All Aboard! Here's How to Onboard First-Time Sourcers

May 12, 2014 at 3:20 PM by Rob Stevenson

You've heard it a million times: recruiting is like dating. Don't worry, this isn't a post likening the challenge of five_easy_steps_to_successful_onboardingsourcing and engaging top talent to trolling eHarmony. But the simile does serve to make an important point: just like no one taught you how to date, did anyone ever teach you how to recruit?

My guess is probably not. Entry-level sourcers are typically chosen for an outgoing, likable personality, a comfort talking to large numbers of strangers, and a firm grasp on emerging technologies used by the masses. After this, it's not uncommon for them to be thrown to the wolves. Sure, you can hand your sourcers a LinkedIn Recruiter account and a list of open reqs and tell them to go wild, but if you want them to truly be successful, represent your brand, and not waste a great deal of time on one-way messages, you need to devote some time and resources to showing them the ropes.

Share the Wealth

Hopefully, you've kept some sort of record of the web resources you've found valuable. Once you've had your new sourcer subscribe to the Entelo blog, send an email that's rich with links to the most informative blog posts, webinars, and eBooks you've come across. In fact, it's probably best to save this as a living document you can constantly add to and share with new hires. For extra credit, send it to your new employee before they even begin at your company so they can do some homework and hit the ground running. Here's a starting point for resources you can pass along to help your new recruitment recruits:

Join the Conversation

The best way to really get a sense of the recruitment space is to follow and engage with other recruitment pros. While it's best to listen first, twitter chats can be a great way to hear some no-holds-barred advice from industry pros. #Tchat comes to mind as one of the more valuable chats, as each week a handful of seasoned vets show up to talk shop. In addition to providing some great insight, it also presents an opportunity to network with other recruiting pros and get exposure to differing recruitment tactics.

 

Your Newest Shadow

New sourcers ought to be listening in on your calls and taking diligent notes about how you describe the company and what sorts of questions you ask candidates. Consider sharing with them successful email threads you've had with candidates as well, so they can get a sense of the sort of conversations they ought to be having. This is crucial not just for the sourcer's development, but for the consistency of your messaging as well.

 

What are some of your onboarding tactics for training new recruiters? Leave a comment or tweet @EnteloRob!

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