How to recruit top talent in 7 proven steps

Recruiting top talent is harder than ever. Talent leaders are under pressure to do more with less — budgets are tight, staff sizes are smaller, and tech stacks are being consolidated to prove ROI.

This is a tough environment to hire and retain top performers.

Below, we explore the qualities that define top talent and share seven proven steps for finding, engaging, and keeping them in today’s competitive but cost-conscious market.

Qualities of top talent

The best candidates bring much more than what a flat, two-dimensional resume can capture. Qualities that signal true top talent are often unstated, context-driven, and revealed only when you look beyond keywords.

Performance and trajectory

Rapid promotions or multiple advancements are strong indicators of performance — but not the only ones. As John Ricciardi, who helps life-sciences companies hire, notes: “Somebody who has accomplished a lot of things with one title at one company can be as valuable as somebody who has moved around and had a lot of titles.” 

At companies like Bristol Myers Squibb and Johnson & Johnson, Ricciardi says, “you may take on a lot of responsibilities” without a new title.

Adaptability and learning ability

“Top talent, or what I call A players, are motivated by their own desire to learn and grow,” Ryan Renteria writes in Harvard Business Review. “Their behavior or past experiences demonstrate curiosity, autonomy, and resourcefulness in solving problems or overcoming challenging work situations.”

Some employees seem to learn whatever they need to at any given time, and are happy to do it. Ricciardi gives the example of recruiters, who in almost every case didn’t major in the subject. “They created their own lesson plan,” he says. “You have to go to ERE, you have to go to other conferences in the industry, you have to find senior leaders in your company to learn from.”

Cultural alignment and leadership qualities

High performers have been able to find environments where they can succeed and have learned to navigate a variety of organizational styles.

Ricciardi says that a person’s experience at a similar company size can be a starting point, but not the be-all, end-all. At smaller companies, people are often “building the bus, driving the bus, and fixing the bus all at the same time,” he says. At larger corporations, processes are more rigid and roles more defined. This isn’t a disqualifier, but an area to explore during an interview. “You’re going to want to probe a little bit to find out if they are prepared for your environment,” he says.

7 proven steps to recruit top talent

Step 1: Define success signals

Start with calibration. Align with the hiring manager on what success in the role really looks like, and go beyond their perspective when needed. Executive coach Carl Kutsmode notes that managers sometimes paint an overly rosy picture of culture — or set unrealistic expectations. 

“I’ve seen situations where a manager (or even a board member) sets the new hire up for failure,” he says. For example, expecting immediate sales from a Chief Sales Officer when the sales cycle is actually 18 months long.

Step 2: Expand sourcing beyond LinkedIn

Don’t assume top talent only lives in passive pools. Past applicants, referrals, alumni, contractors, or even current employees may be stronger prospects than cold outreach. These “warm” channels often yield higher response rates and faster engagement than external sourcing alone.

Step 3: Use structured attributes, not keywords

The resume hasn’t changed much since Leonardo da Vinci wrote his in 1482 — and it’s always been limited. Findem’s 3D data goes beyond job titles and duties to map traits and career milestones such as startup-to-scale experience, exposure to revenue growth, or leading distributed teams.

This approach combines people + company + time data to show not just what someone did, but when and in what context. So, a job candidate who flew a certain plane in the Air Force may know different technologies than one who flew 20 years prior. A product manager at a high-flying but chaotic startup technology company worked in a different environment than one at a successful, 75-year-old enterprise organization.  

Step 4: Examine your organizational DNA

Look inward. Your ATS and HR systems can reveal unique success signals — such as which backgrounds, certifications, or experiences correlate with high performance in your organization. You may discover that college degrees aren’t predictive, but nonprofit experience or project management credentials are.

Step 5: Apply domain expertise

Bring in the wisdom of experts. Domain-informed attributes can make a major difference in identifying top talent. RecruitMilitary, for example, helps translate the skills of military veterans to civilian occupations — codifying expertise into structured success signals.

Step 6: Assess career impact, not just skills

Hiring for skills alone misses the bigger picture. Two candidates may have the same product manager title and similar skills, yet deliver vastly different results. Looking at career impact — such as whether a product launch grew revenue or improved customer satisfaction — separates good from great.

Step 7: Engage and close with speed and authenticity

Top talent responds best to authentic, personalized outreach. They want to know you understand their achievements and see how they’ll make an impact in your company. AI assistants can help recruiters scale that personalization, but domain-specific AI is critical to avoid the pitfalls of generic automation.

Closing is only the beginning. Data-backed hiring ensures that you’re bringing in people who are likely to thrive in your culture and stay long enough to make a meaningful impact.

Recruiting top talent is a strategic advantage

Budgets are constrained, recruiter capacity is limited, and competition is fierce. Gallup reports that nearly half of employees are considering or actively looking for a new job.

But the payoff is undeniable: top talent makes or breaks a company. They launch products on time, drive innovation, create patents, deliver exceptional customer experiences — and prevent competitors from gaining that advantage.

Findem helps companies find, verify, and hire top talent with the only platform built on 3D data. Request a demo to see how you can make data your talent advantage.