Sourcing: Building the Right Strategy

For multiple reasons, refining and adjusting your sourcing strategy throughout your mandate could be the element that saves the day if your recruitment doesn’t go as planned.

Aligning your search with the right criteria is undoubtedly the first step: during the Kick-off, you should have gathered all the information necessary for your success. But it’s just as important to document your efforts throughout the process to avoid repetition or getting stuck.

A Sourcing Strategy, Yes—But What Does It Really Mean?

A Clear Vision and Thorough Planning

When developing an effective sourcing strategy, it’s crucial to approach it like an artist creating a timeless masterpiece. Just as an artist refines their work to achieve perfection, you must continually seek new sources and improve your techniques to attract top talent.

Your strategy is your operational framework to execute your mandate and reach your goals. It’s the canvas on which you will clearly lay out all the information you have and list the actions that need to be taken to accomplish your mission.

You are expected to deliver results. However, your deliverable isn’t just limited to hiring talent. Market data collection, pipeline creation, and the information gathered on profiles/candidates can be just as valuable as the hire itself.

Your strategy should not only include the information collected beforehand or the elements you’ve gained through experience. It should also encompass everything that will help you successfully complete your mandate, such as the job summary, your sales pitch, and the keywords needed to build your Boolean searches.

You also need to consider the constraints and pitfalls you might encounter. What’s the list of people not to approach, the biases to avoid, the questions not to ask?

List competitors, industries, fields of expertise, educational institutions, professional associations, and orders. Write down everything that might be useful during your mandate.

Your sequence planning and outreach messages are also part of your strategy.

Creativity, Persistence, and Innovation are Essential to a Good Strategy

Don’t underestimate the importance of optimizing your time and efforts. You need to stay agile and adapt quickly to new information from your client, as well as be attentive to what candidates share with you.

Keep in mind that good documentation can be useful throughout the mandate, for another mandate with the same client, to feed your pipelines for a similar role with a different organization, or simply to help a colleague.

Wondering what makes a good strategy a great strategy? Instead, ask yourself if you think you’re done developing it. “Yes” should never be the answer to that question. Like the creation of an ever-evolving work of art, a great sourcing strategy requires continuous refinement and fresh perspectives. It benefits from constant revision and ongoing adjustments.