and values, which can lead to better matches and reduced turnover.
Competitive advantage: Your talent network gives you a pipeline of candidates who have already expressed interest in working at your company. Maintaining this relationship can help you compete against other organizations.
Access to passive candidates: Talent networks can help you connect with professionals who are not actively job hunting but open to the right opportunity.

Setting up your network

Creating a talent network doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive.

Here’s a step-by-step approach to getting your talent network started:

Implement the right technology. Modern ATSs offer talent network functionality, or you can explore CRM systems. The key is finding technology that fits your budget and integrates with your existing recruitment tools.
Develop a value proposition for network members. Why should someone join and stay connected? This might include early access to job openings, industry insights, professional development resources, or behind-the-scenes looks at your company culture.
Create your sign-up process. Build a landing page on your careers site to share your value proposition and capture essential information. For example, ask for the candidate’s name, email, resume, and perhaps a link to their LinkedIn profile.

Sourcing strategies to grow your talent community

You can grow your talent network by driving traffic to your careers site and showing candidates why they should want to work on your team.

Here are some effective approaches to grow your talent network:

Create valuable content that demonstrates your expertise and company culture. This might include blog posts, case studies, or videos that showcase what it’s like to work at your company.
Engage on social media platforms where your target candidates spend time, which could include LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok, and Reddit. Just keep in mind that the key is authentic engagement, not just broadcasting job postings.
Encourage employee reviews on sites like Glassdoor and Indeed. Team members sharing their positive employee experiences can encourage candidates to pursue opportunities at your organization.
Host or participate in industry events, whether virtual or in-person. These create natural opportunities to connect with professionals in your field.
Implement employee referral incentives specifically for talent network additions, not just direct hires. Your team members’ networks can be goldmines of potential talent.
Partner with relevant professional organizations or educational institutions to connect with emerging talent.

Leverage your careers site by prominently featuring a talent network sign-up option. This captures interested visitors even when you don’t have suitable openings for them.

Engagement strategies that keep your talent network active

Your talent community can grow stale if you rarely reach out to most of the people in it.

Here are some practical strategies to engage your talent network:

Develop a consistent communication schedule. Maintain connection with candidates sending company updates, industry insights, and career tips in addition to relevant job opportunity alerts. The key is finding a rhythm that keeps your company top-of-mind without becoming intrusive.
Personalize communications. Segment your talent network based on skills, experience level, or interests, and tailor your messaging accordingly. For example, entry level professionals might be interested to learn about career training opportunities. Provide genuine value through content that helps network members professionally.
Maintain a personal touch with high-priority candidates. While automated communications form the backbone of your engagement strategy, periodic personalized outreach to especially promising professionals can make a significant difference.
Create opportunities for two-way engagement. This could include surveys about industry challenges, feedback on new initiatives, or Q&A sessions with team leaders. These interactions deepen connection and provide valuable insights into what matters to your potential candidates.
Implement a regular “refresh” campaign. Dealing with outdated contact information happens in every network. Ask members to update their profiles and preferences and watch for bounced emails or low engagement as signs that contact information may have changed.
Track engagement metrics to understand what resonates with your talent network. Open rates, click-through rates, and event participation can help you refine your approach over time.

Converting talent network members into applicants

The ultimate goal of your talent network is turning engaged professionals into quality hires when the right opportunity arises.

Here’s how to effectively convert talent network members into applicants:

Create targeted campaigns for specific openings. A message that reads, “Based on your background in [specific skill], we thought this [specific role] might interest you” performs much better than generic job alerts.
Highlight the “why” behind each opportunity. Explain not just the role requirements but why this position matters to the company and what impact the person will have. This context helps candidates evaluate whether the opportunity aligns with their career goals.
Streamline the application process. Talent network members have already expressed interest in your company and shared some information. Consider whether you can simplify your application by using some of the information you already have.
Create a sense of exclusivity. Give your talent network early access to new opportunities before posting them publicly. This “first look” approach makes membership more valuable and can speed up your hiring process.
Provide clear next steps in your communications. Whether it’s applying for a specific role, scheduling an informational interview, or updating their profile, always include an actionable path forward.
Personalize the outreach for high-priority openings. While automated alerts work for many positions, having a recruiter or hiring manager personally reach out for critical roles can significantly increase response rates.

Final thoughts on building your talent network

Creating an effective talent community doesn’t happen overnight, but the long-term benefits make it well worth the investment. Track hire rates, cost per hire, and quality metrics from your talent network versus other recruiting channels to measure ROI and get continued buy-in.

And remember that talent networks are about relationships, not transactions. The companies that see the greatest success are those that provide genuine value to members whether or not they have immediate openings.