猎头术语：Sourcing

4月6日

在不同的领域中，Sourcing的翻译和理解可能都不一样。在猎头行业Sourcing的意思简单说就是：一种主动去寻找和发现最佳候选人的过程和手段。

最近美国人Rob McIntosh花了不少功夫在维基字典Wikipedia上面建立了这个目录（Wikipedia的内容，中国可能看不了）：

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sourcing

Sourcing refers to the identification and uncovering of candidates (also known as talent) through proactive recruiting techniques.

The evolution of recruiting has changed significantly over the last few decades. What started out as the responsibility of office managers to place job advertisements in newspapers or help wanted signs to attract potential employees, has now grown into a multi- billion dollar industry, where the identification of talent requires internal corporate recruitment departments or employment agencies solely focused on this transaction through both proactive and reactive recruiting techniques.

Today the actual act of identifying candidates has even been split into dedicated roles and job functions, as where historically sourcing was the sole and inclusive responsibility of the recruiter along with other job responsibilities (examples):

a) Screen and interview candidates against the position requirements b) Work closely with the hiring manager on hiring activities c) Help with the "offer letter" and interview process

A corporate recruiting department can now be made up of individuals dedicated to just the sourcing of candidates while recruiters can either focus on more account management responsibilities or leverage sourcing experts to supplement an additional volume of potential candidates.

Detailed Definition

The actual act of sourcing for candidates is performed by either a recruiter (be it an internal corporate recruiter or agency recruiter) or a dedicated recruiter just focused on the sourcing function. The definition of sourcing needs to be clearly defined by what it is, as much as what it is not.

In some situations a person that "sources" candidates can and will perform both 'primary' and 'secondary' sourcing techniques to identify candidates but there is a growing market for experts solely focused on "phone sourcing" or "internet sourcing/researching". The actual act to source candidates can usually be split out into two clearly defined techniques relating to the above techniques:

1. Primary sourcing - From a recruiting/sourcing definition standpoint, this means the leveraging of techniques (primarily the phone) to identify candidates with limited to no presence of these individuals in any easily accessible public forum (the Internet, published list, etc). It requires the uncovering of candidate information via a primary means of calling directly into organizations to uncover data on people, their role, title and responsibilities.

The term "phone sourcers" generally applies to the utilization of primary sourcing techniques.

Reference: Recruiting Bloggers on 'Phone Sourcing'

2. Secondary sourcing - From a recruiting/sourcing definition standpoint, this means the using of techniques (primarily the Internet and utilizing advanced Boolean operators) to identify candidates. Individuals in the recruiting industry that have deep expertise in uncovering talent in the harder to reach places on the internet (forums, blogs, alumni groups, conference attendee lists, personal home pages, etc).

The term "Internet sourcer" or "Internet researcher" generally applies to the use of secondary sourcing techniques.

Reference: Career Journal Recruiters Network

Examples of Sourcing Techniques

Sourcing for candidates also generally applies to a focus primarily on proactively identifying people that are not actively looking for job opportunities (passive candidates) vs. candidates that are actively searching for job opportunities (active candidates).

Proactive Techniques

1. Using Boolean operators on major search engine sites (Google,Live.com,Yahoo!, etc) to identify potential candidates who might meet the criteria of the position to be filled based off targeted keywords. Example string in Google: "SAP consultant" (resume | CV | "curriculum vitae")

Reference: Google Boolean Result Link

2. Searching for candidates in job boards (Example:Monster.com) using keywords related to the position requirements.

3. Looking in your own recruitment database for candidates using keywords related to the position requirements.

4. Networking (See: Business network) with individuals to uncover candidates. This would include the use of social networking tools and sites.

Example: LinkedIn

5. "Phone sourcing" or cold calling into companies that might contain individuals that match the key requirements of the position that needs to be filled.

Examples of what Sourcing is not!

Reactive Techniques

1. Reviewing candidates that have applied to positions through the corporate/agency web site

2. Processing an employee referral

3. Corporate recruiter receiving candidates from employment agencies

4. Screening candidates at a career fair

Natural Habitat

By nature of the position, recruiters do not have the time to conduct primary research and initial candidate development. A typical recruiter is bombarded with calls all day from vendors, busy processing candidates, meeting with hiring managers, and talking with employees. Those distractions can throw off an otherwise excellent Internet search. Sourcers must remain focused on the search and development of leads just as recruiters must remain focused on maintaining communication with candidates in process, enforcing HR policies, attending meetings, negotiating, and handling the hiring from initial offer to on-boarding.

Specialization: Internet Researcher

Sourcing and Internet research is a highly specialized field that takes years to master. Many of the best sourcers started out as recruiters who found they enjoy the “thrill of the hunt” more than the rest of the process and became successful because of their heightened research skills and abilities. Several recruiters can rely on the same sourcer to generate leads and fill the pipeline with pre-screened or pre-qualified candidates. Sourcers are often the initial point of contact with a candidate, qualifying whether they are a real job seeker or just a job shopper. As a result, sourcers are uniquely positioned to sell or “pre-close” candidates before the candidates enter the recruitment process.

Additional Reference Research

• Also see:
  • Primary source
  • Secondary source
  • E-Recruitment
  • Recruitment
  • Staffing
  • Internet_recruiting

--Rob McIntosh 12:17, 15 March 2007 (UTC)
--Jobmachine 18:12, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

DaCare Consulting (www.dacare-group.com)