Targeted Identification vs the Broad Net.
The physicists best suited to a senior post are almost never in an applicant pool. They are working, credentialed and quietly busy.
The broad net optimises for volume
Job boards and mass outreach produce applications, and applications feel like progress. But volume selects for availability rather than capability, and screening cost rises with every unqualified submission.
Targeted identification optimises for fit
Mapping starts from the work: modality mix, commissioning history, supervisory scope, accreditation experience. From there the addressable market for a given post is usually between forty and two hundred people nationally, and a much smaller number within a realistic radius.
Once you know the names, outreach becomes a considered approach rather than a campaign, and the conversation can be specific from the first message.
- Define the addressable market by scope of work before writing any outreach.
- Measure quality of shortlist, not volume of applications.
- Specific first contact outperforms high-volume sequences with passive physicists.
Turn market intelligence into a hire.
If this reflects a gap in your department, we can map the live market for the role and show you exactly who is reachable, and on what terms.
Does this reflect a gap in your department?
Tell us about the role and we will map the live market for it, showing who is reachable and on what terms.