Stop thinking that everyone you contact is a candidate. In sourcing, we don't look for "candidates" right away; we look for "people". 🔍 But how do we do this, and why is it so important to understand this distinction?
People first, Candidates later
The difference is essential: a person only becomes a candidate once they show interest in an opportunity.
This means it is crucial not to consider every contact as a potential candidate from the start.
In other words, we reach out to people to transform them into potential candidates, but this process requires patience, strategy, and a solid understanding of their motivations.
It's very similar to sales:
A salesperson does not start with customers but with prospects. A prospect becomes a customer when they are convinced by an offer.
The same logic applies to sourcing: every person contacted is a potential future candidate, and our role is to generate their interest by presenting an opportunity that makes sense for them.
It's a conversion process that can take time and requires a thoughtful, personalized approach.
We only have one chance to make a good first impression!
The role of the sourcer in 2024
When I talk about my job in 2024, I always say the same thing: with the data access we have today, the expertise of a sourcer no longer lies primarily in their ability to find the right people, because technology and search tools make this increasingly easy.
The challenge is more in the strategies and techniques we use to "convert" people into candidates.
Whether through inbound or outbound approaches, or multichannel campaigns, every step is crucial for sparking interest and building trust.
Engagement: the key to success
It is important to remember that the key to success lies in how we engage these people, how we inspire them, and how we turn their interest into a real opportunity for the company.
Sourcing involves three steps:
Understanding the need
Understanding data and accessing it
Human connection
We need to understand what motivates these people, what interests them, and how our opportunities can align with their career aspirations.
As recruiters, we must be creative, empathetic, and authentic in our interactions. This is how we make a difference and transform people into genuinely interested and engaged candidates.
Let's share our practices
How do you approach this distinction in your sourcing strategy? Do you have specific techniques you use to turn a person into a candidate, or strategies that have worked particularly well to generate interest from prospects?
Comments