Sourcing Productivity, Multitasking and the Art of Pushback with Shally Steckerl

July 20, 2016 at 11:00 AM by William Clarke

entelo shally steckerl

President of The Sourcing Institute, Shally Steckerl, hops on the line with the Hiring On All Cylinders team to give a preview of some of the tips, tricks and intel he’ll be sharing in his webinar later this week. In this episode, Shally taps into the most vexing challenges sourcers and recruiters face on a regular basis, why he thinks recruiting should operate more like the Central Intelligence Agency, and what he learned from this year’s World’s Greatest Sourcer competition.

Tune in below to hear more on:

  • How to make your sourcing more programmatic
  • Setting appropriate boundaries with hiring managers
  • Why more activity doesn’t always lead to better results
  • The epidemic of poor training in sourcing and recruiting

We also spent some time with Shally to learn what’s in store for one of his most tactical webinars to date, how the team at The Sourcing Institute is revamping their curriculum, and why a majority of sourcers are unknowingly set up for failure even before they begin the hunt for talent.

Tell us about why it's important for sourcers to build out a roadmap. Do you often meet sourcers who don’t prep a plan before starting their search?

Having a roadmap is critical because, without one, sourcers easily get sidetracked due to the overwhelming amount of information available. Sadly, we occasionally meet sourcers who choose to wing it and start their search without having a clear roadmap. This ultimately leads them to find their own company’s employees, stumble over prospects that have already been recruited by other team members, and even to make the mistake of contacting people who previously asked not to be contacted.

A sourcing plan lets sourcers and recruiters learn which sources and sourcing methods are more efficient or favorable for particular types of roles. That way, productive methods can be repeated in the future, methods that waste time are eliminated, and we’re able to gain time to experiment with new techniques in an organized, scientific manner.

If you source without a plan, you’re likely not taking advantage of all your resources, so much so that tools, sourcers, and recruiting destinations are almost entirely ignored. With a roadmap, sourcers can save time and navigate the sources available to them with little overlap.

What are the most common mistakes sourcers make before or after they kick off their search for candidates?

1) Over-relying on a single talent source to the point of dependence.

When sourcers find a talent source that works for them, it often becomes their favorite and only source. When that source fails to yield results, however, they’re unable to tap alternative sources to adequately respond to pressures from hiring managers.

2) Using email as the only point of contact with a candidate.

Email should be part of any outreach process, but it should be one of the various components – not the first and last recourse. Instead, I’d recommend a pattern or cadence of emails, calls, and voicemails, along with other outreach methods in order to ensure that possibly interested prospects have ample opportunity to respond. Far too often I see sourcers send a single LinkedIn InMail and never try to reach that candidate again. It would be so easy for one single attempt to go unnoticed in a busy inbox, or accidentally be deleted. One attempt is simply not enough, and one channel, be it InMail or email, is equally insufficient.

Who should join us for "Strategies for Building Out a Sourcing Roadmap"?

Anyone who plans to fail at sourcing talent should avoid this webinar at all costs. As Ben Franklin and Winston Churchill used to say, those who fail to plan, plan to fail. Recruiters, sourcers, marketers, coordinators and everyone even slightly involved in the search for talent and who could use a bit more organization should make room in their day to join us! Even if they only pick up one new idea that enables them to better plan or strategize their sourcing activity, it will be worth their time and pay back great dividends in the long run. We will reveal more roadmapping ideas and visiting some golden oldies favorited by the top sourcing minds on this planet.

What's the latest on The Sourcing Institute?

We’re shifting our online courses so we can have more interaction with anyone attending our courses. That means live instructor chat, course integrations, and real-time Twitter streams. We’re also focusing on publishing even more content for our training library – puzzles, games, and all sports of “edutainment” activities.

Anyone who’s attending this year’s Recruiting Trends conference should check out our Sourcing Lab. We’ll also be presenting at SOSU Australia and SOSU New Zealand, so come say hi!

Ready to learn more? Be sure to save your seat for Strategies for Building Out a Sourcing Roadmap!

Related articles:
The 9 Best Productivity Apps for Recruiters 
10 Podcasts Every Recruiter Should Listen To 
5 Habits Every Recruiter Needs For Killer Results 

  Webinar: Strategies for Building Out a Sourcing Roadmap

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