What is sourcing in recruitment?

You're looking for the ideal candidate, but they're not applying to your vacancy? Don't worry, in today's recruitment market this is totally normal, and your employer brand won't change this reality. In many sectors (IT, BPT, Sales, Healthcare...) profiles are becoming scarce, and it's becoming necessary to move from an inbound strategy (the candidate applies) to an outbound strategy (you are the first to show interest in the candidate). The concept of candidate sourcing therefore translates into the action of seeking out relevant candidates for a job vacancy, and prospecting them.

The bottom line

• Sourcing is key for companies recruiting for positions where, on the job market, the number of offers exceeds the number of profiles with the right skills.
• As a preliminary step before presenting a candidate to the company, sourcing enables us to identify candidates who, for various reasons, would not necessarily have applied for a job vacancy (advertisement not very visible, profile in post and not actively looking for work...).
• Sourcing accounts for around 50% of a headhunter's working time, which can also be described as a recruiter specializing indirect approach.
• If you're hoping to recruit the right profiles quickly and internalize the recruitment process, candidate sourcing is the right solution, but it will require a real investment of time, energy and money . The more time you spend on it, the more it will cost you. There are some very good solutions available today that will enable you to recruit successfully in the short term, while optimizing your time and expenses. We'll go into more detail below.

A closer look at the principle of sourcing

3 simple steps

Sourcing refers to seeking out candidates at source, i.e. approaching them directly and arousing their interest in a position and a company. Sourcing can be broken down into 3 stages:

1. Choosing sourcing channels
2. Pure research and selection of profiles relevant to the position to be contacted
3. Drafting and sending the approach message on the chosen channel

The advantages and disadvantages of sourcing

Sourcing has many advantages. It enables the recruiter to reach the most qualified candidates for the job. Indirectly, it also helps the recruiter advertise his company.

However, you need to be careful and take certain parameters into account if this recruitment strategy is to be effective. Indeed, the volume of profiles contacted will have an impact on the volume of qualifications you ultimately achieve.

The role of digital sourcing

Digital sourcing enables you to reach the majority of your target audience by multiplying digital channels (social networks, search engines, CV libraries...). However, depending on the profiles you're looking for, your target profiles won't have the same level of online presence. For example, it's far more likely that you'll find most of the active marketing profiles on the market on LinkedIn, and less likely that you'll find nurses.

According to a studybyApecbetween 2008 and 2018, the use of digital tools in recruitment processes increased fourfold.

Who is sourcing for?

Firm recruiters

All in-house recruiters source candidates for their clients. Their strength lies in their ability to rapidly propose a flow of candidates to a company.

ESN Recruiters

Sourcing is also a necessity for ESNs( Entreprises de Services Numériques). These companies send employees to work for customers for a set period of time, and are constantly on the lookout for new employees to meet customer demand.

Thanks to intensive sourcing, ESNs can quickly put forward the right profiles for the job the customer has in mind.

Talent Acquisition Specialists

If you're working for an end-customer, sourcing is a great way of finding qualified candidates for your company, even if they're already in post. If you don't have a strong reputation and employer brand with candidates, the number of applications you receive will probably be limited, and you'll have to start looking for candidates yourself.

How do you source candidates?

Choosing the right channels

Once you've identified the skills you're looking for for the job, you need to start by looking for the channel where you're most likely to reach your target candidate. This key choice is largely determined by the candidate's profile.

Obviously, a tech candidate doesn't use the same networks or go to the same events as a sales candidate.

The recruiter must therefore take the time to identify the best channel for establishing contact with the candidate. Very often, recruiters canvass candidates directly online on LinkedIn or by e-mail, sending them a personalized message, but other solutions exist.

Going to meetups or career fairs, for example, can also be an effective sourcing strategy.

Example of sourcing channels:

• LinkedIn, the world's largest professional network
• Viadeo, the French professional network
• CV libraries, to find profiles you're interested in (e.g. apec)
• Events and trade fairs
• Email (provided you have the tech/marketing know-how to find emails)
• In LinkedIn or Slack groups

Identifying the right candidates

This is the most complex and important part of sourcing candidates! Once the channel has been found, it's time to identify the candidates who best match the advert. To identify candidates, recruiters can look at various criteria:

1. Candidates' professional experience
2. Their studies
3. Their skills
4. Their posts and interests

Don't hesitate to use your imagination to unearth talent that may not have optimized their online presence, making them harder to spot.

