Sourcers Dream

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0><script> (function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){i['GoogleAnalyticsObject']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){ (i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o), m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m) })(window,document,'script','//www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js','ga'); ga('create', 'UA-47423994-1', 'fortunecity.ws'); ga('send', 'pageview'); </script> <center> <br> <div> <script language="javascript" type="text/javascript" src="http://ad.broadcaststation.net/ads/show_ad.php?width=728&height=90"></script> </div> </center> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" rowspan="2" width=210 BGCOLOR="#9999FF" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="04076ba3.gif"> <div> <IMG SRC="079b8770.jpg" border=0 width="184" height="119" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> We need writers and content contributors. Email your articles and suggestions to:</div> <div> info@recruitersdream.com</div> <bR> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="07bc6a50.gif" border=0 width="198" height="165" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </td> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=90 BGCOLOR="#99CCFF" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="04176bc1egdyqn.gif"> <div> <B>Sourcers Dream</B></div> <div> <A HREF="id17.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="About Us"><U>About Us</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id20.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="News"><U>News</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id23.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="FAQ"><U>FAQ</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id24.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Training and Development"><U>Training and Development</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id28.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Contact Us"><U>Contact Us</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id29.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Newsletter"><U>Newsletter</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id32.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Contact Us"><U>Contact Us</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id35.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Recruiters Dream Network"><U>Recruiters Dream Network</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id36.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Career Center"><U>Career Center</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id37.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Resources"><U>Resources</U></A></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" height=390 colspan=2 BGCOLOR="#99CCFF" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="04176ba3.gif"> <bR> <bR> <div> Welcome to the Sourcers Dream web site!</div> <bR> <div> <B>Under Construction!</B> <I><U>Under Construction!</U></I> <B>Under Construction!</B> <I><U>Under Construction!</U></I> <B>Under Construction!</B></div> <bR> <div> New article!</div> <bR> <div> <B>Sourcing:  Economic Necessity and Expectations</B></div> <div> <B>By Denise McMurry</B></div> <bR> <div> Recruitment Assembly Line</div> <div> I recently ran across a question posted on a major board for recruiters and I was actually taken back by the question “why should companies hire sourcers?”.   It was interesting to me that there are some firms out there that would still be grappling with the issue of whether to hire sourcers or not.   Besides the first word out of my mouth-WOW-I immediately internalized and framed this question as a response:  “why did Henry Ford create the assembly line?”  When you break sourcing down to its most rudimentary notion it implies specialization and division of labor.  If we were to take the recruiting life cycle and apply it to the assembly line analogy, sourcers are the initial entry point for feeding the remainder of our production cycle.  Candidates are resourced and channeled into the recruiter that could either complete the life cycle or feed it into an even more specialized account representative.  The point being is that when we divided the labor requirements to allow for specialization with the intent being improved productivity of the recruitment life cycle.  More specifically, the outcome of specialization would be decreased hiring cost and by taking advantage of labor efficiencies of the sourcer and recruiter. </div> <bR> <div> <B>A Mile Wide and an Inch Deep</B></div> <div> There have been countless times that I have either read or heard recruiters wrestle, rightfully so, with issues surrounding total life cycle recruiting.  If you have never try to source “search/query” for new candidates, interview new client candidates, while working client company accounts, try it and you will soon learn that you will either bleed to death from a thousand paper cuts or quickly discover the merits of having a sourcer.    </div> <div> Sourcers and sourcing has evolved really out of necessity to help harvest the vast amount of information that exist in the millions of sites in the ocean that we call the World Wide Web.  Applying their trade has been compared to finding a needle in a haystack or minefield lying.   The ingredients call for tons of hard work, ability to employ multiple the right tool at the right time and an ounce of luck.  The point being that surfing job boards isn't a substitute for good sourcing, nor is combining the duties of sourcing and recruiting into a single function.   The person who combines sourcing and recruiting into a single function will soon themselves in a proverbial quagmire, “mile wide and an inch deep”.  