Just like the Twilights’ sung in the 1960’s, “needle in a haystack, what did I say, needle in a haystack,” many recruiters today are searching in the same place yet expecting a different result. Now, who was the lead singer of the Twilights?! The Challenge
Think of online data as the haystack, and candidates as needles. The haystack is getting bigger by the minute: the needles are getting buried deeper and deeper, and becoming harder to find. You may have gone through the haystack, but have you found all the needles? There is so much variation in data, so how do you make sure you haven’t missed any potential candidates during your search? My Experience
[bctt tweet=”Always apply a systematic approach to your search.”]
Recently, I was with a client in the resources sector. They expressed their difficulties in not only identifying which haystack to search, but how they would identify the needles. Having conducted many sourcing workshops over my twenty years of recruiting, I have found that these questions come up on a regular basis.
So, what would you do to find the “Needles in the Haystack”?
Let me share my process. First Have a Plan!
I can hear you say it now, “What plan?! I don’t have time to plan!” Right there is your first mistake. “Failing to plan is planning to fail” was a lesson share with me by the trainer who initially taught me how to recruit. How true this was, and how true this still is today. Build Your Search Plan
When I build my search plan, I use a mind map or a whiteboard to map out my approach.
Below are some questions to ask yourself, as well as networks, hiring managers, and colleagues –
Are they online, and what will they look like?
If so, do they have a high or low online presence?
What channels would they mostly hangout out on?
Where should I focus my effort?
What if they aren’t online, or only pop there head up occasionally, how can I capture them when they do?
Having worked extensively within the recruitment industry for over 15 years, Martin’s extensive leadership and knowledge places him at the head of the proactive recruitment industry in the use of technology to develop and execute strategic sourcing maps and tactics applying various channels and tools including search engines, professional and social networks, to identify, engage and build relationships with passive talent to build qualified talent communities of critical skills.
Having used these techniques for some years now and constantly refining his skills, Martin is at the forefront in applying this to his work as a Principal Consultant at HCMS and Recruitment Trainer at Insidejob. Specialising in strategic sourcing and building critical talent communities, Martin has significant practical experience consulting to many internal recruitment functions and trained in excess of 1200 recruiters in Australia, New Zealand & Asia.
Martin has presented at various conferences having delivered master class workshops including the Australasian Talent Management, Social Media and Sourcing Conferences and has presented at many other industry events.