Five Tips for Sourcing Efficiency

“Businesses have never done as much hiring as they do today. They’ve never spent as much money doing it. And they’ve never done a worse job of it.”
Harvard Business Review

Here’s the good news for employers seeking top talent; polling numbers show 78% of American workers are planning on jumping ship to a new job this year. Another study showed 70% of laborers say they are thinking about a job jump. That’s good news for hiring teams intent on sourcing the candidate who hasn’t applied yet.

But searching for and soliciting these candidates is incredibly time-consuming. Here are five ways you can speed up this process to find the right fit.

Step one is to clean out any existing databases. For companies with internal recruiting teams, this means decluttering any old resumes that haven’t been touched in a long time. Set up a process for reviewing, screening, and categorizing existing resumes so your applicant tracking system is more effective.

Step two is to learn and practice the Boolean search. You can search for resumes for specific phrases by using quotation marks. Or, narrow your search by using AND between descriptors. For job titles with varying names use OR in between to expand your search. While these are just a few tips, Boolean search strings will help narrow the candidate pool and speed up your search process.

Step three should focus on social sourcing, which is the practice of leveraging social networks like LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter or Instagram to find candidates. Try using these social networks to reach out to candidates quickly and inform them of job openings.

Step four is to make use of some of the newer tools on the market, such as LinkedIn Recruiter, which lets you set up a project (by job), then use Boolean search to find candidates. The tool even lets you search for candidates who are “open to new opportunities.” Start with those candidates to speed up your sourcing process.

Step five is to ask for referrals from your existing employees. Set up a referral bonus program so your team will feel comfortable (and rewarded) for reaching out to their friends. Then reach out to your networks and ask employees to do the same thing to help speed up the sourcing process.

Ask for Sourcing Help

A tight labor market requires employers to think outside the box by forming new partnerships. Consider partnering with Exelare to help source new candidates into your organization. That will speed up your hiring process and improve your chances of finding the right fit for your organization.