What is the Talent Sourcing Process and How to Ace it?

It is a living nightmare for recruiters to maintain a talent pipeline that you can peep into when a vacancy arises at your company. 

It can be a real rollercoaster of a ride to quickly hire someone to keep your time to hire low and quality of hire high. 

How many times have you asked the hiring manager “when do you need the employee to join” and their answer is “yesterday”?

We are sure that whenever a vacancy opens up, the hiring managers will want a new employee in the blink of an eye.

We wish we could help you score the best employees for your company. But alas not!

Let us point you to the next best thing to solve all your troubles.

Talent Sourcing

Did you know according to Lever, sourced candidates are approximately twice as efficient and effective as candidates that apply without a well defined talent-sourcing process?

But first….

What is the Talent Sourcing Process?

Talent sourcing , also commonly known as candidate sourcing, is a talent acquisition process that focuses on generating a constant influx of potential candidates to fill a vacant job role in their organization as soon as possible.

It is a wholesome approach that includes proper research to identify culturally fit and highly skilled candidates who can fulfill a given job role. 

Due to the intense competition, only businesses with a defined and successful plan succeed. Understanding where to find, or "source," the finest applicants is the first step in developing a sound strategy.

You'll need to identify them quickly, confirm that they have impeccable skills and experience, and interact with them. Finding the appropriate employees can be difficult. That’s why, in the modern day, searching for employees has gone from being reactive to proactive.

Objectives of Talent Sourcing Process 

In addition to sourcing candidates, talent sourcing enables organizations to

Attract excellent professionals:

• This means actively drawing the attention of top-notch professionals who are well-qualified and have the skills and experience your organization needs.
• It involves creating a strong employer brand, showcasing your company's culture, values, and opportunities to attract top talent.
• Effective job postings and recruitment marketing strategies play a key role in this process.

Build a high-value database of potential candidates:

• This refers to creating and maintaining a database or talent pool of potential candidates who may be a good fit for your organization in the future.
• It involves collecting and organizing candidate information, such as resumes, contact details, and skills.
• A high-value database ensures you have a readily available source of qualified candidates when job openings arise, reducing recruitment lead times.

Turn top candidates into applicants:

• Once you've identified top candidates, the next step is to encourage them to apply for your job openings.
• This can be achieved through personalized communication, showcasing the benefits of working at your company, and providing a streamlined application process.
• Effective employer branding and a positive candidate experience are essential to convert top candidates into applicants.

Create a cohesive talent pipeline that functions all year round:

• Building a talent pipeline involves continuously nurturing relationships with potential candidates, whether or not there are immediate job openings.
• It's a proactive approach to recruitment, ensuring that your organization has access to a pool of qualified individuals year-round.
• Regular engagement, networking, and communication with candidates keep the pipeline active and responsive.

Maintain a constant flow of highly skilled people to prevent common recruitment challenges:

• This implies that by having a well-maintained talent pipeline, you can mitigate recruitment challenges, such as talent shortages or unexpected turnover.
• A constant flow of highly skilled individuals means you're less likely to face talent gaps and can quickly fill positions as needed.
• It's a strategic approach to avoid disruptions in your workforce and maintain business continuity.

Steps of Talent Sourcing Process 

The talent sourcing process starts even before a position becomes available. In this way, by the time the job is listed, you will already have a list of candidates to contact. There won't be a need for you to scramble at that moment. Although sourcing can differ from location to location, this broad overview of the talent sourcing process and its milestones can help.

1. Understand the Requirement

Understanding the requirements of the position for which you are searching talent is crucial before developing any talent sourcing strategies. You should take into account things like the company culture, the pay scale for different professions, and the talents needed by the business. Analyzing these needs makes it simple to proceed to the next stage.

2. Create a Candidate Persona

When you have all the necessary information, it's time to envision your ideal hire. A candidate personal  is a description of the ideal candidate for the job. What skills do they possess? How do they fit into the culture of the company? It serves as your guide to finding the ideal fit.

You get an idea of what kind of prospects you should approach and where to look for them by creating your ideal candidate persona. This will also assist you in dividing up your target market so that you can run efficient marketing campaigns.

3. Identifying the Candidates

Building a pool of prospective employees who are interested in working for your organization is essential. Based on their qualifications and work history, you can determine which candidates are the best fit for open positions. Additionally, you need to search for potential candidates using your outreach methods. When you're through, you can begin talking with the applicants who seem like a good fit for your business.

