The Recruiting Blog | People First Recruiting

This blog was written by Barbara Nordal, Annette Kohut & Pamela Habing - Talent Sourcers of People First HR's Talent Discovery Group.

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Every morning we walk into our office, sit down at our computer, take a look at our recruitment projects and off to the races we go.

We are Talent Sourcers and we partner with our Recruiters to ensure we are finding the best candidates for our clients.

But what is a Talent Sourcer you ask?

There is no one definition for what a Talent Sourcer is.  It varies from one company to another.  Even the titles can vary – what might be a Talent Sourcer at one company is a Talent Acquisition Specialist at another. What is the one constant? We all seek out and find candidates for our clients.

Our days consist of putting our heads down and finding the best talent the market has to offer.  We use every tool at our disposal including the internet, social media, online communities, associations, our own networks as well as those of our colleagues, and of course, the phone.  We conduct market and industry research to learn about positions, industries, companies and their people.  We ask ourselves “where would these candidates be?” and always do our best to put ourselves in their shoes.  The search is on and there is no challenge we aren’t willing to face.

As Talent Sourcers, we are often a candidate’s first point of contact, the person who ignites their curiosity and intrigues them about the possibilities out there for them.

Talent Sourcing is more than just name generation; to us it’s an art.  This art combines logic, problem solving and creativity.  The end result is the ideal pairing of employer and employee.  We love our jobs as a Talent Sourcers as it allows us to mix our passion for technology, research and our desire to help other people.  Helping others is what really motivates us around here.  

Talent Sourcing seems to be new and therefore a mystery within many industries.  In Winnipeg it is a fairly new term and an even newer career path.  The Talent Sourcing function combines research, technology, analysis, customer service and networking.  It takes a mix of commitment, problem solving and determination to develop a unique approach on where to find candidates. Every day is a learning experience for us.  

So what does a day in the life of a Talent Sourcer look like at People First?

• Every new project starts with identifying key information. It begins with a meeting between the Recruiter and Talent Sourcer who partner on recruitment searches. This meeting allows us to gather all the key information that we need to conduct our portion of search.
• The next step is to research, research and then do more research. Like any new project you do not jump right into the work. Take the time to learn about the role and the company. What is the current industry? Who are the other companies that have these qualified candidates and where would these qualified candidates be?
• Once the first two steps are completed then the fun begins. This involves developing a sourcing strategy and an advertising strategy. It is the point where we create our list of keywords, contact scripts and assessment questions.
• Now time to find the talent!

Talent Sourcing is so much more than finding that one candidate who can do the job.  It’s about finding that perfect candidate for that one job with the right company.  We love what we do because we get to work on a daily basis with people – our team, candidates, clients and the world of people is a fascinating one indeed.

You know what else we love?  That our team is growing and we are always looking for new Talent Sourcers.  You, or someone you know may be a Talent Sourcer and didn’t even know it!  

As a Talent Sourcer at People First Recruiting I’m lucky to work with a team of incredibly talented individuals.  Oddly enough, we’re all very different yet we fit together like a beautifully crafted puzzle.  I like to think of the work I do in a similar way.  When I’m tasked with researching the talent landscape on behalf of a client, each piece of information I’m able to gather is like a piece of a puzzle, waiting to be solved.  Once the information is gathered, the fun of solving the puzzle begins and typically involves some good old fashioned teamwork. 

Over the past three years, I’ve been working on a puzzle of a different kind, artistically speaking.  As a proud Winnipeg resident I’d like to announce a newly unveiled mosaic mural located on the north wall of the Red Road Lodge at Logan and Main.  Working together with a team of talented and artistic individuals, and with the help of many community members, this mural was lovingly created over the span of three years. 

Our group was comprised of a group of core artists, led by Annie Bergen and mentored by local tile mosaic artist Ursula Neufeld.  Most of the materials used were donated by local business people and the rest were purchased with funding we received from Neighborhoods Alive, Take Pride Winnipeg! and the Manitoba Arts Council.

Many lessons were learned during the planning and creation of this mural.  New acquaintances were made and lifelong friendships developed.  But most importantly the value of teamwork was clearly demonstrated and its power felt.  Without the many people who donated their time, many of it evenings and weekends, the mural may never have been finished.  What we started out to accomplish in the beginning, even if it was overly optimistic of us, was realized and the result is a beautiful community mural which Winnipeggers can take pride in.  I invite you to stop by and visit the mural yourself when you have the chance.

I personally found a great love for the way the tiles seemed to find their way back to one another, ultimately creating a beautiful mosaic of color and form.  Sifting through the various materials we had collected to find just the right complement of color and texture was like food for my soul.  It’s similar to a gigantic puzzle really, where you’re trying to find the pieces that fit best together.  Tile mosaic has become one of my favorite mediums as an artist and I believe in a way it further kindled the passion I have for the work I do at People First.

As I mentioned earlier, as a Talent Sourcer at People First I work as part of a team to identify talent on behalf of our clients.  This often involves creative thinking and problem solving, much like the fitting together of tile mosaic pieces on the mural.  There is nothing more gratifying than the successful completion of a project, whether the result is a person you identified through research offered a job by our client or a beautiful community mural.  With the strength of a team behind you, anything is possible.

Written by Pamela Habing - Talent Sourcer for People First Recruiting

A couple months ago I wrote a whitepaper called “Maximizing Your Recruiter Relationship”.  It gives companies simple tips for hiring and working with a Recruiter to ensure a successful partnership.  From a company perspective, the big question always is “what's this recruitment going to cost me?” 

Over the next few weeks I will be blogging about recruiting fees.  First up though is a summary of what you, the company, should get from the recruiting fees you are charged. 

The job posting

• A job posting is a tool to advertise the job.  There is an art to writing an effective job profile especially once you consider search optimization and key words.  A Recruiter that understands online search techniques knows how to write job profiles so your ad can be found online.  Finally a well networked Recruiter has the contacts to send the job profile to, as well as a library list of free job boards, associations and industry networks. 

Finding candidates

• Print and online advertising alone does not guarantee you results.  That is the “let’s wait and see what we get” mentality.  Sometimes timing works out perfectly though and you hire a candidate from an ad, but did you get the best candidate?  Unless you conduct a search you really don’t have the answer to that.  Recruiters go to the market and search.  They will identify companies or like companies in your industry where candidates are performing similar jobs.  They will identify competitors.  They will look for industry thought leaders. 

Interviewing

• If the Recruiter isn’t certified in Behavioural Based Interviewing at the very least most will have training.  Behavioural Interviewing is based on the theory that the best predictor of future success is past performance.  This method of interviewing allows for a more structured and fair assessment process and it takes away the “gut feeling”.  Fit is also assessed.  Recruiters interview every single day so they are quite skilled at it. 

Reference checking

• A good reference checker knows how to listen for cues, they don’t accept just any answer.  They know to probe, to ask the individual for more information to get an honest reference.  It’s amazing how many companies don’t do references before hiring an employee.  This step in itself is worth the money.

Simply put you are paying a Recruiter to find a candidate, qualify a candidate and present a short list of candidates.  Stay tuned for more blog posts on exclusive, retained, contingency searches, guarantees, refunds, credits and so on.