3 Ideas to Expand the Candidate Pool for Hard-to-Find Specialist Roles

Hiring has become trickier and time-consuming, although technologies to simplify the process have grown exponentially. We have tools to send out invites and scan resumes. Chatbots can organize interviews and support companies with the best questions. But the right match remains elusive.

McKinsey’s 2025 HR Monitor survey reports that offer acceptance rates are only 56 percent in many European countries. Further, 18 percent of newly hired employees leave during the probation period. The situation is not very different elsewhere, with many employees experiencing dissatisfaction in the US and Asia.

Recruiting for hard-to-find specialists can be even more complicated: professionals may either not match the job description or be incompatible with the company culture/pay scale. The task becomes grueling when the leadership reiterates that the said specialist roles are also high-paying, which means a sub-optimal hire can be expensive for the organization. 

What’s worse, you will know that people with the desired competencies are available. It’s just that competitors seem to be drawing them in. Talent can be the difference between a competitive strategy that succeeds and one that never takes off.

We have three recommendations to expand the candidate pool to ease your stress as a recruiter.

1. Consider Professionals Who Wear Multiple Hats 

One roadblock in hiring people for specialist roles is their lack of experience in the said field. Or so it says on their resume. However, candidates may sometimes have the desired experience, but it does not match the job description. This is because they worked on similar tasks in related fields. 

This is especially common among freelancers or solopreneurs. They frequently manage everything, from planning to execution and measurement, independently. Their competencies may not match your expected bullet points, but they are surely worth a conversation.

Sometimes, candidates hesitate or get overlooked due to a lack of clarity. Perhaps they used a different jargon in their previous organizations. Some sectors, such as technology and manufacturing, may have specific jargon that varies with the setting. 

Is a customer delight executive similar to a customer service professional? Is a procurement specialist the same as a materials coordinator? It can be difficult for someone to draw an equivalent without the context. 

This problem also appears in federal jobs. Recently, the Office of Personnel Management instructed agencies to revise federal job titles and make them clearer. The keywords were: descriptive, organizational, or functional. So, an IT specialist could be a “digital services designer”.

AI tools, with their rising use among recruiters, have aggravated the problem. Harvard Business Review observes that AI has led to a surge of “artificially polished candidates.” Their resumes match the description perfectly, and they seem thoroughly professional and basically perfect. Many likely better-suited candidates get eliminated.

Consider these roles:

• Marketing manager who is also skilled at market research

• A project manager who performs internal and client communication

• An HR executive who is also a trained event manager

See how ignoring their ‘also’ skillsets can be a wasted opportunity for recruitment? 

The best path forward is to cultivate openness toward interested people who may not seem ideal at first. We may also need to dial down our dependence on AI. 

Recruiters should:

• Assess the existing workforce to identify professionals who can benefit from skill training and may assume diverse roles in the future.

• Use AI tools for selecting resumes only with human oversight. This will prevent meaningful opportunities from getting lost because of LLM limitations.

• Remain open to working with freelancers and consultants who exhibit passion, even if their skills are not in word-to-word alignment with your expectations.

2. Work Closely With Preceptors and Mentors

Another approach you should try is consulting with professionals who have mentoring roles in the required field. Since they associate with diverse candidates, they have a good understanding of the talent and competencies available in the sector.

For example, nursing students associate with preceptors as part of their academic programs to get hands-on experience. Since this is a crucial part of their learning, but often logistically stressful, many students consider choosing a preceptor matching service. This helps them locate opportunities that sync with their clinical specialty.

According to ClickClinicals, accessing a broad network of preceptors helps students meet university requirements for conventionally hard-to-find specialties. 

These very mentors can be a useful asset for recruiters in identifying candidates that match their distinct job descriptions. Recruiters can tap into this opportunity through industry events and panels where mentors in various fields come together to share their expertise. These gatherings can be a great avenue for exchanging recommendations and planning hiring drives. 

In several fields, including manufacturing, companies have launched their own mentorship programs. The idea is to prepare a future workforce by equipping capable candidates with the necessary skills.

Recruiters should:

• Participate in industry events and workshops to network and collaborate with professionals in mentoring roles.

• Assess if launching a mentorship program for future readiness is strategically and financially sound for the business.

• Organize knowledge-sharing sessions in the workplace to evaluate employee competencies beyond their typical roles. You may find professionals who can excel at mentoring and partner with HR to identify valuable opportunities for talent acquisition.

3. Widen Job Description to Cover Flexible Routines

What if your hiring challenge is connected to the workplace’s lack of flexibility? Or your company has online reviews about poor work-life balance and low managerial commitment to employee wellness?

If you are tempted to dismiss these possibilities as HR issues or “business as usual,” hiring may just become harder yet.

In 2025, Gallup conducted a survey on the “Great Detachment,” i.e., the reasons behind employees seeking new job opportunities. It found that around 51 percent of the workforce is exploring options: the highest figure since 2015. The primary factor driving this situation is the need for work-life balance and general well-being. 

Be warned: this is not indicative only of “newfangled” professionals or the Gen Z crowd. While these audiences may be more aware of the need for wellness and balance, many mid-career professionals also demand these necessities. They are not benefits or perks anymore.

Recruiters should: 

• Prioritize adapting their job descriptions to reflect these realities.

• Incorporate opportunities for working from home or following a hybrid schedule. 

• Highlight the advantages that the specialist role will offer for personal or professional growth. These needn’t always be linked to monetary benefits. More employers now integrate benefits related to childcare and health programs.

• In the absence of these avenues for drawing passionate professionals, it is time for leadership to reassess the organization’s people strategy.

Final Word

Recruitment can seem like the coolest job in the world. You are at the other side of the table, interacting with talented people, but without the stress that comes with being questioned. It can be a fabulous way to stay attuned to the latest developments in your domain, which is why many organizations rotate responsibilities for recruitment drives among their workforce. 

However, present circumstances, from a volatile economy to post-COVID disillusionment, have made recruitment challenging. Key roles can be hard to fill when they are time-sensitive but require specific competencies. Expanding your job definitions, roles, and trusted sources is a good strategy for making headway. 

If things remain at a standstill, chances are it isn’t talent availability or alignment that is the problem. It may be time to look within.

Deboshree Bhattacharjee likes to tell stories that delight and engage. Her realms include lifestyle, parenting, health & wellness, and technology. Besides writing, she also edits and strategizes content. Every morning, she wakes up with the northern lights in her eyes and chalks out travel plans.