If you've ever been in charge of recruiting, you probably know how infinite a task it can be. Finding the right candidates, who are talented and possess the right fit for your company, is a challenge in any market.
The key lies in knowing where to look, what tactics to deploy, and how to use the data at your disposal to find good candidates. But first, recruiting has to start with sourcing.
Candidates don't grow on trees. This means you can't rely solely on your network when it comes to sourcing top talent. If you're looking for the best talent, you need to use every tool at your disposal to locate them within target markets.
To help you see results, I've spoken with some of the best sourcing experts from NPAWorldwide to uncover their most effective recruitment strategies. In this article, you'll discover 6 sourcing secrets that will get you candidates that stand out from the job seekers in your market.
1. How to make the most of your previous candidates.
Every search should start within your own ATS. This is both for the internal and external recruiters out there! When managing talent databases, it’s crucial to make sure that nothing goes to waste.
While recruiting new team members, be sure to look back at your database of past applicants and leads. Chances are you come across quite a few candidates who didn’t get hired for the role they applied for in the past.
Don’t let that be another candidate lost in the system. Imagine if they're a great fit for your new role and have the right salary, but have learned even more skills or have more experience since their last application? Remember, recruiting is a marathon, not a sprint!
2. Company culture is an asset.
Every business wants skilled employees, but attracting the best talent takes more than just a good salary. When people think about "cultural fit", they usually focus on how a company's office space looks and feels, or the type of work their average employee gets to do.
But there is an intangible quality that many employers overlook: company culture. Your company culture is an extension of who you are as a business. It is the foundation for how you hire, train, onboard, and retain employees.
Job seekers are looking for organizations that align with their values, workplace culture, and the vision of the company. It's a proven fact that happy employees contribute to companies' success.
3. The power of "similar profiles."
LinkedIn has become such an essential part of our lives, bringing people together in a way, unlike any other previous technology. A least once a day; we come across someone we want to connect with or a professional that we want to recruit.
You might want to check out the "Similar profiles" feature on LinkedIn, which is a great way to find and recruit passive candidates. It is part of their Advanced People Search function that helps you find like-minded professionals, people who have similar connections and groups, or have worked at a company similar to yours.
4. Ask for feedback.
While looking at the bigger picture is a helpful way of analyzing your recruiting game, you should always ask for feedback from your candidates.
What have they been hoping to hear from you? What questions still linger? Which concerns do they have? If they are sourced candidates, what made them answer your outreach message? You'll get the answers to these, and many other questions you may be wondering about.
5. Improve your outreach game.
Outreach is a key part of your job as a recruiter, but the most important question remains: How does one find the best candidates and write a perfect outreach message?
Because it has the power to do so, an outreach message can make or break your candidate sourcing efforts. Your response rate and conversion rate are all about the first impression. Think of your outreach messages as your ad copy, which means you need to grab the attention and interest of your target audience.
You need a strong, personal outreach message that does more than tell them about the job and your company; it also builds credibility for you and creates interest for the candidate.
Once you have perfected your outreach, you can use automation to scale your activity and reach out to more candidates on LinkedIn.
6. Follow up with the candidates that stopped responding.
We engage with a lot of executives and owners, and one question we get often is: How do you follow up with candidates without coming across as a “spammer”?
Well, first of all, I'd like to say that maintaining great communication with potential candidates and clients is an essential skill for recruiters. It's part of your marketing strategy and sales process.
Now, let's say they responded initially when you sent the initial email but went silent, what do you do? Lack of response doesn't necessarily mean the candidate is not interested. It could be a number of things so it is essential to follow up with those who don't respond. The trick here is setting yourself a period of time (1 day to 2 weeks) within which you'll contact them again. If they don't respond again, either close the lead or move on to someone else.
The more you prepare yourself, the better your sourcing strategy will be. Look at each step we've outlined and create a checklist of your own. Then, when it comes to finding the best talent in every industry, you'll be equipped with the right tools to get the job done!
If you would like a free template that works great for cold candidate outreach click the link below!
