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Stop Waiting for Talent to Find You: Use a Talent Profile Map
posted in Uncategorized
Adam Kreek
What if you treated recruiting like marketing?
Instead of passively waiting for résumés to land in your inbox, you could identify, pursue, and win the talent that makes your business thrive.
That’s where the Talent Profile Map comes in.
I use this tool with clients during strategy sessions and organizational design workshops. It flips recruiting from reactive to proactive. You stop settling for “available candidates” and start targeting the right people who will help your business grow.
A Short Origin Story
The Talent Profile Map borrows from customer personas, empathy maps, and behavioural assessments. Instead of mapping your customer, you’re mapping the ideal teammate.
Think of it like your marketing funnel. The best brands don’t wait for customers to stumble onto them—they identify their audience, speak their language, and show up where they live. Recruiting is no different.
If you want top talent, you need to define who you’re looking for, where to find them, and how to connect in a way that resonates.
How the Talent Profile Map Works
Each map captures the DNA of one role or person you want to recruit. Here’s how to use it:
- Position, Name, Picture
Anchor the profile with a role title and a persona name (e.g., “Data Dynamo” or “Growth Guide”). A picture (even a sketch) makes the character real. - Demographics (Gender, Age, Education, Occupation, Address)
Don’t over-index on this, but ground the profile in real-world context. - Biography
Write their story. Who are they? What does a day in their life look like? What career stage are they in? - Skills
List the must-have technical and behavioural skills for success in this role. - Talent Gaps
What’s missing in your current team that this person will fill? (Think capabilities, not just headcount.) - Goals
What do they want from their career? Growth? Stability? Impact? Compensation? - Frustrations
What’s likely driving them away from their current job? (Bureaucracy, lack of growth, poor leadership, outdated tools.) - Personality (Predictive Index)
Map where they fall: Collaborative vs. Dominant, Introverted vs. Extroverted, Driving vs. Steady, Flexible vs. Precise. This helps you understand fit. - Brands They Love
Which companies inspire them? This can tell you what kind of culture, design, or purpose attracts them. - Where They Spend Free Time
Hobbies, associations, or platforms. This is where you should be showing up if you want to recruit them.
Why It Matters
When you profile talent this way, you:
- Build clarity about who you’re actually looking for (no more vague job descriptions).
- Align your recruiting message with what top talent wants.
- Find candidates where they live—instead of hoping they find you.
- Compete on values and culture, not just salary.
In my workshops, leaders often have an “aha” moment: “We’ve been posting jobs, not marketing opportunities.”
The Talent Profile Map fixes that.
Try It
Next time you’re planning to hire, don’t start with an HR template. Start with a Talent Profile Map.
Define who you want, what they value, and where to find them. Then go after them like you would a dream client.
Because the truth is, talent is your most important customer.
Recruiting is marketing—when you know who you’re after, you don’t wait for talent to knock, you go knock on their door.
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Adam Kreek is on a mission to positively impact organizational cultures and leaders who make things happen.
Kreek is an Executive Business Coach who lives in Victoria, BC, near Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and Seattle, Washington, USA, in the Pacific Northwest. He works with clients globally, often travelling to California in the San Francisco Bay Area, Atlanta, Georgia, Toronto, Ontario and Montreal, Quebec. He is an Olympic Gold Medalist, a storied adventurer and a father.
He authored the bestselling business book, The Responsibility Ethic: 12 Strategies Exceptional People Use to Do the Work and Make Success Happen.
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