Dos & Don’ts Of Candidate Sourcing

  1. 07 May 2018
  2. by Ammara Zubair
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    Articles

 

Finding the right talent at the right time with the right skills is not the simplest process. With all the time, energy and money invested, candidate sourcing needs to deliver quick and effective results, a struggle that not all hiring managers are able to overcome. There’s no need to fret though- with a little trial and error paired with perseverance, recruiters can work smart and not hard to ace this mission and meet their human capital needs.

 

Whether you want to revamp your candidate sourcing strategy or improve your recruitment results, here are some guidelines on do’s and don’ts to connect with remarkable talent by focusing on sources that deliver the strongest impact:

 

Do: Go Mobile

In this digital era, not using a mobile candidate sourcing strategy is as good as voluntarily signing up for trouble. According to a recent research conducted by The Undercover  Recruiter, a staggering 89% of job seekers believe mobile devices play a critical role in job searching; you have to be sure that your company’s career page is optimized for mobile-users, easy to navigate, and complemented by appropriate content such as brand amplifying videos to draw in both local and international target audiences.

 

With additional opt-in features, you can expand your sourcing capabilities by enabling visitors to sign up for email job alerts and receive recruitment related updates to ace engagement objectives. Mobile talent sourcing can be easily underestimated, however the good news is that a high caliber recruitment solution eases mobile sourcing and management for recruiters so that you can initiate dialogue and build brand recognition to uncover hidden superstars that you’re missing on your team.

 

Don’t: Aim For The Unicorn

It’s tempting to pursue perfection when hiring. This is a common mistake hiring managers base their recruitment sourcing strategy upon, leading to use of job descriptions targeted heavily on ideal attributes (relentless loyalty, consistent overachiever, ambitious go-getter, etc.) versus clarity relevant to the job role and actual skills required.

 

To excel at successful candidate sourcing, focus more on being interesting yet concise with the right keywords, and instead of preparing a long list of must-haves, detail 3-4 core strengths that emphasize the value the prospective employee will add to the organization. Rather than overlooking talent in pursuit of the perfect “unicorn“, recruiters and hiring managers should explore the diamonds in the rough and identify training needs that could empower top applicants to perform better, in turn reaping the benefits of more affordable employees with higher potential of outstanding performance to offer.

 

Do: Plan Ahead

A good recruitment sourcing strategy means proactive effort all year-round; for every vacancy that opens up, you should readily have access to a talent pool with skills that align well with your business needs. With perks including reduced average time to fill, maintaining a tenacious candidate pipeline also ensures access to best prospects that can help avoid regrets associated with rushed (and typically flawed) hiring decisions.

 

Planning ahead not only gives you an essential head-start, but gives your talent sourcing network a valuable strategic purpose to help both present and future hiring objectives. This is a goal that can be precisely accomplished by investing in an ATS such as Talentera that consolidates talent profiles from all sourcing channels including your career website, partnered recruitment agencies, and even referrals to build a powerful, searchable and cloud based candidate database, in turn facilitating prompt access, retrieval and sorting of profiles to facilitate urgent hiring without the panic.

 

Don’t: Follow Trends

When it comes to sourcing candidates, there’s no one-size-fits-all solution. Technology has changed the way job seekers search for opportunities; based on your industry and the job role in question, successful talent sourcing has to based on data-driven decision making.Only relying on referrals will generate valuable yet limited leads, meanwhile social media platforms can be budget-friendly but fail to reach traditional job seekers that are still loyal to online job boards and company career pages.

 

This is why personally measuring the effectiveness of your existing talent sourcing channels is pivotal to determine not just the quantity but also quality of incoming leads. An intelligent ATS will allow you to compare candidate conversion rates from various sourcing channels to identify performance trends, and the value they add to your recruitment. It also delivers absolute transparency and tracks the volume of applicants across various stages of the recruitment funnel including job offers extended and candidates rejected per talent stream so that you can always remain focused on the greener pastures.

 

 

Do: Deliver A Great Candidate Experience

Rejection is tough; no one wants to be the bearer of bad news to a job seeker eagerly awaiting an interview call back or offer letter. This is why it’s important to be considerate, kind and respectful towards the efforts that the job seeker has put in to explore the prospects of building a thriving career at your company.

Whether you choose to share this news via email or a call, be mindful of the fact that the applicant still holds a strong place in your pipeline and try to provide constructive feedback to help them outshine competing talent next time an opportunity surfaces. Impactful candidate sourcing is a two-way street; keeping them updated regarding their status in the recruitment funnel and periodically exchanging personalized communication is an excellent way to deliver a profound and engaging candidate experience. Always extend courtesy to help your applicants develop their strengths further, meanwhile cultivating a long term relationship so that job seekers do not feel abandoned or discouraged at any step along the way.

 

Conclusion:

Candidate sourcing is a proactive and not reactive process when you’re dedicated to finding the best and the brightest talent to add to your organization. Pairing the right recruitment sourcing strategy with high performance tools can help maximize ROI, attract remarkable applicants, build a robust candidate pipeline, and position you for excellence as a strong employer brand and talent hub- we’re already rooting for your success!