Recruiting 101: Sourcing the Perfect Candidate

Today in the staffing industry it seems as if quantity casts a shadow over quality. Recruiters are constantly searching an endless amount of job boards for candidates that match the experience and skills required to perform a job they are trying to fill. Often times, these recruiters will be criticized on the quality of the candidate they submit for hire to their clients, whether that’s because the candidate is incompetent, does not show up, or just possesses poor work ethic. We all know recruiting is a speed game and when it comes to Bullhorn; there is no one faster at candidate sourcing. With Bullhorn’s ATS/CRM software, you have the ability to search 100 million candidates in less than half a second.  Clients are also looking for quality within their candidates. They want to make sure that the candidate submitted for hire will be able to perform all tasks and has experience to prove it. If you’re just starting out in recruiting, here are three tips for sourcing candidates quickly and returning quality candidates that will be successful in the jobs in which they’re placed. Consider it a Recruiting 101 intro course.

Know Your Client

Recruiters have job orders flying around like a mad house all the time, and this can be from current clients or even new clients that you have not filled a job order for in the past. Regardless, you always want to build strong relationships with your clients so that when a position opens up, they are reaching out to you because they know that you’ve placed a successful candidate for them in the past. Take the time to review that job order:

• What position is this client trying to fill?
• What skills or competencies are they looking for in this specific role?
• Do I know any candidates off the top of my head that would be a perfect fit for this position?

An old saying in the industry is “the easiest placement to make is one you’ve made before.” You know of candidates that have succeeded in the past and ones that may have not panned out and this is a great place to start. You also have access to millions of candidates and being able to narrow them down based on criteria specified in the job order will drive that quality and reduce the quantity. Take what you know and what you’re given and run with it.

Expand Your Search

This rule of thumb is kind of a no-brainer but some people get caught up in their daily routines that this may not be the case. Why limit yourself to thousands of candidates when you can have access to millions? With the industry leading applicant tracking system, Bullhorn, you have the ability to really dig deep and search any criteria that you will need in order to bring back the most qualified candidates for that position. Expanding your search not only focuses on radius but also what skills, competencies, and/or experience they might be looking for in their candidates. Yes, in this case quantity is a great thing but being able to narrow that down to the perfect fit will allow you to fill that job faster and more easily.

Use Your Intuition

After understanding exactly what your client is looking for and taking that information and applying it to your candidate search, the rest is on you to make the best possible decision when submitting your candidate to your client. For those of you who are familiar with the staffing industry, you understand that a lot of it is about building relationships. After working with your clients for a good period of time, you begin to know exactly what type of candidate they prefer to hire or are comfortable hiring. Use this knowledge to your advantage. Whether it is a position you have filled before or a brand new opening you have never heard of, you have the edge. There will come a time where you think you might have sourced the perfect candidate (on paper) but then realize this candidate would be a terrible fit for this position and jeopardize your relationship with your client. You have the experience, so use your intuition to guide you and make sure to protect that relationship with your client by submitting the best possible fit for the job orders they send your way.

I am a strong believer or quality over quantity. If a job is worth doing, it’s worth doing right. Knowing your client and their needs, being able to expand your search to get back the exact results you are looking for, and trusting yourself enough to use your intuition in order to submit a candidate will give you everything you need to place your qualified candidates as efficiently as possible.