They’re talent acquisition superstars with the sleuthing skills of Sherlock Holmes, the inquisitiveness of a scientist, the sales pitch of Dale Carnegie and the intuition of a psychic—not to mention the tenacity of a bulldog. After all, it’s their job to convince comfortably situated professionals to leave their jobs for a new position.
They are sourcers—and they never rest, lying in wait to fill positions that aren’t even open yet. Sourcers analyze job descriptions and study the needs of the company that hired them. They exhaustively research the professional and personal backgrounds of potential candidates, both online and off, looking for any information that could open a dialogue. While sourcers mine typical sites such as LinkedIn and Facebook, they also dig much deeper than that, scouring industry-specific websites and discussion threads, networking at conferences, and monitoring niche publications and their online communities. They’re savvy enough to understand that their own online profiles can attract contacts and candidates, so they make sure to keep their profiles attractive and up-to-date.
Sourcers can be part of a company’s HR staff or independent consultants. The former are salaried and generally work as part of a larger talent acquisition team, while the latter could either have a long-term contract or be brought on for a specific search. Consultants’ fee structure varies depending on the type of search but is usually about 25 percent of the candidate’s starting salary.
Company recruiters say sourcers are well worth the cost, but
HR Magazine can offer a better bargain. Here we share recruiting tips from four award-winning sourcers for absolutely free.