From good to great. How do you get there? One of the ways for Recruiters is sourcing. Head hunting is such a critical component of becoming a strong Recruiter. On average, I have seen about 25% of my roles filled by applicants. The other 75% comes from a combination of referrals, connections and sourcing. I feel like what has helped separate me in the recruitment world is my ability to think differently. In this article, I will share some (not all, I need to keep some secrets!) of my sourcing tips.
- Stop with generic messages - how often do you as a candidate get a template message from a Recruiter? Often these template messages may even include spelling errors or might not even call you by your correct name. Personalization is key and while that sounds obvious, most Recruiters don't do this well enough. Mention connections in common, mention things that stand out on their profile, use a video to reach them, send them a LinkedIn message and then send them an email a few days later. Be creative in your approach and get away from the generic messages.
- Diversify away from LinkedIn - LinkedIn is a great tool and is my #1 tool but it can't be the only tool you use. Slack has become really good too. There are numerous public slack groups that you can join where you can post jobs, see candidates or even just get access to a number of potential candidates because they are simply listed as part of that slack channel. For example, there are channels out there for Full Stack Engineers. Join it and boom, you now have access to hundreds of Full Stack Engineers.
- Always ask for referrals - it's funny, I used to never do this. I would send a message to a candidate and if they weren't interested, I would move on. I've now learned to ask them for referrals if they themselves are not interested. You'd be surprised how many people are willing to send you some referrals!
- Weddings, airports, the hockey rink - Ok, ok, these are more difficult to actually produce candidates from and yes, part of this point is to add some humour but there is some value to these avenues as well. The next time you are at a wedding and you are trying to hire for an Engineer, just look around to see who is wearing an Engineering ring. Spark up a conversation. Do the same thing at an airport or a hockey rink. It could lead to your next hire.