Hiring in regulated industries comes with its own rulebook. Security checks, citizenship restrictions, global legal frameworks, classified work, niche skills, and talent pools that shrink before you even begin. But even with all of that complexity, one thing never changes: people want a clear story about the work, the culture, and why they should care.
That tension is exactly what brought together Sam Berthoud, VP of Talent Solutions at hackajob, Celinda Appleby, Director at Visa, and Zak Ahmed, Talent Attraction Manager at Leonardo. Three leaders navigating some of the toughest hiring environments, sharing what is actually working now.
If you’re in TA, employer brand, or hiring for hard-to-fill roles, this conversation hits home. And the themes were clear: tell sharper stories, show up intentionally, activate your networks, and track the metrics that actually matter.
When your talent pool is limited not just by skills, but by citizenship, clearances, or international legal frameworks, everything becomes harder.
Leonardo faces this every day. Hiring for defence roles tied to the UK government means strict rules around nationality, residency, and background. "We are already at a disadvantage compared to companies who can hire freely," Zak explained. "We have to reach the right candidates before they disappear."
Visa faces a different scale of complexity. Operating across 200+ countries means navigating completely different employment laws, onboarding requirements, and cultural expectations. "Your brand is consumed differently everywhere," Celinda shared. "What people know about Visa changes based on where they are and what they see."
The takeaway: when the rules are tight, your strategy has to be smarter.
Storytelling isn’t a nice-to-have. In regulated industries, it is your competitive edge.
When requirements are strict, the story has to work harder. Candidates need clarity about:
what the work really is,
what the mission means,
and why this specific team is worth their energy.
And it must be differentiated. "I found over 500 companies using the word ‘impact’ in their EVP," Celinda shared. "If you sound like everyone else, you attract everyone, not the right ones."
Leonardo saw this firsthand. Their early messaging was fragmented and inconsistent across regions. Once they rebuilt their EVP through research and employee insight, brand perception jumped dramatically, including top-tier recognition on LinkedIn and Glassdoor.
This isn’t branding for vanity. It’s branding for alignment.
Reaching niche talent is about relevance, not reach.
Visa thinks across generations. Older talent still goes straight to job boards. Gen Z and Gen Alpha live on YouTube, TikTok, and short-form platforms. Engineers might prefer niche communities or tech-specific hubs.
Leonardo’s audience shows up differently. Defence talent often gathers at roadshows, veteran events, and industry exhibitions. "Once we mapped where our people actually spend their time, new channels opened up that we didn’t even realise existed," Zak said.
The point is simple: broadcasting everywhere is not a strategy. Being intentional is.
Everything in this conversation kept coming back to one force: networks.
Employees talking to peers. Veterans referring veterans. Engineers introducing friends at meetups. Alumni staying plugged in. These networks drive the most authentic and highest-converting talent.
"Every intake meeting, ask your hiring manager where they hang out," Celinda shared. "Talk to people on the team. Add their quotes into the job description. Make it feel real."
Leonardo is a proof point. Over 150 hires last year came directly from brand ambassadors and referrals. This year, they expect it to grow by 25 per cent.
Internal storytelling is the engine behind external results.
Employer brand metrics have changed. The old playbook is done.
Impressions? Easy to buy.
Likes? Easy to inflate.
Application volume? Often the wrong goal.
Celinda put it plainly: "We know what doesn’t matter anymore. And we’re still figuring out what does."
Meaningful metrics now look more like:
application relevance,
qualified engagement,
consistency of brand recall across regions,
community activation,
and the story behind the numbers, not the numbers alone.
As Zak said, “Metrics don’t mean anything in isolation. Context is everything.”
The goal is not more activity. It’s more accuracy.
And that’s exactly where tools like Source and our AI agents come in.
When TA teams talk about wanting better metrics, what they’re really asking for is better inputs. A hiring workflow where relevance isn’t something you hope for, but something you can actually measure.
Source gives you that starting point. Describe who you want to hire in plain language, and it instantly returns a curated shortlist from our private 1M+ tech community plus the channels you already use. Every match is explained back, so you always know why someone fits.
And when applications spike, Archer and Thena keep quality high without drowning your team in noise. Archer drives relevant inbound applications, and Thena reviews every CV against the real context of your brief.
The result is a funnel built around accuracy from the start: fewer irrelevant profiles, more qualified engagement, and clearer metrics that actually tell you something.
If you want to see how this could work for your roles, you can book a free personalised demo based on your hiring needs.
Dive deeper into the discussion and see how leading teams navigate hiring in regulated industries with clarity and confidence.
Why is hiring in regulated industries so challenging?
Strict requirements around nationality, security clearances, and legal frameworks dramatically reduce the eligible talent pool, making brand clarity and channel strategy crucial.
How can storytelling improve hiring outcomes?
Authentic storytelling helps candidates understand the real mission, culture, and work. It attracts the right talent instead of the most talent.
What channels work best in regulated markets?
Defence talent often engages at industry events and veteran networks, while global corporate roles may need multi-platform reach across multiple communities.
For tech roles with eligibility requirements, platforms with verified, privacy-first talent pools like hackajob can help teams filter for must-haves such as clearance, right-to-work, or location from the start.
Which metrics should hiring teams focus on now?
Relevance, quality of engagement, consistency of brand perception, and whether the right hires actually happen. Volume is rarely the goal.