Behind the scenes with INSPD's Talent Acquisition team
By creating job posts that attract qualified candidates, matching internal candidates with the right positions and finding external talent to join the State of Indiana, the INSPD Talent Acquisition (TA) team is hard at work supporting the state’s hiring managers. Here’s a behind the scenes look at the work they do and how you can best partner with their team:
How does the TA team search for quality talent?
LinkedIn Recruiter and Indeed are two primary tools the TA team uses for external recruiting. Through LinkedIn Recruiter, the state is able to post a select number of job opportunities to the State of Indiana’s LinkedIn page, receive recommended candidates to create candidate pipelines and create customized search efforts to find qualified applicants.
With Indeed, the TA team can create postings that direct candidates to complete an application, then review resumes and encourage qualified candidates to apply on the Work for Indiana site. Their job postings also spider (meaning other job boards access their postings and advertise them directly) to sites like ZipRecruiter, Monster, Glassdoor and Talent.com. These job boards direct candidates back to the Work for Indiana site to apply and are a great way for the State of Indiana to be exposed to a wider candidate pool. The TA team also utilizes career sites and job boards that are industry and/or agency specific, helping to find talent with specialized knowledge or skillsets. For example, the TA team has leveraged natural resources job boards at universities, engineering groups on LinkedIn, the United States Animal Health Association Bulletin Board and more. Some of these job boards are free while others require a fee.
But the work of the TA team doesn’t stop there. In 2023, the State of Indiana received over 179,000 job applications to support its workforce of over 30,000 employees with an average of 11.3 applications per requisition. When a candidate applies to one position and saves their profile, the TA team can then review their information and connect them with other open positions that could be the right fit. By searching through profiles of candidates that have already expressed interest in jobs with the State of Indiana, the TA team acts as a bridge between hiring managers and candidates that are in the market for a new job.
How does the TA team highlight Hoosier talent?
INSPD’s TA team partners with local organizations attracting qualified candidates that live in and care about Indiana communities. These are a few of those sites:
- INvets: INvets is a nonprofit partnership with the State of Indiana that’s all about attracting, retaining and cultivating Indiana’s veteran workforce.
- The Ascend Network: The Ascend Network is a job matching platform that connects job seekers with promising careers while helping Indiana employers find and hire qualified candidates. The network partners with students in 4-year degree programs and is also the direct partner to EmployINDY.
- Indiana Career Connect: WorkOne helps Hoosiers find a new or better job and get the information needed to succeed in today's job market. Their job board provides workforce services and tools to help employers connect with job-ready talent.
What about new graduates and interns?
The TA team partners with college job boards and programs to target upcoming/recent grads and alumni for relevant positions. They also use Handshake, a platform created to ensure that all college students have equal access to meaningful careers. Through Handshake they can post open positions, join virtual hiring events and source student profiles to find potential candidates.
Internships are another critical tool for recruiting and retaining the next generation of state government employees. Over the last two years, agencies have supported over 250 interns through the Governor’s Summer Internship program. Interns that have a positive experience are likely to seek out full-time employment and agencies like IDEM, FSSA, INSPD and IOT have all seen interns convert to full-time employees in roles ranging from program directors to junior security engineers to accountants. You can learn more about the Governor’s Summer Internship Program by visiting the INSPD internships page.
How can you best partner with the TA team?
- Collaborate in qualification calls to talk through preferred candidate education, experience and skillset.
- Provide a detailed and accurate role overview within the job posting to give candidates additional details about the open position.
- Add screening questions (including disqualifiers) to help when deciding which applicants to screen or interview.
- Double check for realistic salary detail and external title information so postings are more candidate-friendly and attractive.
- Disposition candidates quickly, to improve the overall candidate experience and keep the requisition more organized for quick review.
Want to learn more about how the TA team sources candidates? Don’t hesitate to reach out to your Talent Acquisition Consultant or Strategic Business Consultant. Don’t know who your Talent Acquisition contact is? Email TA at jobs@spd.in.gov and they’ll connect you with the appropriate member of their team!