Sourcing Candidates
Sourcing candidates is the proactive process of identifying, attracting, and engaging potential candidates to fill current or future product team vacancies. This involves actively searching for individuals with the skills and experience necessary to contribute to the success of the product.
Purpose
The purpose of sourcing candidates is to build a rich talent pipeline to ensure that the organisation has access to high-quality candidates when a position becomes vacant, thereby reducing the time-to-hire and improving the quality of hires.
- Reduces Time-to-Hire: Having a ready pool of candidates can significantly speed up the recruitment process.
- Improves Quality of Hire: Enables the organisation to scout for talent proactively, focusing on quality rather than settling for available candidates in a time crunch.
- Enhances Employer Brand: Engaging potential candidates over time boosts the organisation's reputation as an employer of choice.
Context
Industry Context
The market goes through cycles where the demand for specific skills and roles fluctuates. But demand for the right talent is always present, and the impact of a high-quality hire can be significant. The challenge is to find the right candidates at the right time.
ZeroBlockers Context
The people on the team will have the most significant impact on the product's success. Sourcing candidates is a critical activity to ensure that the team is composed of high-performing individuals who can collaborate effectively. Therefore this cannot be outsourced to HR or recruitment agencies alone. It is the Product Team's responsibility to ensure that the right people are brought on board.
Continuous Sourcing Methods
| Method | Description | Benefits |
|---|---|---|
| Create an Employee Referral Program | Encouraging current employees to refer qualified candidates from their network. | Leverages existing employees' networks, often leading to higher quality hires. |
| Blogging and Content Marketing | Creating content that showcases the company culture, values, and work environment. | Attracts candidates who resonate with the company's values and mission. |
| Attend Industry Events and Conferences | Attending, speaking at or sponsoring industry events to connect with potential candidates. | Builds relationships with candidates and showcases the employer brand. |
| Directly Source Candidates | Actively searching for candidates on platforms like LinkedIn, GitHub, Twitter, or other professional networks. | Enables targeted outreach to candidates with specific skills and experience. |
| Nurturing your Network | Regularly engaging with potential candidates to build relationships and keep them interested. | Ensures a warm pipeline of candidates when needed. |
Other Methods
On top of the more active and continuous methods mentioned above, there are also more targetted methods that can be used to source candidates when there is a specific need.
| Method | Description | Benefits |
|---|---|---|
| Job Boards | Posting job openings on platforms like Indeed, Glassdoor, and specialised industry job boards. | Reaches a wide audience of active job seekers. |
| Recruitment Agencies | Engaging external agencies to source and screen candidates for open positions. | Provides access to a wider pool of candidates and expertise in recruitment. |
Anti-patterns
- Reactive Hiring: Waiting until a need becomes critical before beginning the recruitment process.
- Over-reliance on Job Boards: Solely depending on job boards can lead to a reactive rather than a proactive approach to candidate sourcing.
- Ignoring Passive Candidates: Failing to engage with passive candidates who are not actively looking but may be open to the right opportunity.
- Neglecting Employer Brand: Not investing in building a strong employer brand that attracts candidates.