8 Go-To Strategies for Sourcing Underrepresented Talent

One way job candidates determine whether your company truly values diversity: They look at who you’ve already hired. They look for a diverse makeup among current employees and your company’s leaders.

But you won’t have a well-represented employee base unless you have a diverse slate of candidates to choose from.

If you find yourself staring at a homogenous candidate pool when it’s time to fill a key position, your sourcing tactics need an overhaul. Here are eight of my go-to strategies for identifying underrepresented talent to satisfy your organization’s hiring needs today and tomorrow.

1. Create a concise and specific candidate profile 

Simply saying you want to increase diversity in your organization is too broad of a goal. Instead, be clear on where you are underrepresented and focus your sourcing efforts there.

Consider the difference between saying, “We need to increase diversity on our engineering team,” and saying, “We’re underrepresented for Black women in engineering.” 

With the first profile, you would likely focus your sourcing efforts on places where engineers go for support and end up finding the same types of employees you already have. However, through the lens of the second profile, you would ask yourself, “Where does an engineer who identifies as a Black woman feel supported while networking?”

Not only does the second statement look specifically at where your organization falls short, but it gives you a starting point for identifying where to focus your efforts.

2. Turn members of employee resource groups into ambassadors

Before you start thinking about places outside of the organization to focus your sourcing efforts, consider how you can leverage the talent you already have.

Employee referrals can be a powerful way to identify candidates. But if the employees making the referrals don’t have talent from underrepresented groups in their personal networks, you’re back to square one. 

Attend employee resource group (ERG) meetings and build relationships with the members. Not only can you ask attendees to share with their personal networks information about positions you are trying to fill, but you can let members know that referrals are welcome year-round.

You can also benefit from the insights of ERG members when it comes to identifying conferences and other events at which to source candidates. Just don’t patronize them by asking them for their insight simply because they are a member of an underrepresented group. Let them know that you are asking because you value their opinion.

3. Equip managers with the words and skills they need to source candidates

Recruiters don’t have to do all of the sourcing alone. Letting other leaders within the organization understand your recruiting initiative and helping them become comfortable reaching out to potential candidates can also yield positive results.

For example, a manager at a conference signaling that the organization is committed to increasing representation among Latina marketing leaders could inspire a talented candidate to say, “Oh, he’s looking for me.” Or maybe the friend of a candidate will encounter the manager and reach out to their contact, saying, “Hey, you need to send your resume to this person.”

However, some managers may avoid making a connection with a potential candidate because they are uncertain that they have the skill set or appropriate vocabulary to do it. They may think, “I don't know whether to say African American or Black,” or “I’m not sure how to refer to a person with a disability, so I won’t say anything.”

When it comes to recruiting and sourcing, assume that managers don’t yet feel capable and confident. If you can share a common vocabulary that is acceptable for everyone in the company to use, you’ll find that more leaders within your organization will rise to the challenge.

4. Remember to source internal candidates 

Typically when we’re thinking of sourcing, we’re referring to people that we can bring in from outside of the organization.

However, often employees in underrepresented groups have little access to company leaders and their work is not known throughout the organization. As a result, they don’t get considered for internal positions that open up.

Employees tend to stay, on average, 41% longer at companies that have high rates of internal hiring, according to the Global Talent Trends 2020 report.

That’s why I'm a huge fan of intentional internal networking, or creating activities where leaders throughout the company can meet with employees at different levels of the organization. Doing so builds up an internal talent pool for consideration when opportunities arise.

5. Go to where your underrepresented group is overrepresented

Instead of trying to find a needle in a haystack, go to where your underrepresented group is in the majority. In addition to contacting schools such as Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Hispanic-Serving Institutions, do a search on Google or LinkedIn for groups or organizations that have it in their mission to support the populations you are wanting to reach. 

You might use the search term, “mission to support Black executives” or “mission to support Asian American architects.” Once you find one organization, look for others that have partnered with it or that are similar to it. 

Working with megachurches can also be an effective way to source candidates because a lot of large churches are creating career ministries. Churches are also invested in ensuring that their congregants are employed.

If a megachurch’s membership (or that of any house of worship) aligns with your underrepresented group, consider holding a career fair or at least sharing information about openings with the congregation, which will allow you to source candidates for current and future roles. 

Even if a church hasn’t thought about a career ministry yet, consider introducing the idea to churches within your footprint.

6. Build alliances with career coaches

One underutilized resource is the executive career coach — particularly those coaches who focus on supporting the underrepresented populations you are trying to reach. These professionals already have access to your target audience and can steer potential candidates your way. 

A partnership would be a win-win situation: You get access to undiscovered talent, and coaches get access to someone with jobs, making them more valuable to their client base.

7. Develop or sponsor a scholarship program

One way you can work with career coaches, colleges, or professional organizations that support the underrepresented population you are trying to reach is by sponsoring a scholarship program. A recruiter or a recruiting department can say, “I’m interested in sponsoring a scholarship for women in business,” and sourcing can take place whenever individuals apply.

The scholarship would make higher education or specialized training more affordable to the recipient while giving your organization direct contact with candidates that have the background and training you’re looking for.

You would also be able to keep in touch with applicants who did not win the scholarship but who could be well suited for positions within your organization. An annual scholarship could effectively create a pipeline of talent that can be tapped in the near or distant future.

8. Leverage former employees for new positions and referrals 

Sometimes the key to the future is reaching back to the past. When sourcing candidates, don’t forget to look at the pool of people from underrepresented groups who have left the organization. Keep tabs on the high performers, and then you can initiate a campaign to try to lure them back into the fold.

Boomerang employees — those who worked for your company before and are now willing to come back — already know the organization’s culture. In turn, you are already familiar with their work.

Another benefit of reaching out to former employees is they can refer other candidates in their networks to your company. 

Final thoughts

To ensure that you are sourcing a diverse slate of candidates, be clear about what you are looking for, tap all of the resources within your organization, and then expand your efforts outward.

If you wait until you have a position to fill to start thinking about sourcing, you’ve started your diversity recruitment efforts too late.

Jenn Tardy is the CEO of the boutique diversity recruiting consulting firm, Jennifer Tardy Consulting (JTC). Through her #CareerSuccess coaching programs for job seekers and #HiringSuccess diversity training programs like the Increase Diversity Toolbox for recruiters and hiring managers, she is on a mission to make it easy for recruiters and historically underrepresented job seekers to meet and forge career success.

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