Tools for a more effective sourcing strategy

There are many tools available today to help recruiters find the right profiles. Visit ATS for example, are very useful for storing data on all profiles contacted.

You can save your exchanges with candidates, their skills and your comments on each profile.

This will enable you to build up a qualitative base of candidates and capitalize on your past sourcing hours by maintaining pools of talent with whom you think you could work one day. A guaranteed time-saver for your current and future profile searches!

How much does sourcing cost?

An expensive and time-consuming method

Sourcing is undeniably a practical method, but it's also very time-consuming . Finding the right candidates through the various channels takes time. Beware also of the price of certain distribution channels, which can quickly become expensive and fluctuate according to volume.

In fact, we've put together a list ofunbeatable tips to help you spend less on your sourcing process.

Using tools like LinkedIn effectively

LinkedIn is also an interesting, almost indispensable tool for recruiters looking to source candidates, enabling them to approach people in just a few clicks, without necessarily being in the person's network (with a LinkedIn Recruiter subscription). A guaranteed time-saver!

There are 2 interesting aspects to LinkedIn:

1. Not only can you search for candidates according to their skills, but also according to their interests! Don't hesitate to follow the activity of the candidates you're most interested in to increase your chances of recruiting them, or to easily identify similar profiles.

Once again, LinkedIn Recruiter will give you access to hidden and more advanced filters, making it easier for you to detect listening candidates. Prices for LinkedIn Recruiter are not available on the linkedin website, but you can expect to pay between 700 and 900 euros a year , depending on the plan you choose.

2. It's also a great way to work on your company's brand image . Look after your own LinkedIn profile, post news about your company and give interesting tips to your talent audience.

Invest in software for an effective sourcing strategy

If you want to save time and have the most effective sourcing strategy possible, you need to invest in software. The recruitment market has rarely been as tight as it is today. The best profiles are canvassed from all sides, and attracting candidates is more difficult.

Automatic prospecting tools

For example, you can use automatic prospecting tools. For a maximum cost of around €70 per month, they automate contact via e-mail or social networks.

We recommend Waalaxy or Lemlist, two easy-to-use tools that will cost you between €20 and €83, depending on the plan.

Jobboards

Job boards are not really sourcing tools, since it's up to the candidate to apply. They are very popular job sites, which enable you to quickly reach a public interested in your offer. But beware: you run the risk of paying a lot of money to post your ad, and receiving a disappointing flow of applications in terms of volume and relevance.

ATS

Choosing a new-generation ATS (Applicant Tracking System) will enable you to store all the profiles you've contacted in a single database - a precious time-saver for your future searches. So, as soon as you need a profile, all you have to do is search your ATS database to find profiles to contact among those you've already been in contact with.

For example, Marvin Recruiter is a time-saving ATS solution for identifying the right profiles quickly and efficiently. Not only does it enable you to build up an efficient database of good candidates, it also supports you throughout your recruitment process.

1. It allows you to follow every step of the process (from introduction to offer)
2. It gives you access to your own CV library with personalized skills filters
3. You can leave notes on your exchanges with candidates and collaborate with your team on these candidate pools.

The sourcing method coupled with these recruitment solutions enables you to reach a large audience of candidates, to canvass them efficiently and ultimately to complete your recruitment more rapidly.

Obviously, sourcing is an inescapable method, but an unwary recruiter who practices it for its own sake can quickly find himself overwhelmed.

With ATS Marvin Recruiter, this is no longer a problem, and a large number of profiles can be compared to determine the most suitable for the position to be filled.

This saves all recruitment managers considerable time, which they can then reinvest in further recruitment and follow-up. This time saving gives you the opportunity to concentrate on the tasks that are most valuable, and to better develop the business.

What's more, this ATS covers a wide range of players in the recruitment world, enabling all recruiter profiles to benefit from it, and thus optimize their work.

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