Michael Glaubitz
It’s no secret that finding qualified candidates is a challenge in today’s job market. But what many employers don’t realize is that a refined and creative candidate sourcing strategy can make all the difference.
The importance of a talent sourcing strategy
What is a sourcing strategy in recruitment?
Perfect your outreach messages for sourcing candidates
Diversify your online candidate sourcing channels
Utilize your employees’ networks for sourcing candidates
Include offline recruitment methods
‘Latest and Greatest’ candidate sourcing strategies
Tell me about each Candidate Sourcing Strategy
Network at Face-to-Face Events
Think creatively about online channels
Engage with your employer’s brand
Tap into Employee Networks for qualified candidates
Consider targeting passive candidates
Source candidates for roles you don’t have open yet
Candidate Sourcing Strategies to Build Your Talent Pipeline
Sourcing candidates from your ATS is the best first step
Track why candidates aren’t hired
Stay in lockstep with the hiring managers during the recruitment process
In this blog post, we’ll discuss the importance of talent sourcing and explore some of the best candidate sourcing strategies out there. So read on to learn more!
The most difficult part of the recruitment process involves talent search. In other words, you cannot hire any candidate for any position if no one knows who that person is. So recruiting sourcing is a key factor in recruiting success.
Other factors make it difficult to find passive candidates. These are the candidates that don’t seek out new opportunities. It takes talent sourcing strategies to attract such people. To make these strategies effective, you need to know how to develop them in the first place.
A sourcing strategy in recruitment is a plan that entails the specific methods and techniques you will use to identify potential candidates for a job opening. It’s essential to have such a strategy in place before starting the recruiting process, as it will help you focus your efforts and ensure that you’re targeting the right people.
There are many different ways to go about sourcing candidates, and the best approach depends on the specific situation and industry. But some general tactics can be used in almost any situation.
In talent sourcing, as in any other area of recruitment, first impressions are everything. Your outreach message is often the first point of contact between you and a potential candidate, so it’s important to make sure that it’s perfect.
But what exactly makes for a perfect outreach message? Our preferred method On LinkedIn is to send a Connection message that produces the highest connection rate to your candidates. This may be different for each role due to the personalities of people. You may choose a blank connection message, one that is more of a general greeting and basic reason for connecting, or go right into the intent with the job description.
We see value in going with the type of message that gets the highest connection rate because this not only increases your chances with the campaign due to more prospects it also grows your 1st degree and 2nd degree LinkedIn network. That is very valuable for the current campaign and the future.
Either way it should be concise and to the point, highlighting the key aspects of the position you’re offering. Make sure that it paints a complete picture of the job and its requirements, as well as any other benefits or perks it may offer. Your message should also emphasize why this particular opportunity is worth consideration – what makes it stand out from others in the industry?
Diversifying your online candidate sourcing channels is a great way to find more qualified candidates for your open positions. By casting a wide net, you can increase your chances of finding the best talent available.
One of the best ways to find top talent is to cast a wide net and use multiple online channels to source candidates. This approach allows you to reach more people and increases your chances of finding qualified applicants. There are many different channels you can use, each with its own advantages and disadvantages.
Below, we’ll discuss some of the most popular channels for online candidate sourcing:
– Job boards
– Social media
– Recruitment agencies
– Employee referrals
– Passive candidate databases
Organizations have the opportunity to expand talent by employing more people through employees’ existing networks. Run candidate sourcing meetings with your team to see if a person who has ties to your employee’s network might be suitable for a particular position.
Employees will give your team a chance to reach a potential market that isn’t yet available, especially if they came from a different geographical area or former employer in a similar field.
Offline and face-to-face meetings are great ways to find a new candidate. Join industry or job specific conferences or events or host a group meetup.
It increases your ability to stand out, and candidates may respond faster after meeting with you online or by chatting directly with you. If others attend the event ask them also to continue to search for good candidates since the search must be teamwork!
One way we stay up to date with the newest hacks and strategies is by joining groups of our peers. Doing this allows us to ask questions, share experiences and gain insights. This is a great way to learn the latest trends in talent sourcing.
We also love to look into sales strategies and tactics that we can modify to our sourcing and recruitment efforts. Check out this article we posted focusing on sales and recruitment along with the recruiting software to assist.
This is not an all-inclusive list but some of the most tried and tested to bring success. Again like most items each job requisition may take a different strategy or a combination of others.
An in-person event is also an excellent opportunity for the discovery of great performers. Networking can be done anywhere from lining up at the banking branch at specific industry events based on the skill you are looking for. Various recruiting organizations use job scout events and other opportunities to search for people who have experience with the job they need.
