Thinking of getting into Sourcing? 5 ways to boost your Sourcer-y skills.

Sourcing is not a new discipline within the wider Recruitment function but many companies in Australia have only recently started embracing this function/model over the past few years.

It’s the big tech giants like Atlassian, Microsoft, Canva, Zendesk that have global sourcing functions that cater to different segments within the business to find, attract and engage with potential passive hires.

So, what does it take to a) get into sourcing b) be a good sourcer? The good news is if you are in recruitment and don’t work on 30 reqs with Hiring Managers breathing down your neck, asking for candidates yesterday, chances are you have already done some form of sourcing. Bad news, it takes more than just a simple boolean string to be a sourcer.

The beauty of sourcing is there is no one way to go about it. So, if you’re looking to spruce up your sourcing skills, read on.

Here are 5 ways to boost your Sourcer-y ✨ skills:

1. Get on the tools outside of LinkedIn

Depending on what you source for there many tools available to find what you are looking for. Get comfortable outside of using LinkedIn. Tools like HireEz, Swordfish, Hunter.io Xraying. You usually get a trial version first. Automate where and when you can.

2. Follow the real Sourcing OGs

Let’s face it, other regions are well-ahead of us when it comes to Sourcing and there are a few that should be on our LinkedIn speed dial aka follow: Irina Shamaeva, Dean Da Costa, Greg Hawkes, Balazs Paroczay, Jonathan Kidder and Jan Tegze to name a few.

3. Fall in love with data

In a lot of curvy situations data will be your best friend, getting you out of some deep holes. Dig into it, understand it, use it to educate yourself and your hiring team. Data and insights will be your best friend to help influence and have that equal voice at the table.

4. Stay curious

Find a mentor or a peer, ask questions, sign up for hackathons, join relevant facebook groups, immerse yourself in content on sites like Sourcecon, RecruitingDaily or your one stop sourcing shop created by the amazing Erin Mathew.

5. Be Creative

Sourcers are not only super sleuths but part of our role is also storytelling from which through being curious comes creativity. You’ll need to be creative with your approach on how you’d find, attract and engage with passive talent who may not come through your regular channels. Aaron Lintz once said: “If everyone is swimming one way, think about swimming the other”.

PS: My biggest tip is to invest in yourself!

Some decent classes and certifications in Sourcing: