How can you source top talent?

Highlighting a concise list of 6-8 performance objectives proves to be a more effective approach in enticing top talent compared to an exhaustive list of mandatory skills and experiences. When crafting a job description for exceptional candidates, always address the question: Why would a top talent, who isn't actively job hunting, view this opportunity as a pivotal career move? Communicate the job's challenges and potential rewards. Comprehensive detailing of every job aspect is unnecessary; the key lies in promoting an enticing career advancement. By doing so, you'll attract individuals who are driven to excel and grow within their careers, not merely those seeking a job switch.

In my experience, talented individuals seek opportunities to be challenged and make a meaningful impact. Its our responsibility to ensure that the organization provides challenging and intellectually stimulating projects that align with the candidate's skills and interests. Be transparent about the company's vision, mission, and goals. Share information about the organization's financial health, strategic plans, and any exciting future projects.

1. Referrals: Referrals are often a great way to find high-quality talent, as employees tend to recommend people they know and trust. 2. Social media: Leverage social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to attract and engage with potential candidates. These platforms can help you to build your employer brand and create a pipeline of interested candidates. 3. Job boards: Post job openings on popular job boards. These websites have large audiences and can help you to reach a broad range of job seekers. 4. Networking events: Attend industry events and job fairs to meet potential candidates in person. These events provide an opportunity to make connections and build relationships with talented professionals.

Sourcing top talents involves a comprehensive strategy encompassing internal referrals, job boards, networking events, social media, professional organizations, university partnerships, recruitment agencies, employee branding efforts, employee development programs, and advanced technological tools.

Here are my strategies to source top talent -To develop a strong and positive employer brand. This includes showcasing your company culture, values, and benefits. -To lever professional networking sites like LinkedIn to identify and connect with potential candidates. -To encourage current employees to refer qualified candidates. -To ensure your compensation packages are competitive within the industry and region.

Often, the best source of talent is established relationships. Your employees and leaders know stakeholders and partners throughout the industry. They know who is solid and who is blowing smoke. When dealing with referrals, you still need a top tier vetting process. But relationships allow you to find candidates quickly who pass the first hurdle.

Top talent is sometimes present in specialized communities. For example, in tech, GitHub and Stack Overflow are great places to find top talent which otherwise could be not present on LinkedIn or other social media platforms. Twitter is sometimes also helpful.

Diversify your sourcing channels strategically. Blend online platforms like job boards and social media with offline channels such as referrals and industry events.

Clear categorization of Talent needs is the core step in this aspect. Being aware and having a structured framework of what talent is need of the hour for hiring, why is there the need and what exactly are we looking for in the talent is crucial to have clarity about. Knowing what are the main aspects to target and how is the market currently driven for such talents is key while sourcing.

Leverage social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook and X to promote job openings and engage with potential candidates. Create compelling content to showcase your company culture and attract passive candidates.

Without a tailored outreach component, you are wasting your time sourcing top talent. Imagine you're walking into a room with 100 of the most-qualified candidates for your role, and maybe only about 5-10% are actually actively looking to change companies. How do you get the attention of the other 90%? With a message that adds value to them and offers them something BETTER. It starts with a solid understanding of the employer brand and the selling points for it. Next, is understanding the motivations of the candidate. And finally, crafting all of that into a personalized, compendious message with a call to action. Remember to include statistics, and/or examples of others who have seen success in the role - they can't ignore it!

Make sure you keep the message short and concise, generally under 500 characters. It is important for recruiters to highlight the company's Vision and Mission, problem statement that the candidate will be solving, why you think he/she is a better fit for the role and the road map of the role for the next 1 year.

This is one of my favorite parts of sourcing outreach, telling an engaging story. Think about it, this message could change someone's life and career path...IF you are telling an authentic story that aligns with their goals & aspirations. I love talking with companies and finding out what makes them unique; what their vision/purpose is, culture vibe and what type of growth opportunity is available. I will make that information as concise as I can (bullet points can help!) so that they can easily make a judgement if they want to explore this further. I also present challenges as opportunities and another way to authentically represent a role. The right person is going to be excited by the challenges presented.

Make it all about the candidate and what they can achieve in their potential tenure at that organisation Also give a very clear overview of the projects they will be involved in No wishlist of tech and make it clear your compensation (albeit you can mention there may be some slight flex on it)

We don't just scan resumes. We dive into profiles, understand the human behind the skills. We are not robots, we are connectors, building genuine relationships before talking jobs. Personalization is power. Craft messages that speak directly to the candidate's unique skills and experiences. Show them you have done your homework. Mention specific projects they have worked on, things you admire, reasons you think they would be a great fit. This sparks curiosity. They will wonder, "Wow, they actually read my profile?". They will want to learn more about the opportunity you offer. It's a win-win. You attract the best, they escape the generic hunt. We build a talent pool of engaged individuals, not just resumes.

After each stage of the process is done, follow-up with your candidates. Call them to ask - how did it go? It mostly helps building a relationship with them, makes them feel appreciated and that they mean more to you than 'just another one'. It also gives you a chance to figure out where the candidate stands in the process, are they still really into it, do they feel like everything is going alright, is our hiring process getting too much for them, or maybe hear some feedback about where to improve or what to stick with no matter what.

Always keep the candidates engaged throughout the recruitment process. Updating them whenever possible. Ghosting is definitely not going to help them have a good experience. If you are reaching candidates using various sources , ensure that you give as much information you can , and set the right expectations.

LinkedIn Recruiter has a great follow-up feature. You can set a time and text to be sent to your prospects, in case your initial message has not been accepted/declined yet. More often than not, the messages are being accepted after a follow up message. A great way to automate this process. Give it a try!

To build a strong relationship with the candidates keep them involved and informed with each and every step/ process. Hear them out, share insightful informations, feedbacks. Keep regular contacts, make them feel important to you. This will help in building trust and strengthen the relationship which ultimately will help you in the hiring process.

Adopt a "Subscriber Mindset" for Continuous Engagement: Traditional relationship building in HR focuses on one-off interactions or set follow-up intervals. However, consider borrowing a page from the digital marketing playbook and adopt a "Subscriber Mindset." This approach treats potential candidates like valued subscribers to a service. Offer candidates a regular “newsletter” containing industry trends, company updates, or career advice. Not only does this maintain ongoing engagement, but it also positions your company as a thought leader. The steady flow of valuable content fosters a stronger bond, elevating not just response and conversion rates but also long-term loyalty.

Searching for top talent is not just about scanning profile, it's about understanding who we're after, reaching out across different platforms, and sparking conversations with passive candidates. evaluating the entire process while considering the outcome from each platform (i.e. LinkedIn) helps improve the sourcing performance, because each platform might be stronger than others when it comes to certain roles (Like Entry Level Roles versus Senior Roles)

To еnhancе sourcing pеrformancе: *-Establish Mеtrics: Dеfinе KPIs likе timе-to-fill and cost pеr hirе. *-Candidatе Quality: Assеss sourcеd candidatеs' onboarding succеss and pеrformancе. *-Channеl Pеrformancе: Evaluatе sourcing channеl еffеctivеnеss rеgularly. *-Convеrsion Ratеs: Analyzе convеrsion ratеs for procеss optimization. *-Fееdback Collеction: Gathеr insights from candidatеs and hiring tеams for improvеmеnts. *-Tеchnology Audit: Rеgularly updatе and optimizе sourcing tools and tеchnologiеs. Stay Informеd: Kееp abrеast of industry trеnds and adjust stratеgiеs accordingly. Invеst in Training: Providе ongoing training for thе sourcing tеam to stay compеtitivе.

Implement "Agile HR" for Adaptive Performance Metrics: Traditional performance evaluation in HR focuses on static, end-of-cycle reviews. Consider implementing "Agile HR" principles, which borrow from agile methodologies used in software development, for a more dynamic assessment. Instead of only examining metrics like time to fill or cost per hire at the end of a hiring cycle, conduct mini-reviews or "sprints" every few weeks. This allows for real-time adaptations to your sourcing strategy based on emerging data. By incorporating agile principles, you can pivot faster in response to challenges or opportunities, making your talent sourcing more resilient and effective.

Based on my extensive experience, Evaluating and improving your sourcing performance is crucial to ensure that you're effectively attracting top talent. Here are some helpful techniques: 1. Track Key Metrics: Keep track of key metrics such as time to hire, cost per hire, and quality of hire. This can help you understand how well your sourcing strategies are working. 2. Gather Feedback: Regularly gather feedback from candidates about their experience during the recruitment process. This can provide valuable insights into areas for improvement. 3. Regularly Review Your Sourcing Channels: Regularly review the effectiveness of your sourcing channels.

I think that prioritizing candidate feedback has been transformative. By listening to those we aim to hire, we gain invaluable insights into our sourcing effectiveness, helping us refine our strategies to better align with candidate expectations and industry standards." Highlighting the Role of Data in Sourcing:

This sounds crazy, but I love to adopt the one-and-done approach when recruiting for talent in operations. I know that my department is a stepping stone, so part of the deal is, work for us and we will work hard to keep moving you upwards as quickly as possible. We look for amazing attitude and tremendous effort. We can teach the rest. When employees know that you are looking out for their well-being and want them to succeed, they are going to do amazing things. While turnover may be high, people are leaving for the right reasons, which is another great topic altogether.

Develop a strong employer brand that showcases your organization's values, culture, and opportunities. Promote your employer brand through various channels, such as your website, social media, and professional networking platforms. Highlight unique aspects of your company that would attract top talent.

Networking... This has built me a foundation that has lead me to create 30% of defining talent for the roles I recruit for. Requesting refferals as well has been a value-add to linking up ideal candidates

Nothing works better than the work culture itself. Having a positive and empathetic work culture will always give room for positive vibes to grow and eventually make your people ambassadors to the outer world - the work that is full of top candidates who will bring wonders to the company. Not that the other factors don’t play a role but in my opinion all are secondary.

An example I have seen in my real time scenario is that every part has to contribute in sourcing to get the right talent so we need to keep balance in every aspect of measurements . It's a strategy sourcing top talent involves a strategic approach to identify and attract the best candidates for your organization. According to me sourcing top talent is an ongoing process. Building and maintaining relationships with potential candidates, staying up-to-date with industry trends, and adapting your approach as needed are key to successful talent acquisition.