THE BEST CANDIDATES MAY NEVER SEE YOUR JOB AD

When an organisation needs to fill a specialist role, the instinct is often straightforward. Write the position description, advertise the role and wait to see who applies.

It sounds logical. But for many roles in the social purpose sector, it is unlikely to be enough.

The people who could make the greatest difference to your organisation may not be looking for a new job at all. They may be happily employed, leading an important project, working for an organisation they believe in or simply not considering a move. They may never come across your advertisement, let alone decide to apply.

That is why there is an important difference between advertising a vacancy and actively recruiting for a role.

Recruitment starts before the advertisement

For specialist and senior positions, recruitment should start with understanding exactly who you need to attract — not simply where you are going to advertise.

At Social Impact Careers, we look beyond the position description to understand the organisation, its purpose, its culture, its challenges and what this person will actually need to achieve. From there, we identify the experience, capabilities and qualities that are genuinely important to the appointment and develop a strategy to reach the people who have them.

That may include candidates who are actively looking, but it also means considering the much larger group of talented people who are not. These are often the people who require a conversation rather than an advertisement.

They may need to understand why your organisation is worth considering, what makes the opportunity different from their current role and what they could achieve by making the move. A recruiter with strong sector knowledge can have those conversations on your behalf, introduce the opportunity appropriately and bring people into the process who may never have applied independently.

The right candidate needs a reason to move

This is particularly important in the social purpose sector.

People working in charities, not-for-profits, social enterprises, community organisations and purpose-led businesses are often deeply connected to the work they do. They may already have a strong sense of purpose in their current role.

Simply telling them that another organisation has a vacancy is unlikely to be enough. The opportunity itself needs to be compelling.

What difference will they be able to make? What will they be responsible for? What kind of organisation will they be joining? Who will they work with? What could they build, change or achieve? What makes the role worth leaving something they may already value?

These are the conversations that can turn a passive candidate into an interested candidate. They are also conversations that are much harder to have if your entire recruitment strategy is based on waiting for applications.

An advertisement gives you applicants. A search gives you access to the market.

Advertising remains an important part of recruitment. It gives people an opportunity to discover your organisation and express their interest, and it can generate a strong pool of applicants. But the applicant pool is not necessarily the talent pool.

If you are recruiting for a specialist or senior position, relying exclusively on people who happen to see and respond to your advertisement can significantly narrow your reach.

A targeted search opens the conversation to people who may not otherwise know about the opportunity. It allows you to look across the sector, identify relevant experience and approach potential candidates directly.

This is where an experienced specialist recruiter adds real value.

At Social Impact Careers, we have spent years building knowledge of the social purpose sector and the people who work within it. We understand the difference between simply finding someone who meets the selection criteria and finding someone who is likely to thrive in your organisation and contribute to its purpose.

Recruitment is also about selling your organisation

The recruitment process is not simply an assessment of candidates. Candidates are assessing you too.

The strongest people will be considering whether your organisation, leadership, culture, purpose and opportunity are right for them. Your recruitment campaign therefore needs to communicate more than duties, qualifications and a salary range.

It needs to tell a compelling story about why the role matters and why someone should want to be part of it.

This is particularly important when you are competing for specialist capability. The people you most want may have several reasons to stay where they are. Your opportunity needs to give them a reason to have the conversation.

We help our clients articulate that proposition and take it to market in a way that reflects the organisation rather than simply reproducing a position description.

The value of a specialist recruitment partner

The advantage of working with a specialist recruiter is not simply having someone to manage advertisements and applications.

It is having someone who can extend your reach beyond the people who are already looking, identify talent you may not have considered, approach candidates appropriately and represent your organisation throughout the process.

It also means having an experienced partner who can challenge the brief when necessary, provide an informed view of the market and help you understand what it will take to attract the calibre of person you need.

For specialist and senior appointments, that expertise can make a significant difference.

The best candidate for your organisation may never see your advertisement. They may not be following you on LinkedIn, looking at EthicalJobs or thinking about changing jobs. They may simply be waiting for the right opportunity to come along.

At Social Impact Careers, our role is to find those people, start the conversation and give them a reason to consider joining you.

Because when the appointment really matters, waiting to see who applies is only one part of recruitment.

About the author

Lisa Morell is a trusted advisor, founder and people strategist with deep experience helping organisations make better hiring decisions — especially where the cost of a wrong hire is high.

Lisa has worked closely with boards, executives and purpose-driven organisations to design recruitment processes that go beyond CVs and gut instinct, focusing instead on values alignment, cultural fit and real-world capability. She’s known for her practical, no-nonsense approach to interviewing — and for asking the questions others often don’t.

Lisa brings clarity, rigour and humanity to the hiring process, helping organisations find people who don’t just look good on paper, but genuinely belong in the role.

Get in touch

If you’d like support with recruitment strategy, executive hiring, interview design or related questions, Lisa would love to hear from you.

Lisa Morell

Director, Social Impact Careers

lisa@socialimpactcareers.com.au

0431 874 400