It's oft repeated that sourcers and hiring managers need to be on the same page if they're going to successfully hire. This can prove challenging, as some hiring managers are more involved than others in the early stages of recruitment, and others might not even be sure exactly what they want. If you're going to foster a symbiotic relationship with the person whose team you're building, you'll need to calibrate with them early on. Recently, I uncovered an in-depth, comprehensive technique to be utilized early in the recruitment process. Sorry for the half-hearted baiting. Read on and I'll share.
Build A Multi-Tiered List
I know, I know, nothing mind-blowing here. The first step here is something every sourcer everywhere has done, which is build a list of approximately 60 candidates from which to begin reaching out. Here's the kicker, though: rather than just dump as many relevant candidates in a list as you can, split them into three tiers according to how good of a fit you believe them to be: A, B, and C candidates.
The goal here is not to deliver a high volume of candidates, as many hiring managers demand, or even to pass on as many best-fit candidates as possible. Rather, you're proving an intimate understanding of the open role. If you can accurately assess what makes a candidate a perfect fit, an okay fit, and a tangential fit, you'll:
- More consistently provide a higher calibre of candidates
- Calibrate expectations with your hiring managers
- Point out weaknesses in the job req
Fix the Job Req
The third bullet point is of particular utility, as it will shed light on the sort of candidate the job req surfaces. If your hiring manager isn't finding your listed candidates relevant, share with them your logic for selecting that candidate and reference what about the req lead you there. From there, you can eliminate the areas of the req that lead you astray or dig deeper into related terms for the items that yielded good candidates.
The Final Step
We discussed this process, as well as other advanced sourcer techniques, in great detail with the Sourcing Institute President Shally Steckerl on the last episode of our podcast. Shally explained that in the event your list isn't on target, you can turn to the interview crew for more insight:
There's much, much more of this conversation, so check back this coming Monday for the full episode. Also, Shally will be diving into Boolean and Natural Language Search in our upcoming webinar, so be sure to follow the banner below and register!