If you owned a car dealership would you have your salesman repair cars even if he knew how to fix cars?  You might, but at some point you would reach a point of diminishing returns, where you would sell and repair fewer cars.  Combining the sourcing and recruiting functions adhere to simple economics, in that, at some point there becomes marginal rates of returns.   The life cycle is similar in that you need to specialize to take advantage of what people do best, whether it is sourcing or recruiting.</div> <div>     Most recruiters are given responsibilities that prohibit them from spending the time to really unearth the hidden candidates from the Internet.   Among the myriad of candidates that a sourcer will mine for is passive candidates.   When pressed for time, the first thing a recruiter will typically neglect is a low-return activity like Internet research, especially passive candidates, turning instead to sources of pre-qualified candidates. Conversely, given a stack of pre-qualified resumes, recruiters are free to do what they do best move candidates through the hiring process.</div> <bR> <div> <B>What's Next</B></div> <div> Coming to the realization that adding a sourcer to your recruitment function is only baby step on a recruiting surface that most of the time resembles a lunar landscape filled with potential craters.    Extracting the potential benefits of soucer really lies in what you should expect from a sourcer and the relationship you establish with them and for them in the recruitment life cycle.   I have listed some basic expectations that recruiting manager should look for in a sourcer:</div> <bR> <div> <B>Seasoned</B>:  Prior sourcing experience</div> <div> <B>Carry a BIG toolbox</B>:  Application of souring basics:  Boolean searches, multiple search engine (meta-search) use, use of robots, etc..  The tool box is only as good as the knowledge of sourcer in determining when and how to use the right tool.</div> <div> <B>Lifetime learner</B>:  A good sourcer will continue to increase or seek out new methods of search through training, belongs to recruiting associations and forums.  Perks and bonuses should incorporate additional training.  This will show the sourcer that you are interested in their continued hard work, is an investment for improved search results and candidate searches and can be a marketing tool for soliciting client companies to use your services because a certain percentage of your recruiting/sourcing professionals  have been trained above industry standard.</div> <div> <B>Resourceful</B>:  takes the imitative to seek out alternative methods of sourcing</div> <div> <B>Dedicated</B>:  sourcing can be very tedious.  Often times it becomes the ”puzzle inside a riddle wrapped in enigma”.</div> <div> <B>Understands the Life Cycle:  </B>A sourcer needs to know how their work fits into the recruiting life cycle and understands the role they play as a sourcer.  Specialization to the point that each component operates in a vacuum will serve to be counter productive. It helps if you can get someone who has had previous experience as a recruiter or account manager.  This understanding of the life cycle process will help deter the “garbage in, garbage out” mentality. </div> <div> <B>Equal Treatment:  </B>Expects to be treated as an equal and integral member in the recruiting life cycle.  Often times sourcers are hired as junior recruiters or as recruiters in training, true sourcer are neither.   The functions and desired results are different so treat them as such and give equal billing to them.<B>  </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Success</B></div> <div> Once you have found the sourcer, and often times they will find you, integrating them into the recruiting life cycle is paramount.  My own experience has taught me that providing leadership to a sourcer should be focused, consistent, robust and patient:</div> <bR> <div> <B><U>Focused</U></B>:   There are 1400 million Internet sites on the World Wide Web and growing.   Assist the sourcer in focusing their searches with </div> <div> <B><U>Consistent</U></B>:  Minimize job order jumping.  Allow them to exhaust their search for the job orders given.   Giving a sourcer more than a dozen job orders is an invitation for poor results.  Remember be consistent in keeping the sourcer focused.</div> <div> <B><U>Robust</U></B>:  Provide robust communication.  Communicate frequently and often and provide plenty of feedback.  If you have recurring weekly meetings, it may prove useful to have the sourcers participate.  A search will only be as good as the communication you provide to the sourcer.   Provide robust tools to conduct searches.  You will get what you pay for. </div> <div> <B><U>Patience</U></B>:  Establish realistic goals, establish open lines of communication, and facilitate the sourcing process as needed.   Realistic goals should be in line with industry standard and geared toward specific searches.   Be patient is mining for quality.  Anyone can find candidates, make sure you emphasize quality.  As the old saying goes, “if you want it bad, you will get it bad”.</div> <bR> <div> Following these steps will establish constructive and beneficial relationship within your recruitment team.  Ultimately you should see improved efficiency and reduced mean time between hires and increased candidate to placement ratios.  In coming weeks, I will outline the pros and cons to virtual sourcing.    </div> <bR> <div> <U>About the Author</U></div> <bR> <div> Denise McMurry is an experienced recruiter and sourcer. She works virtually from Hawaii and can be reached at <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="mailto:denisemcmurry@hotmail.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto:denisemcmurry@hotmail.com"><U><U>denisemcmurry@hotmail.com</U></U></A></FONT></div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>