How to source talent on Medium

Medium.com is a treasure trove of new insights and perspectives from individuals worldwide. It's not just a a place to draw inspiration from others but also a platform to find potential candidates.

If you're looking for exceptional talent, Medium is an excellent place to start. The platform offers a peek into a user's personality and interests based on their activity and article claps. By leveraging this information, you can gain valuable insights into what they like to read, their interests, and their preferences before approaching them with your message.

This can significantly improve your chances of crafting more personalized and effective messages that resonate with potential candidates. Most recruiters do not go the extra mile to research their candidates, but by doing so, you'll stand out from the crowd and discover that the extra mile is never too crowded.

How to Search for Candidates

Medium.com is a fantastic platform that allows you to discover and connect with like-minded individuals in your field. However, not all search methods are created equal. In this article, we'll explore some advanced search techniques for optimizing your searches on Medium.com.

How to Use Search Strings

One of the most fundamental search techniques on Medium.com involves using the site: operator. By inputting "site:medium.com" followed by your desired keywords, you can explore the entire site for articles and pages that incorporate those keywords. For example, "site:medium.com (User Experience Designer OR Interaction designer)" will display all articles and pages containing those terms.

To narrow your search even further, you can implement the inurl: operator. For instance, "site:medium.com inurl:highlights (User Experience Designer OR Interaction designer)" will specifically target users who have highlighted text on Medium. However, it won't reveal profiles that haven't highlighted anything. To focus on these users, consider targeting their followers.

How to Target Followers

Most users on Medium.com follow people in the same field, making targeting their followers a fantastic method of connecting with individuals in your industry. To achieve this, you must first comprehend how the URL on Medium.com functions.

Every username has a list of followers under /followers. The URL appears as follows: https://medium.com/@username/followers. To target followers of multiple users, use the inurl: operator once again. For example, "site:medium.com inurl:followers (User Experience Designer OR Interaction designer)" will concentrate on the followers of all profiles containing those terms.

How to Target by Join Date

If you wish to target users based on when they created their Medium account, use the string "Medium member since * year." For instance, "site:medium.com 'Medium member since * 2017'" will focus on users who joined in 2017. To target users who joined within a range of years, use the OR operator. For example, "site:medium.com 'Medium member since * (2016 OR 2017)'" will focus on users who joined in 2016 or 2017.

How to Target with Claps

You can also locate users based on their recommendations, specifically if they clapped. For example, "site:medium.com inurl:has-recommended (User Experience Designer OR Interaction designer)" will target users who have recommended articles containing those terms. To learn more about the individual you're targeting, click on their claps to see what they enjoy.

How to Target by Groups

Finally, you can target specific groups by using the "Also tagged" operator. For instance, "site:medium.com 'Also tagged Career Advice'" will display all articles tagged with Career Advice. You can also use the URL of the group to find the top articles in that area. For example, "https://medium.com/tag/recruiting/latest" will reveal the most recent articles in the Recruiting group.

The Best Way to Source Talent

Given the highly competitive job market, it is imperative to explore multiple channels to seek out the best candidates for your team. One way to achieve this is by leveraging AI recruitment tools like Noon. Noon scours through several platforms, including LinkedIn, GitHub, and Stack Overflow in real-time to identify candidates that fit your specific requirements. With advanced algorithms and automation, Noon streamlines the process of creating complex search strings, allowing you to quickly identify the right talent.

Moreover, Noon saves you valuable time by automatically adding candidate contact information from different sources to their profile. This feature eliminates the need to comb through the internet searching for candidates' contact details, facilitating seamless communication with potential candidates. By using Noon, you can optimize your hiring process and efficiently find the best talent for your startup.