Ken Hew
on Nov. 30, 2011
So you’ve identified a potential candidate – you can see that they have the requisite skillset, experience, and have the right technologies under their belt. The problem is you just can’t get in touch with them through the “usual avenues” – what next?
Well here are some of the more unconventional approaches to finding people’s contact details and getting in touch with them.
Ken Hew
on Nov. 22, 2011
When we talk about finding someone’s contact details, what we are normally trying to achieve is a way to directly communicate with the candidate. The surest way of connecting with a candidate is to speak with them directly. Failing that, we can send them an email or be connected with them through a third party. Paradoxically when we are finding someone’s contact details it is usually easier to work from the edges towards the centre (see image).
For a sourcer the preferential order for contacting a person is:
But for finding contact details it is easier to move from:
This week, we will approach the pros and cons of each of these methods starting from the outside and working our way in.
Ken Hew
on Nov. 16, 2011
Over the next few weeks I’ll be covering ways to find people’s contact details. There are a multitude of reasons why you might embark on such a task but for a sourcer (and likely a recruiter) — the three main reasons are:
1. To approach for a position
2. For referrals for a position
3. For general market intelligence – normally guised as one of the two above.
More realistically, it’s for a combination of the reasons above but for a savvy sourcer, it may include:
4. Connecting for potential future research projects.
Before we begin the series, I want to cover off the ethical side of things and a few other considerations.
Ken Hew
on Oct. 12, 2011
A spectre is haunting our industry – the spectre of sourcing. Too long have we spent time under the shadow of recruiters, under the guise of recruitment. Fellow sourcers, I am tired of having to explain our value-add to people who just don’t get it, to justify our worth to businesses who simply aren’t interested in moving beyond the status quo, and I am tired of having to validate our very existence.
Right now, as we’re starting to gain some real visibility, it is time for us to properly define ourselves and consolidate ourselves as a unified industry. The community has its eyes on us and it’s up to us to show them who we are, beyond recruitment, marketing, or a PR piece, and to carve out our own future.
Ken Hew
on Aug. 30, 2011
It’s been just over a week since ATC SourcEvent 2011 in Melbourne, Australia. I originally intended to post up something a lot sooner, but there was just so much information to digest (not to mention the amount of work I had on my desk that I needed to catch up on) that I decided to take some time out for it to all settle in. The story continues…
Australia’s second sourcing event was hosted by the Australasian Talent Conference. Since 2007, they have been a key driver in providing Australasia with the latest buzz and best practices in recruitment. As you’d expect, their attendees normally consist of recruiters (in-house, agency, and executive search) and this year’s inaugural sourcing event did not disappoint. This offered an excellent opportunity for the greater recruitment community to learn more about sourcing and the benefits it can bring to the business.
Ken Hew
on Aug. 17, 2011
Last week, Phil Tusing of Destination Talent and Andrea Mitchell, founder of the Australasian Researchers Network, hosted the inaugural Australasian Sourcing Summit (#sosu11) in Sydney, Australia. The two-day event featured a number of sourcing thought leaders from Australia and New Zealand and attracted researchers alike from across Australia as well as our colleagues from across the Tasman. For most of the event I was busy networking, writing notes, tweeting, and trying my hand at live-blogging! It suffices to say that the buzz around the event was electrifying and there was much love in the room…unlike the adoption rate of Google Wave…
Over the course of two days, a broad range of topics from some notable speakers were covered on issues stemming from: hands on sourcing strategies, sourcing metrics and accountability (a HOT topic), leveraging the phone, talent attraction and social media, amongst others. Throughout the event, I noticed there were some very salient themes that kept cropping up:
Ken Hew
on Aug. 1, 2011
Dear SourcingNinja,
I read your article on a Sourcer’s Toolbelt and I noticed you mentioned using MindMaps to help with your sourcing. I recall using mindmapping back in the day for brainstorming and group work but how do you use it when sourcing?
Cheers,
Mapped Out
Hello Mapped,
You’re right in that mind maps are not a new concept and that they are very useful for brainstorming and group work. For those of you who aren’t familiar, a mind map is essentially a visual brain dump on a particular topic or idea. You can see why it’s great for group work because it allows you to get all your ideas down before going back and organising them.
Ken Hew
on Jul. 20, 2011
A Sourcer’s Toolbelt is never full – there are always cool new tools and resources to use to help us find candidates for our job openings. To give you an idea of what many sourcers use when they’re out looking for candidates, I’ve complied a list of my most prized tools as of today — but as always, I’m on the hunt for more.
Ken Hew
on Jun. 22, 2011
Over the last few weeks I have been running a Finding Target Organisations series. A good way to start identifying potential target organisations is by first looking at your client’s direct competitors. By targeting the competition, you achieve two things:
The impact of this approach varies, depending on the seniority and position of the role you’re sourcing for and whether they have succession plans in place.
There are three main sources you can find your client’s key competitors: Online Databases, Boolean Search, and People. Last time, we covered Boolean search.
Following on from parts I and II, our final article focuses on leveraging information from ‘People.’
What’s the easiest way to verify information on the Internet? Pick up the phone and ask!
Ken Hew
on Jun. 7, 2011
Over the next few weeks I will be running a Finding Target Organisations series. A good way to start identifying potential target organisations is by first looking at your client’s direct competitors. By targeting the competition, you achieve two things:
The impact of this approach varies, depending on the seniority and position of the role you’re sourcing for and whether they have succession plans in place.
There are three main sources you can find your client’s key competitors: Online Databases, Boolean Search, and People. Last week, we covered Online Databases.
The next installment of our ‘Finding Target Organisations’ series focuses on Boolean Search.
Welcome to SourceCon: