Many industries are still struggling with a lack of qualified talent. This is especially true in the defense and high-tech sectors, where companies continue to struggle to find enough qualified engineers, cybersecurity specialists, and manufacturing workers to meet their needs.

The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) recently surveyed hiring managers to better understand their challenges in sourcing the right talent. The organization found:  

Among organizations experiencing recruitment difficulties in the last 12 months, the top three challenges include a lower number of applications (60%), competition from other employers (55%), and an increase in candidate ‘ghosting’ (46%).

SHRM also found that positions in the skilled trades, such as industrial manufacturing, were the third-most difficult positions to fill in 2024.

Despite the persistently tight labor market in the defense and high-tech sectors, many companies are bucking the trend and drawing in the best candidates for every open role. How are they doing this? By using brand marketing to reach a larger audience of potential workers—and supplementing this strategy with targeted headhunting.  

Brand marketing is a strategy for creating content that appeals to job seekers and positions your company as an ideal workplace. This helps draw in a large number of passive candidates and gives internal hiring teams a competitive advantage over the competition.

This talent acquisition strategy focuses on positioning your company as an industry leader and a great workplace. Companies use a combination of social media posts, website content, and paid advertisements to reach the top candidates in their industry and increase the number of quality applicants.

Recruitment marketing works because it demonstrates that your company is a workplace, cultural, and mission fit for the industry’s best candidates, who are typically driven by more than just a paycheck or salary. SHRM agrees:

Passive job seekers are often attracted to organizations with employment brands that align with their own goals and values. Examples of strong employment brands include employers that are known for their support of community involvement and “giving back” through employee volunteering and company events…and a dedication to professional development and growth to invest in long-term employment and leadership opportunities. SHRM

Independent research supports the power of recruitment marketing. A recent survey found that “a strong employer brand can reduce recruiting costs by 43%.” This is an incredible cost-saving measure—and allows companies to invest in targeted headhunting for hard-to-fill roles as part of their larger recruitment marketing strategy.

Targeted headhunting is a critical part of a successful recruitment marketing strategy. That’s because sometimes, increasing the volume of candidates isn’t enough—especially for jobs in high demand.

While in some ways a high volume of candidates is positive, it also brings challenges to talent-acquisition work. How do recruiters efficiently find candidates who have the skills, knowledge, and motivations that match their company’s needs? LinkedIn VP of Global Talent Acquisition Erin Scruggs

Finding the right candidates, who have the skills and knowledge required for the job, sometimes requires more than brand marketing. The best companies also use headhunting to target current employees who aren’t actively looking for work. These are known as passive candidates.

According to a recent study AMG Defense Tech conducted on Atlanta Tech and Cyber workers, 14% are always looking for the next job. 

“Locating, wooing, and successfully luring passive job seekers are critical for organizations to remain competitive in a tight labor market,” says SHRM.  

Although many individual markets are much more competitive, when looking at the entire U.S., over one-third of all workers are classified as passive candidates—and they are typically the most experienced and in-demand workers in their industry. Defense and high-tech companies can’t afford to ignore this crucial market, and they may need to implement targeted headhunting (in addition to brand marketing) to reach this talent. 

Traditional headhunting, which involves manually searching for candidates using LinkedIn or Google, is a costly and time-consuming process. Many companies hire third-party recruitment firms to headhunt candidates and convince them to leave their current employer.

That’s why it’s typically reserved for executive and other hard-to-find positions. But companies like AMG Defense Tech help clients implement cutting-edge headhunting strategies that work without breaking the bank. 

AMG Defense Tech helps clients fill competitive roles and find passive candidates by using technology-driven solutions for headhunting.

We use a combination of highly targeted LinkedIn, Facebook, and display ads to reach passive candidates who aren’t actively searching for a new job. With LinkedIn and Facebook campaigns, AMG can help you market to candidates currently employed by your competitors.

LinkedIn ads are a great way to target passive candidates. We’ve helped numerous clients fill competitive roles by advertising directly to competitors’ employees. This increases the number of qualified candidates and helps clients headhunt the industry’s top talent without breaking the bank.

We also leverage display ads, like geofencing, to target employees at competing firms. These advertisements use location data to ensure that ads are only directed at employees who work at specific corporate offices. With this technology, we help clients reach passive candidates (and ignore all other audiences), increasing the return on investment while also reducing the costs associated with traditional headhunting.

Learn how you can target employees at competing firms and develop a competitive advantage in talent acquisition by contacting AMG Defense Tech today. Our team of experts will demonstrate how we’ve used brand marketing and targeted headhunting to increase the number of qualified candidates, reduce time to hire, and exceed hiring quotas. 

Discover the power of targeted headhunting and learn how LinkedIn ads, Facebook ads, and geofencing can help you reach the best passive candidates quickly and cost-effectively.