Candidates Sourcing
Sourcing in recruitment refers to the identification and uncovering of candidates through proactive recruiting methodologies.
Talent sourcing strategies are formulated to fit a certain Industry and targeted profiles so that the best candidates from both active and passive talent pools will be found.
A successful talent sourcing strategy needs a few ingredients: dedicated sourcing resources, sourcing expertise and a supporting technology.
- The first step in candidates sourcing is to identify a number of potential candidates for an open position.
- Define The Job, Not The Person
Sourcing the best candidates must start with a compelling vision of what the job entails. Don’t rely on a traditional job description to source candidates. Instead, ask hiring managers what the person needs to do in the job to be successful, and get a description of at least three or four major projects. The best candidates will only explore a job if it offers growth opportunities. - Work Efficiently with Resume Databases
finding top candidates in a resume database can be time-consuming. Maximize your return on time invested by calling the best candidates within a week — otherwise they could be gone. For the rest of the best, you need to convert older resumes into active candidates without calling any of them. Instead, write a
- great email message describing your remarkable opportunity with a copy of the job description. Automatically email this to any people who meet your employee screening requirements, and ask them to respond. Here’s an example: “I found your resume on the Internet and was very impressed with your background. If you’re still looking for a position you might be interested in this our opportunity (insert ad). If you’d like to pursue this, please send me your latest resume and a quick paragraph describing your most significant accomplishment in the area of (whatever may be relevant, e.g., launching new industrial products).
- Write Compelling Advertising
When writing the job description, avoid the traditional or boring. Ads need creative titles and copy that describes what the person will be doing, learning and becoming. Don’t list skills and years. This filters out — rather than opts-in — the best people. Describe the skill in the context of how it’s used. For example, “Use your accounting background in manufacturing to help us build a new reporting system.” If the ad title says, “Accounting Wizard Required,” you’ll attract some top people to the candidate pool - Network
Nowadays recruiters are also using social networks to identify candidates. This approach is limited because their work is not entirely dedicated to candidates sourcing. Only a few companies have recruitment departments with a dedicated sourcing function with the focus.