Why Is Sourcing Such A Pain In The A$$, Part 1

“No matter what’s wrong with the interview process, we just need more candidates.”

I want to discuss why sourcing is such a train wreck. But there’s a lot. Thus the Part 1. This may take a while…

For the unfamiliar, sourcing is the top of the funnel of recruiting. After you’ve determined what you’re hiring for, you:

• Research on the candidate market
• Create an ideal candidate profile
• Build a big ‘ole list using every source available
• Create some messaging that hopefully doesn’t suck
• Reach out to people
• Pretty please pray they get back to you
• Do an initial vetting

That’s the tldr of sourcing.

Recruiters are like “duh.” Non-recruiters are like “oh there’s more to it than I realized.” And that’s the short short version.

It works exactly like a sales funnel.

Reach out to 100.

Talk to 20.

Interview 5.

Hire 1.

Again: that’s to hire 1 person.

Need to hire 5? Reach out to 500.

10? Reach out to 1000.

20? 2000.

Yes, the metrics entirely depend on the position. And if you’re making unique skill hires or multiples of the same skill set. (It’s just an example, don’t @ me, nerds.)

But you see the point. It’s a ton of work that escalates quickly at scale.

????Especially when something else in the interview process is broken to all hell.

Like what, you ask?

Anything that causes candidates to fall out of the funnel. Clunky interview process. Lacking communication. Unreasonable assessment demands. Last minute interview cancellations. Uncompelling reasons to join. Lowball salaries. Rejected offers.

In theory, all this stuff gets fixed. In practice? C’mon.

????Sourcing is asked to pick up the slack.

“Just find us more candidates. The right people will want to work here.”

Work becomes double work. Triple work. Quadr..I don’t know how to spell that but you get the point.

Why?

????The people at the top are so far removed from the people doing this work. Execs, hiring managers, even some HR leaders who never lived the recruiter life.

Sourcing demands explode – exponentially – when other hiring issues are left unchecked.

If you’re ever wondering why your position’s been open for 6 months when you just need 1 more candidate…

????It’s because you need a hell of a lot more than that.