Talent Sourcing as a career: why it’s gaining popularity
All too often, Talent Sourcers are seen as Junior Recruiters, which is such a misinterpretation. Sourcing is an independent area of expertise that sits alongside recruitment and acts as a strategic partner throughout the process.
Sourcing vs. Recruiting
As a role, talent sourcing has many moving parts. Not only do we build talent pools and identify the best passive candidates, but we also engage with them and spark their interest in the company. Sourcing requires a lot of research on company structure and the market for different domains.
Recruiters, on the other hand, manage relationships with candidates and hiring managers throughout the hiring process with calls, interviews and meetings. They translate what is written in the job description into a fair and complete assessment process.
As Sourcers, our mission is to locate and attract the best talent out there. Most of the people we look for are passive and not necessarily looking for a new job. Our responsibility is to cast a spell on them to attract them to the company by emphasising out values and aspects of the role. In this way, we’re not only detectives but also brand ambassadors and salespeople who convince them to choose to participate in the process. On top of everything else, we also act as diversity advocates within the company by building search strategies in a way that more diverse candidates are brought to the process. Yes, yes… We rock!
As you can see, the two roles work in a similar field but are fundamentally different. That said, Sources and Recruiters work better together when communication is clear and expectations are properly managed.
My experience as a Talent Sourcer
In my 6 years of experience as a Researcher and Sourcer, I’ve gained a deep understanding of the needs of different companies. I’ve learned that having a Sourcer to partner with the Recruiters is such a privilege! The two complement and complete each other. Most importantly, a Sourcer works in parallel, not beneath, a Recruiter. A very dear friend of mine once compared it with Front-End Engineers and Back-End Engineers — the same goal, but with different responsibilities. More and more companies are starting to realise the benefits of adding Sourcing positions to their organisation. Having a specialist to partner with their Recruiters, bringing data and insights about the market and candidates, is valuable and optimises the process. Moreover, Sourcers can increase the quality of candidates and improve the pass-through rates of the process. By knowing the company’s needs and having market knowledge, we’re able to match talent with the right position. Once we create a pipeline of candidates and interview them, we present a list of approved prospects to recruiters and hiring managers, and the rest is handled by them.
One very important thing to have in mind is that the Sourcers have to be data-oriented! Whether it’s quantitative or qualitative, we have to be very familiar with how to present our insights. Proper visualisation allows us to discuss and challenge the hiring process with more authority. We need to keep track of the pass-through rates to understand bottlenecks and adapt the search strategy as needed. Where in the process is the bottleneck? Is the problem the technical interview? Is it the team interview? Is there anything I can ask during my screening to assess better the candidates? How can I adjust my search to bring in the right candidates? These are all things we need to keep in mind.
Having a domain of expertise enables us to be even better advisors. Each job and niche is different and therefore requires different skill sets and best practices from Sourcers. By mastering a single domain, we’re able to contribute much more market knowledge to the relevant stakeholders. Ultimately, it helps companies fin the right candidates, faster.
Sourcers never stop learning. We are curious and creative and go beyond LinkedIn and the obvious platforms. In doing so, we enhance our ability to create search strategies and engage candidates.
Sourcing is a function within a Talent Acquisition (TA) or Human Resources team that requires a specific set of skills. Skills that differ from those needed by Recruiters. The more experienced the Sourcer, the more market knowledge and search strategy insights they have to offer. Responsible for a large portion of the hiring process, we have the power to become the “Yodas” of the TA team if we’re given the space and resources we need.
It’s time for leaders to understand sourcing, the benefits of having dedicated Sourcers and investing in their development.
