The best sourcing tools for recruiters : Higginbotham

If you’re struggling to find suitable employees, you may need to be more proactive in your hiring process. The best candidate sourcing tools help recruiters and hiring managers find potential candidates and build a pool of qualified candidates.

Hiring Managers Are Struggling to Find Qualified Candidates

Before companies can hire and train new workers, they need to find suitable candidates. This can be a time-consuming process – and it’s getting worse. According to Robert Half, employers say it can take up to 11 weeks to hire for an open position, which is three weeks longer than what employers reported in 2021. Additionally, around 90 percent of managers say it’s challenging to find skilled workers.

If you need an employee now, 11 weeks is a long time. If a key worker quits unexpectedly or an essential worker is unable to work due to medical reasons, filling a position may be urgent.

Plus, finding the ideal job candidate is only half the battle: you also have to convince the candidate to accept the position. Experienced workers are likely to be in demand and might receive multiple job offers, meaning you’re competing with other companies.

Recruitment Team Options: Sourcing vs. Job Ads

Hiring managers and recruitment teams can use various strategies to search for candidates to fill open positions. These strategies generally boil down to candidate sourcing and placing job ads, each of which has pros and cons.

Job Ads

The pros: When you post job ads, you attract the attention of people who are seeking employment and may be interested in accepting the position. This decreases the risk of wasting time on candidates who are not likely to accept a job offer. Your ad may also attract jobseekers who are a terrific fit for the company but whom you may not have considered for various reasons – for example, because they have a less traditional career path.
The cons: However, the downside of job ads is you don’t control who applies. You may receive an overwhelming number of applications from people who are not good matches but no applications from your ideal candidates. You have to hope the right people will see the ad and choose to apply. Furthermore, there’s a good chance many of the same jobseekers will apply each time you list a new ad for the same role, which is inefficient.

Sourcing

The pros: When you source job candidates, you collect information on candidates, screen them and reach out to individuals who might be a good match for your company. This proactive approach allows you to focus your resources on the candidates you want to hire. It may help you connect with workers who are interested in a new position but who are not actively engaged in a job search – for example, because they are busy. Furthermore, this is a good way to build a pool of candidates and to start developing relationships. If you need to fill a position quickly, you’ll already have a list of screened candidates to approach.
The con: The downside, however, is that sourced individuals may have no interest in accepting the position.

Although job ads do have a role to play, candidate sourcing is often a more effective strategy, especially when you’re filling high-level positions that require experienced, in-demand candidates.

What to Look for in Candidate Sourcing Tools

To conduct effective candidate sourcing, you need to take the following steps:

Collect information about candidates.
Screen candidates.
Reach out to potential matches.
Store information for future needs.

The right talent sourcing tools can help make this process as efficient as possible.

Sources: Your sourcing tools can draw on a number of sources, including people who already work for your company and may be ready for a promotion, referrals, people who are actively seeking work on jobsites, databases of resumes, social media platforms, trade groups and alumni groups. When considering which tools to use, pay attention to the sources they draw on. Also consider whether the tool is designed for a specific industry (such as tech) or a specific segment (such as small businesses).
Screening: Candidate screening requires balance. On the one hand, you want to make sure you’re screening out candidates who are obviously a poor fit. Otherwise, you risk wasting time pursuing candidates who won’t work out or (worse) hiring the wrong person. On the other hand, you don’t want to screen out excellent matches because you’re using irrelevant criteria. You need a sourcing tool that will help you find the right balance.
Automation: A good sourcing tool will eliminate a lot of the tedious administrative work, thereby freeing up time for your recruitment and HR team. Don’t just consider how the tool works on its own – consider whether it will integrate with your other systems, such as your applicant tracking and communication systems.