Sourcing evolution
Hello again. In anticipation of the start of a new recruitment at course “IT-Recruiter” prepared for you a translation of an article about the evolution of sourcing.
And everyone who wants to know about career prospects in the field of IT recruiting is invited to free webinar, which will be held on November 27.
Previously, the activities of a recruiter-sourcing company were quite linear and limited to two tasks: finding passive candidates and attracting them. Few could have imagined that this profession would change so over time.
Now sourcing is carried out in different formats: new specialists apply approaches and strategies that old-school recruiters did not fully use.
Classic sourcing
What are old school sourcing companies doing? As a rule, they scan databases with archival queries and vacancies in search of interesting passive personnel and periodically check their current status. If you are not yet familiar with sourcing, then most likely you are doing this. This approach can be called classic.
Search Communities
This is “field” work, so in a pandemic, this approach should not be applied. What do we have to do? For example, attend chambers of commerce meetings, represent a company at military events and events involving veterans, work with local nonprofits, support diversity and inclusion projects, and involve local government associations and institutions.
It is a bit like luring applicants, only the sorter works with communities and local organizations, not with universities. As a rule, the result of work with such a strategy is not always obvious. Perhaps the candidate will never appreciate the efforts of the sorter. However, such connections are still beneficial.
Previously, recruiters also tried to attend as many events and promotions as possible, but they chose them as needed and haphazardly.
In fact, a person whom the local community knows and can trust will work more effectively. How often do you say: “I would like to go there, but I don’t have time”? A sorter looking for candidates in communities regularly goes out to people and tries to maintain the previously established relationships.
Pipeline search
This is a dream job for those who love routine. Yes, not everyone can achieve success in such a position, but believe me, there are professionals who not only enjoy such tasks, but also achieve excellent results. Sourcing companies who practice pipeline search practically do not communicate with candidates.
Their task is to fill the CRM system with data on candidates that are of interest to the company (especially those applying for jobs with high requirements). So, the sorter finds a candidate, collects data about his experience and contact information and, based on the information received, creates a profile in the CRM system. Later, this information will be useful to recruiters and the marketing department. A CRM system without this data is like an empty piggy bank. You need someone to fill it up with information, otherwise it is useless.
A pipelined search strategy is suitable for those who love to work with data and value independence.
Specialization
Some positions require a certificate, license, admission, specialization and experience in a field that a regular sorter is not aware of. In this case, the candidate should be looked for by a person who himself once was in a similar position. This is a specialist sorter. Only he can ask competent questions and attract suitable candidates.
For example, suppose you have a vacancy for a paramedical worker. A qualified nurse who is or has previously worked in a specialty will be able to screen candidates properly. For a company, a sorter specialist is a competitive advantage and guaranteed recruitment of qualified personnel.
Search in social networks
It is difficult for any recruiter to be an expert on all social networks – new ones appear every day. You can spend an entire day on Reddit or the TikTok app. And this is not an exaggeration.
In addition, social media platforms may have special location filters and search functions. Not everyone knows how to use these mechanisms, and not everyone has time to learn them. A social media sorter makes the most of social media.
Working with artificial intelligence
Chatbots and recruiting software are actively developing. You can create a request in the program, turn off your computer and go to bed, and the AI will find potential candidates overnight. But the search results still need to be processed manually, for which recruiters do not always have time. This is where a sorter that works with AI technologies comes in handy.
In this position, former recruiters show themselves well – people who are used to building relationships, but do not have the technical ability to fully engage in sourcing. AI sourcing specialists turn the data stream into a list of suitable candidates – one might say, “close” one of the search stages.
Conclusion
To summarize, let’s put it this way: to understand which search strategy is right for you, it makes sense to study everything. It is possible that you need everything!
But be prepared for different metrics for each approach. These can be quantitative results for the month, growth in network of contacts, rate of received responses or metrics of customer activity. Change your approach to sourcing: try strategies that are close to you (after all, we are all different), and your base of passive candidates will grow significantly.
