Recruitment is the conversion of someone who has applied for a job into an employee, whereas talent sourcing is searching for someone who has not applied for a role – but is the perfect match for a vacancy.
Most recruiters will talent source in the search for ideal candidates and ultimately manage the process from beginning to end. An expert talent guru will focus on a limited number of leads, often working closely with company HR managers or searching for that perfect candidate to be interviewed by the company’s management.
It all starts with talent sourcing. So how do you go about setting up sourcing and recruitment processes to seek out the best talent for your organisation? Ceek has outlined five important steps to get you ready for hiring.
Step 1: Pinpoint your hunting ground and build a persona
Formulate a clear plan. Identify platforms where you will be able to find potential candidates and create a candidate persona of the person you are looking for. Try to include as many details as possible, from skills and qualifications to personality and salary expectations.
Top tip: try to identify talent based on your ‘growth needs’ and your ‘potential employee’s needs’.
Step 2: Reach out
You’ve found the right place to seek out top talent, now you need to reach out. If you have a small budget, you could always place an ad on LinkedIn. Using the recommendations function – reach out to suggested matches with LinkedIn’s ready-made-reply template. It’s super easy to use, can be edited, and adopts the correct tone.
Step 3: Whittle it down
Once you have a list of desired candidates, you can start to whittle it down to the ones most aligned with your criteria and company values. This shortlist will be your list of interviewees.
Step 4: Ask the right questions
Create an interview template for the role you are looking to fill. To know if the person you are interviewing, is the right person – you will need the ‘right’ questions. Figure out what’s most important for your company and then give some thought to how you will ask for the information.
Another important thing to do is to figure out, contractually, what you will be offering the candidate so you are ready to negotiate, should you find the perfect match sitting right in front of you.
Step 5: Don’t underestimate onboarding
Making your new-found talent feel welcome and helping them to settle in is of utmost importance. Some companies give gifts or take their team out to lunch – if this is not within your budget – a branded notebook, pen, and a warm friendly hello from everyone will make all the difference.
Ceek supports organisations through the talent sourcing and recruitment process. If you’re looking to hire your next star, contact us for more information on our services.