How to build out a candidate profile

Jan 14, 2022

Daniel Hale

Table of Contents
    Add a header to begin generating the table of contents

    Recently, I talked about the four-step process we follow when given a recruitment assignment. This is the pillar to our success, and  I want to share with you the second step in the process, ‘Building out a Profile’ which follows on after taking a thorough job brief.

    We’ve now laid the foundations with the job brief and given all the necessary feedback on market salary ranges, market insights and overall market expectations based on the initial discussions.

    Now we understand the role and the company well enough, we can confidently build out a basic picture of who we believe would fit the role and what that person’s experience looks like (or doesn’t look like).

    Some of the things we need to determine are:

    1.  What level of experience suits this role?
    2. Are we looking for a hunter, a farmer or someone in the middle?
    3. What type of sales role(s) has the ideal candidate had to make their experience levels right but also mean that they are motivated to make the move?
    4. Is experience within a specific vertical or industry necessary?
    5. Will a tertiary qualification be irrelevant or potentially be a good guide towards the right person?
    6. What deal sizes should the person be used to selling?
    7. Is there career progression and, if so, do we need someone that specifically wants more responsibility in the future or not?

    Once we’ve painted the picture of the right person, we are halfway there and need to start thinking about WHY candidate X might be motivated to move from company Y to your organisation. That comes in step three but is also possible once we complete step two.

    The art of hiring great people in 2022 will come down to careful planning, deep market knowledge, great marketing and constant, transparent communication.

    As always, Pulse is ready to help build your team and partner with you on that journey, so please reach out if you’d like to know more.

     

    ARE YOU LOOKING TO BUILD YOUR TEAM?

    Pulse Recruitment is a specialist IT, sales and marketing recruitment agency designed specifically to help find the best staff within the highly competitive Asia-Pacific and United States markets. Find out more by getting in touch with us!

    FROM OUR PULSE NEWS, EMPLOYER AND JOB SEEKER HUBS

    Featured Articles

    The Hidden Stakeholder Problem: Why Enterprise Deals Stall When You Miss the Full Buying Committee

    Enterprise buying committees are getting larger. That is not speculation. It is observable across every vertical and every deal size. What was once a three-person approval process is now a seven-person approval process. Finance has more say. Security has more say. Operations has more say. Procurement has more say. But most enterprise AEs are still…
    Why Pipeline Quality Matters More Than Pipeline Size in Enterprise Sales

    There is a fundamental misunderstanding in enterprise sales that is costing AEs opportunities and hiring managers are starting to notice it. The assumption is that more pipeline means more deals. More conversations mean better odds. If you have twenty deals in your funnel, surely five of them will close. The math seems obvious. It is…
    The Danger of “Feature-Dumping” in B2B Sales

    It is a classic trap that ensnares some of the most intelligent, passionate, and deeply knowledgeable sales professionals in the industry. You know your product or service inside and out. You understand every single piece of code, every design choice, every advanced configuration, and every niche capability it possesses. You are incredibly proud of what…
    Stalled deals killing your sales pipeline? Try this.

    Every sales professional has experienced the ghost town phase of a deal. You have a fantastic discovery call, the prospect seems deeply engaged, you send over a comprehensive proposal—and then, silence. Weeks pass. Follow-up emails go unanswered. Your voice messages disappear into a corporate void. You check your pipeline metrics, and a deal that felt…
    A Guide to Breaking Into Tech Sales with Zero Experience

    For decades, popular culture has painted a very specific, hyper-aggressive portrait of the salesperson. We think of sharp suits, high-pressure pitches, and the relentless mantra of “Always Be Closing.” But in the modern software-as-a-service (SaaS) ecosystem, that archetype is not just dead—it is a massive liability. Today’s tech sales professionals are consultants, problem-solvers, and strategic…
    The SDR to Account Executive Roadmap: How to Get Promoted

    The Sales Development Representative (SDR) role is the engine room of the tech sales world. It is a grueling, high-volume position fueled by cold outreach, relentless activity targets, and the constant pressure to feed the pipeline for older, higher-paid sales professionals. While it is an incredible training ground for learning resilience and baseline communication skills,…
    How to Prepare for a Sales Role Play Interview

    You’ve passed the phone screen. You’ve nailed the first round. And now the hiring manager has just sent through a calendar invite with two words that send a chill down every candidate’s spine: role play. For many tech sales candidates — even experienced ones — the role play interview is where confidence evaporates. Suddenly, all…
    Stop Treating Talent Connections Like Leads

    Imagine walking into a high-end, exclusive networking event. You see an influential industry player standing by the drinks. You walk straight up to them, skip the pleasantries, slide your business card into their jacket pocket, and say, “Hi, I’m looking for a job. Let me know if you hear of anything that fits me.” Then…
    Why Your Personal Brand Is the Only GTM Resume That Matters

    There is a parallel universe in Go-To-Market (GTM) hiring, and if you are relying on standard job boards, you are entirely locked out of it. Here is the uncomfortable truth about the tech sales landscape today: The best GTM sales roles are almost never publicly posted. By the time a Head of Sales, VP of…
    Why Today’s Tech Layoffs Are a Structural Redesign, Not a Correction

    Over the last few years, a quiet but unsettling realization has rippled through the global technology sector. The steady drumbeat of workforce reductions, restructures, and corporate downsizings has refused to fade into the background. For a long time, the industry told itself a comforting lie: that this was all just a temporary hangover from the…

    Visit our blog page