Talent Sourcing Process

In the sourcing process, recruiters cast a wide net to find and attract potential candidates.

The objective is to build a strong talent pipeline from which to screen and shortlist. This includes posting the job advertisement, searching resume databases and professional networks.

It also involved leveraging employee referrals, and engaging in proactive outreach to passive candidates.

Job Posting & Employer Branding

The job is posted on the company careers site and external job boards.

A clear, compelling job description (ideally refined during job intake) is crucial. It should outline responsibilities, required skills, and even the hiring process timeline.

Companies also showcase their culture and benefits at this stage. For instance, they include a blurb about their values or team mission to attract like-minded candidates.

Writing clear, inclusive job descriptions is a noted best practice because it helps the right people self-select.

For example, Google often infuse their mission and values into job postings to attract those who resonate with their culture.

Advertising & Social Media

Beyond the careers page, recruiters might promote the opening on LinkedIn, professional forums, and social media. Modern recruitment marketing uses targeted ads and posts to reach qualified talent where they are active.

All the companies in focus have strong employer brands – think of Apple’s mystique or Google’s perks – which naturally draw interest.

Talent Database Search

Recruiters search internal databases for past applicants and silver medallists from other roles). They also leverage external platforms (LinkedIn Recruiter, GitHub for engineers, Dribble for designers, etc.) to source passive candidates. They use keywords and filters to identify people who match the profile, then reach out.

Employee Referrals

Many organizations tap into their employees’ networks through referral programs. Referrals can produce high-quality hires because employees refer people they trust. Most of the highlighted companies have referral incentives.

However, it’s worth noting a caution on over-reliance on referrals. Why? Microsoft observed that referrals, while useful, can inadvertently impact inclusive hiring.

They massively expanded campus outreach to 600+ colleges (from just the top 20). This helped to widen the funnel of backgrounds and schools represented.

Proactive Outreach

For high-demand fields, recruiters do direct outreach. This might involve personalized messages to passive candidates highlighting why the role could be a great fit.

At Apple, recruiters seek out people who exhibit what they call the “3 E’s” – Enthusiasm, Expertise, and Experience. The 3E aligns with Apple’s culture of passion and excellence.

Similarly, Uber’s recruiting team uses market insights and competitive intelligence to target talent. This reflects a trend across big firms to approach sourcing strategically rather than just filling requisitions.

Innovative Sourcing Channels

The most innovative companies don’t just rely on resumes and job posts. They might use coding competitions, hackathons, and talent communities to find potential hires.

Google was famous for its Google Code Jam and Kick Start coding competitions; top performers often landed on recruiters’ radars. Google even once hid a recruiting puzzle in a public billboard and in their search engine. This innovative hiring attracted problem-solvers to unique challenges that led to an interview invitations.

Hackathons are also a tactic. Meta has been known to use hackathon events internally and externally as a way to spot creative engineering talent.

Another emerging technique is using virtual reality. For example, Meta has envisioned recruiting in the “metaverse.” They’ve explored hosting virtual career fairs and even conducting parts of interviews in VR.

This gave candidates an immersive preview of the company’s environment. While still novel, this shows how far companies will go to engage talent.

Diversity Sourcing

Most major global companies have in-house initiatives to enable diverse candidate sourcing. This can mean partnering with professional groups.

For example, women in tech events, Black in AI workshops or veteran job fairs.

IBM and Microsoft have attended Grace Hopper Celebration (a major conference for women in computing) to recruit. Also, Google has programs to recruit from Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

Most leading companies use tools to eliminate biased language in job posts. One of those is Textio software which removes gendered wording. They say image speaks more than 1000 words.

Hence, many companies ensure image representation and message that reflects their worldwide customers. All of these initiatives and activities help advance inclusive hiring and drive diversity sourcing.