Become a Talent Sourcer: Everything You Need to Know to Get Started

A talent sourcer career path is a career resource for talent Searchers (HR, Recruiters, and especially Employers) to find the best placement matches for their candidates.

We’re seeing a phenomenal rise in the number of companies using talent sourcing to fill positions, and it seems more and more every day. As a result, many struggle with what path they should take to pursue this career path. The talent source job market can sometimes be a bit overwhelming. The sheer number of job opportunities and the constantly changing dynamics in the industry will make it difficult for even seasoned recruiters to keep up with current trends.

But it doesn’t have to be; with this article, you will know all you need to succeed as a talent sourcer.

Who Is a Talent Sourcer

A Talent Sourcer is a person who searches for talent and applies it to an employer’s organization. A Talent Sourcer can be found in many professions, including marketing, sales, and most other human resource fields.

They are professionals that search and review the resumes of potential candidates for a new job. Most talent sourcer job descriptions expect you to read through the applications and decide whether they’re eligible; if they meet specific criteria, they’ll forward them to hiring managers. Talent Sourcer is responsible for selecting and recruiting candidates based on their skills, experience, and competencies.

Difference Between Talent Sourcing and Recruiting?

Talent sourcing and recruiting are two distinct processes that have much in common. They are two ways to find the right people to work for your company. However, they also have some key differences. Here’s the lowdown on what each means and how they differ from one another:

1. Talent sourcing is the process of identifying top talent for an organization. It can be as simple as asking a hiring manager to introduce you to their top candidates, or it can be more involved depending on your industry and job role. While recruiting is the process of finding new employees for an organization, either internally or through external sources like agencies and headhunters.
2. Talent sourcing is generally a passive process, where you don’t actively search for employees. You’re more likely to use it when you need to fill a specific job opening or when you want to expand your business by hiring someone with the right skill set. Recruitment, on the other hand, is an active process where you actively look for talent and contact potential candidates. It’s used when you want to grow your business or hire someone with specific experience or qualifications.
3. Talent sourcing is the process of recruiting candidates by sourcing them through LinkedIn, job boards, social media, and other sources. Talent sourcing can be automated using technologies like artificial intelligence and predictive analytics. Recruiting is bringing in new employees through the traditional hiring process. Recruiting can also be automated using technology, but it’s more likely to use a conventional approach.

Job Description of a Talent Sourcer

The Talent sourcer’s job responsibilities are as follows:

• Work with internal and external recruiters to source candidates for open positions within an organization.
• Create and send recruitment emails.
• Assist in the recruitment process from initial screening to final selection of candidates.
• Selecting and interviewing new employees for their respective positions.
• Work with other departments across the organization to ensure the recruitment process runs smoothly.
• Assigning an employee to a job and determining their level of competency based on their experience and education
• Assessing the potential of candidates to perform well in their careers.
• Interacting with potential candidates on social media and professional networks (e.g. LinkedIn.)

Most Important Skills to Have as a Talent Sourcer

There are some skills that you are required to have if you are going to function well as a talent sourcer. Having these skills will give you an edge over other candidates. Let’s take a look at a few examples;

1. Communication Skills

You must communicate effectively with your clients, colleagues, and other stakeholders at all levels (including management). You should also be able to explain complex topics in simple terms so that everyone can understand what’s happening around them.

2. Interpersonal skills

This is one area that many people struggle with, but it’s important because it enables you to build relationships with others on both sides of an interview process – from candidates right through to hiring managers and HR team members who will ultimately decide whether or not they want to hire someone based on your recommendation

3. Negotiation skills

As a talent sourcer, you will often have to negotiate terms of employment between yourself and potential candidates. You may also need to negotiate salary terms with employers if they are hiring from overseas or another country altogether. Dealing effectively is essential as it could save both time and money for both parties involved.

4. Expertise in your niche

You need to have a deep knowledge of the specific industry that you work in. If you’re working in tech, know about the latest trends and technologies. If you’re working in healthcare, ensure you understand the medical practices and procedures.

5. Computer skills

You will also need strong impressive computer skills, especially for communication as most companies have evolved from traditional methods , and if you don’t know how to use email, then how do you expect anyone else at your company?

6. You need to be a good listener.

This is the most essential skill in recruiting, and it’s also one of the hardest to develop. You need to be able to listen for specific information about candidates rather than asking questions that are designed to get them talking about themselves.

7. Critical thinking

You need to be able to think critically, understand people and their motivations, and be able to put yourself in other people’s shoes. If you can do these things, you’ll be a great Talent Sourcer!

Talent Sourcer Qualification

While being a talent sourcer doesn’t require any special degree, it will be a great advantage to have a Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business, or a related field. In addition, they need to possess excellent communication and interpersonal skills, as well as the ability to work in a fast-paced environment. You should also strongly understand the latest recruiting technologies and trends.

For this kind of job, what you need is experience and training. You can get some training by joining a recruitment agency. This way, you can get real-life experience and develop the ability to research and understand the needs of your clients, as well as the ability to communicate effectively with them.

Talent Sourcer Career Path

Technical Sourcer

Technical Sourcer is an individual who specialises in finding and screening technical talent for startups. Their role includes potential sourcing candidates for interviews, maintaining a database of qualified candidates, and conducting initial discussions with the candidates

Responsibilities

• Work with developers and designers to fully understand customer needs and build a solution based on those needs.
• Identify gaps in current offerings and develop solutions that address those gaps.
• Assist in defining requirements for new products or services.
• Interact with clients to understand their requirements and project scope.
• Identify, research and analyse potential solutions.
• Provide technical analysis and recommendations for the development of software products.

Technical Sourcer requirements include:

• Good understanding of Javascript frameworks such as AngularJS.
• Good knowledge of object-oriented programming concepts (OOPs).
• Familiarity with Java, JavaScript/NodeJS, PHP/Symfony, MySQL, HTML5/CSS3 and XML/XSD.
• Strong interpersonal skills are preferred.
• A bachelor’s degree in computer science or a related field is required; experience recruiting software engineers or other technical talent isn’t needed but is desired.
• Excellent communication skills

Salary

According to Zip Recruiter, the average annual pay for a Technical Sourcer in the United States is $84,915 annually.

Conclusion

To sum it up, a talent sourcer job isn’t for everyone. If you enjoy technology and working with several different technology companies at the same time, then this could be the perfect opportunity for you. The job demands a great deal of self-discipline and attention to detail since the main task is reviewing large databases to make the best choice for the company.