Sourcing (personnel)
Sourcing refers to the identification and uncovering of candidates (also known as talent) through proactive recruiting techniques.
Historical Context
The evolution of recruiting has changed significantly over the last few decades. What started out as the responsibility of office managers to place job advertisements in newspapers or help wanted signs to attract potential employees, has now grown into a multi billion dollar industry, where the identification of talent requires internal corporate recruitment departments or employment agencies solely focused on this transaction through both proactive and reactive recruiting techniques.
Today the actual act of identifying candidates has even been split into dedicated roles and job functions, as where historically Sourcing was the sole and inclusive responsibility of the recruiter along with other job responsibilities (examples):
a) Screen and Interview Candidates against the position requirements b) Work closely with the hiring manager on hiring activities c) Helping with the "offer letter" and interview process
A corporate recruiting department can now be made up of individuals dedicated to just the Sourcing of candidates while recruiters can either focus on more account management responsibilities or leverage Sourcing experts to help supplement an additional volume of potential candidates.
Detailed Definition
The actual act of Sourcing for candidates is performed by either a recruiter (be it an internal corporate recruiter or agency recruiter) or a dedicated recruiter just focused on the Sourcing function. The definition of Sourcing needs to be clearly defined by what it is, as much as what it is not.
In some situations a person that "sources" candidates can and will perform both 'Primary' and 'Secondary' sourcing techniques to identify candidates but there is a growing market for experts solely focused on "Phone Sourcing" or "Internet Sourcing/Researching". The actual act to Source candidates can usually be split out into two clearly defined techniques relating to the above techniques:
1. Primary sourcing - From a recruiting/sourcing definition standpoint, this means the leveraging of techniques (primarily the phone) to identify candidates with limited to no presence of these individuals in any easily accessible public forum (the internet, published list, etc). It requires the uncovering of candidate information via a primary means of calling directly into organizations to uncover data on people, their role, title and responsibilities.
The term "Phone Sourcers" generally applies to the utilization of 'Primary Sourcing' techniques.
Reference: Recruiting Bloogers on 'Phone Soucing'
2. **Secondary sourcing - From a recruiting/sourcing definition standpoint, this means the using of techniques (primarily the internet and utilizing advanced Boolean operators) to identify candidates. Individuals in the recruiting industry that have deep expertise in uncovering talent in the harder to reach places on the internet (Forum's, Blogs, Alumni, conference attendee lists, personal home pages, etc).
The term "Internet Sourcer" or "Internet Researcher" generally applies to the utilization of 'Secondary Sourcing' techniques.
Reference: Career Journal Recruiters Network
Examples of Sourcing Techniques
Sourcing for candidates also generally applies to a focus primarily on 'proactively' identifying people that are not actively looking for job opportunities ("passive candidates") vs. candidates that are actively searching for job opportunities ("active candidates").
Proactive Techniques
1. Using Boolean operators on major search engine sites (Google,MSN,Yahoo!, etc) to identify potential candidates that might meet the criteria of the position that needs to be filled based off targeted keywords. Example String in Google: "SAP consultant" (resume | CV | "curriculum vitae")
Reference: Google Boolean Result Link
2. Searching for candidates in Job Boards (Example:Monster.com) using keywords related to the position requirements looking to be filled
3. Looking in your own recruitment database for candidates using keywords related to the position requirements.
4. Networking (See: Business Network) with individuals to uncover candidates. This would also be inclusive of the use of Social Networking tools and sites.
Example: LinkedIn
5. "Phone Sourcing" or Cold Calling into companies that might contain individuals that match the key requirements of the position that needs to be filled.
Examples of what Sourcing is not!
Reactive Techniques
1. Reviewing candidates that have applied to positions through the corporate/agency web site
2. Processing an employee referral
3. Corporate recruiter receiving candidates from employment agencies
4. Screening candidates at a career fair
--Rob McIntosh 16:17, 15 March 2007 (UTC)