When I running recruiting for MAPS, we faced a difficult task- recruit people to work in an industry that was emerging and most high-level professionals were afraid to step into. Convincing an CFO to quit their job and join a company attempting to legalize MDMA was no easy feat. So I had to get creative and discovered the key places where unicorn hires live. I hid these tactics for years, but since nobody reads this blog (or any blog really)- I’m sharing it with the one person that is reading (yes you). Consider it your lucky day.

Searching for “niche” talent on LinkedIn feels like going to a thrift store trying to find a specific type of shirt. You will find it, but you are going to spend hours going through every hanger. When you need someone with a hyper-specific skillset—or when you are trying to find people to enter new emerging industries, thrift stores do not cut it.

Here are the 5 hidden places I found unicorn hires:

1. The “Hidden” Industry Facebook Groups

Forget the “Jobs in [City]” groups; those are spam graveyards. You want the practitioner groups. These are private communities where pros go to complain about clients or swap technical fixes.

• The Tactic: Search for “Suppliers,” “Mastermind,” or “[Skillset] Professionals.” For example, if you need a high-end Facebook Ads expert, look for “AdLeaks” or “Facebook Ad Buyers.”
• The Move: Don’t just post a job link. Join, look for the most helpful person in the comments of a technical thread, and DM them. Or, post a “Value-First” query: “Hey, we’re dealing with [Specific Problem]. Who are the wizards in here who handle this?” The community will tag the best people for you.

2. GitHub’s “Stars” and “Contributors”

If you’re looking for a niche coder, don’t look at their profile; look at their dependencies.

• The Tactic: Find an open-source library or tool that is essential to the niche role you’re hiring for.
• The Move: Look at the “Contributors” list on GitHub for that specific repository. These people literally built the tool everyone else is just using. Reach out by mentioning their specific contribution to that project. It shows you actually know your stuff (or at least did your homework).

3. Slack, Discord and Reddit Communities

Most niche industries now have a “digital watercooler.” There are Slack channels for everything from Product Managers (Mind the Product) to Ethical Hackers.

• The Tactic: Use Slofile.com to find public Slack communities by keyword.
• The Move: Most of these have a #hiring or #jobs channel, but the real gold is in the #general or #help channels. Look for the people answering the most complex questions. They are the thought leaders who aren’t currently looking for work—which is exactly who you want.

4. Specialized Portfolio Sites (Beyond Behance)

If you’re in a creative or highly visual niche, Behance is often too “general.”

• The Tactic: Go to Dribbble for UI/UX, but go to ArtStation for 3D modeling/concept art, or Carbonmade for unique copywriters and art directors.
• The Move: Use the “Available for hire” filter, but specifically look for people who have worked on projects similar to your niche. If you need a game designer, look at who is posting “DevLogs” on Itch.io.

5. Podcast Guest Lists

This is the ultimate “pro” move for executive or high-level specialist roles.

• The Tactic: Find the top 3-5 podcasts in your niche (e.g., if you need a specialized supply chain manager, find a logistics podcast). B-level podcasts work great. And have a listen. A podcast interview is far superior to a resume to discover if the person is a good fit for the role you are looking for.
• The Move: Look through the guest list for the last two years. These guests are vetted experts who have already proven they can communicate their ideas clearly. They might not be looking, but they likely know the top 3 people who are.

Now that I’ve shared what I charge big money for, you have to let me know if any of these worked- deal?