4. Engaging the Candidates

You must connect with your desired candidates on their chosen platforms before you can start any effort to encourage candidate engagement. The key objective is to start and maintain an engagement effort on platforms that interest candidates. You must increase your visibility on numerous venues, such as social media, job boards, and career fairs, to do this.

Keep in mind that you don't want to ambush the candidate in the initial contact. Do not request them to fill out any applications or forms. Don't subject them to any assessments or other demanding requirements. Instead, schedule a 20-minute phone call to confirm that the applicant is available, interested, and prepared to submit a formal application. 

5. Interviewing the Candidates

Follow up with possible applicants you've identified and contacted before moving on to the next stage of the hiring procedure. Here, you must interview candidates and evaluate applicants to determine the caliber of their talent. You must be prepared to take the ultimate recruiting decision and extend an offer to the chosen applicants once the interviews are over.

6. Recruiting the Candidates

The sourcing process ends with this stage. You can move forward with the candidate onboarding procedure after the selected candidates accept your offer. You can enhance the whole sourcing and recruitment process  by adding the little next step.

7. Candidate Feedback

This can be included as an additional step in the sourcing process. By embracing feedback, you can examine candidates' viewpoints and enhance the talent-sourcing process.

Strategies to Ace the Talent Sourcing Process

1. Enhance your Brand Image

More candidates may be motivated to apply for vacant positions and respond to outreach if you continue to uphold a great brand image and reputation. Make sure the business continually receives positive feedback on social media and job-hunting platforms to enhance its reputation.

If you come across any unfavorable reviews, reply to them on behalf of the business to let the reviewers know you value their opinions and that the problem is being addressed. To let others know it's a terrific place to work, encourage current employees to share their positive experiences on such websites.

2. Implement Employee Referral Programs

Your employees have an excellent network of people in the same business and can refer them to your organization. Introduce a referral scheme for current workers that pays them when you hire someone they've referred. These benefits are frequently monetary, and the present employee receives bonuses as a result.

Because they are people who your employees may have previously worked with, candidates brought in through employee referral programs are frequently outstanding. A referral program might give you more assurance that the applicant will fit in well with the company's culture and perform well in the position.

3. Stay Aligned with the Recruiter

To make sure you and the hiring manager are on the same page about the qualities you want in prospective applicants, it's crucial to work closely together. Hold a kick-off meeting to openly discuss the vacant positions. To demonstrate to the hiring manager the kinds of individuals you're looking for, you may also search for the initial few probable prospects for a position.

You can individually conduct separate searches to find more qualified applicants along with the hiring manager. Throughout the hiring process, stay in touch with the recruiter to make sure they are satisfied with the quality of candidates you are sourcing for them. 

4. Take Advantage of Social Media

Consider using additional channels and resources to discover outstanding candidates rather than just publishing a job advertisement on popular job search websites and only interviewing applicants from there. Post the open job positions on well-known social media platforms. You can also get in touch with people in your professional network who might be able to recommend some of their colleagues.

To identify people with qualities that fit your job description, you can also browse professional profiles on popular employment sites. Send them a direct message explaining the position that is open to them and why you think they would be a fantastic fit for it.

5. Write appealing Outreach Messages

Writing compelling messages specifically for each prospect is a wonderful approach to drawing them in, keeping them interested, and persuading them to learn more about the position and business. Make a compelling subject line to get potential applicants to open your message.

Include small details in the message to illustrate why you were pleased by their qualifications. Then you can give a quick outline of the organization and the open position. You can explain how you think they can bring worthwhile work to the team in the final paragraph of your email.

6. Use AI Tools

Now there are databases and technology for sourcing and hiring that can automatically find qualified people. These technological solutions find applicants that have resumes or professional profiles that meet the criteria for the position you are hiring for.

Reviewing applications and profiles for candidates can be expedited thanks to automation. Additionally, it offers better matches for available positions, which can provide you access to more skilled individuals.

To Wrap Up

The understanding of talent sourcing and how it is different from recruiting should be on top of every recruiter’s list. Sourcing is important; and it has made its place in the market.

You as a company should amp up your game and get your feet into the sourcing pool to procure a top-notch talent pipeline for your organization.

We at HireQuotient deal with talent sourcing  and help you to take the burden off your shoulders and give you the best sourcing experience.