A great way to find talent is to have a conversation with the hiring manager. You can learn more about the job description and what they are looking for in candidates, which will help you identify talent acquisition that fits their needs.
It is not always just about using LinkedIn to find talent. You can use other online channels such as Twitter, Reddit, and even messaging applications like WhatsApp. These platforms allow you to connect with talent in more informal ways which can be very effective for sourcing talent.
Be sure to review all of your candidate sourcing strategies regularly. It is important to keep your talent sourcing strategy up-to-date and relevant.
A great brand is a strong asset to employers that leads to top talents. You can show the employer brand and how it works with the organization. Increased social media exposure can help attract and retain talented individuals, and the best way to achieve this is to engage with social media.
Current employees provide great opportunities to find new talent. Referral programs have worked for a long time because a good person tends to refer a better or same caliber person. Many organizations will reward candidates who have redirected a candidate to their current employer and will stay.
Occasionally, it’s best to examine passive applicants for jobs. This professional is not seeking a job opening, but when asked to do so correctly and provided incentives, they can consider the opportunity.
It is essential to look ahead in talent sourcing. You should be aware of what talent will come when a position opens and have the talent pool ready. This talent sourcing strategy allows you to fill positions quickly without losing time looking for a new candidate.
Ultimately, talent sourcing is about building relationships. You should build and maintain relationships with potential talent to create a talent network that can be tapped into when needed. This will help you stay informed on the best talent in your industry as well as establish trust between you and potential talent.
Speak with the people in Sales and Business Development and learn about jobs they are hoping to win shortly. Ask about the competition that may currently have the contract so you can start learning more about the candidate’s profiles based on this info.
Build talent pipelines for future roles. This involves creating a talent database that can be used at any moment when talent is needed. It means recruiting workers with the necessary soft skills even if no positions currently exist – this way, you will already have them when the position opens up.
Your Applicant Tracking System (ATS) is a great place to start sourcing candidates. It will already have talent sources and you can use them as a starting point.
Reach out directly to the talent pool and craft email messages that inform them of your hiring process needs. This will not only provide them with another opportunity but also renews relationships between talent and your business.
Building a Talent Acquisition Strategy
It is important to engage and nurture talent as you are sourcing. Connect with talent on LinkedIn, follow them on Twitter or Instagram, and comment to start relationships with them. This will show potential talent that your company values their skillset and you are interested in having a conversation.
Additionally, you should strive to create meaningful relationships with talent by understanding their goals and needs. Show that you are available to answer questions, discuss challenges, and provide insights. This will help talent understand your business better and build trust between the talent and the organization.
By utilizing creative recruitment sourcing strategies such as these, employers can stay ahead of the talent game and attract quality talent in their industry.
It is also important to track why quality candidates are not hired. Tracking talent that isn’t hired can help you make improvements in talent sourcing so that the right talent is sourced for the right job board. This will ensure that talent sources are used efficiently and improve recruitment results in the future.
It is also an opportunity to help others so they will get hired in the future. The more ways you help people in your network the more value they will see and be willing to help as well.
Don’t forget to circle back and follow up. Following up with talent you’ve sourced will show them that your company is interested in their skillset and talent pipeline. Following up can also help refresh talent’s memory about the job position or any other incentives provided by the organization.
If you are willing to give them constructive feedback about the job process, talent will be more likely to engage in future opportunities with your organization. Providing feedback on why talent wasn’t hired can help them improve their chances of getting hired next time.
Align with your hiring manager early and often for an accurate picture of how strong an applicant looks. It will be a very useful tool when looking for candidates for an interview.
Keep in constant contact during the recruitment to verify the quality and number of candidate candidates and to refine your searches by observing their feedback.
Often candidates will bite your first cold email but your research is so thorough that it can’t even get you snuck in for a single email. That’s why it’s important to follow up with talent who don’t respond to your first attempts.
Talent sourcing for your business can be a daunting task, but if you use the right tactics, you can find the best candidates for the job. By reaching out to your talent pool directly, engaging with candidates online, and tracking why talent isn’t hired, you can create a candidate sourcing strategy that works for your business.
And don’t forget to follow up with candidates! Following up shows them that your company is interested in their skillset and helps keep them updated on any opportunities at your organization. Check out this article to also help with your sourcing of candidates.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Michael Glaubitz
Michael has over 22 years in Public Safety but has always had side jobs. From Logistics to Real Estate, Finance, and Staffing there have been many experiences. These all lead to Social Selling and Marketing as both a Salesperson, Small Business Marketer and Recruiter. By combining all of this experience with an innate desire to serve others he plans to deliver more value than you can handle.
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