Dear FOT Readers,
Life can be trying, no? Every once in a while, personally or professionally, I have to circle back to who I am, and what my code is. I’m sharing with you today my sourcing code, Bull Durham style.
I believe that keywords are paramount, with the right combination and the right search engine… the right candidates will surface. I believe flexibility is king—one person’s development professional is another’s fundraising or philanthropy or resource developer. I believe there is overlap amongst professions and industries and no one owns “keywords” at any given time. But skills will stand out. I believe when someone uses phrases, they’re still using keywords… it’s just another way of looking at it.
I believe Google, Bing, and all search engines are a gift. They’re free and to be appreciated. I believe in hoarding—the hoarding of resumes and profiles. Maybe I can’t use you now, but I may not surface you later unless I’ve saved you somewhere.
I believe that sourcers are gatekeepers. We’re the ones that let you in or out. I believe it is our job as such to review profiles, resumes and so on with a clear judgment free eye. I believe that degrees, if you have them, are important. I believe time in the real world is just as important. I believe job jumpers can be a problem; it’s important to see things through—2 years people—at least 2 years. I believe candidates that hang in there for 7, 10, 15 years are great, as well. Just because they haven’t moved on yet doesn’t mean they’re “stuck.” Everybody’s opportunity presents at a different time.
I believe professional affiliations and certifications are good; they carried some weight to you when you got them and make you findable. I will not discount a professional association, degree or certification because the last candidate I interviewed or hired turned out to be… not fit for print. Your willingness to participate and extend your knowledge makes me think you’ve got some passion for what you do. I’ll want to know more.
I believe in investing in sourcing technology for your company. ATS or scraping software or whatever, I believe it’s important to do more work in less time, because I ultimately believe in work-life balance.
I believe in training, and I don’t really care how you do it or where (unless it’s on my dime and then I may have to weigh in). I know what worked for me, but I also know everyone learns differently. Do I like having letters after my name? Sure. But I’ll add them when I find time to score that MBA.
I believe recruiters and sourcers are human, and as we evaluate and upgrade candidate experience we allow for that. I believe in tracking, in knowing how I sourced someone and I believe it’s important to share with someone how findable they are if they ask.
I believe in honesty, and I try to do that as diplomatically as possible, but I have been known to put my foot in my mouth on several occasions.
I believe everyone is findable, but not everyone is on LinkedIn. It’s our mission as sourcers to always, always, always find you another way.
And with that dear readers, I leave you to enjoy your Wednesday!
Kelly is the Recruitment Manager for Westat, a leading social science research organization headquartered in Rockville, Maryland.