When you attend a SourceCon conference, it’s easy to get swept up in the experience of sharing talent-sourcing knowledge while bonding with passionate recruiters.
We come from many countries and industries, united by our zeal for being super creative and highly technical in order to source top talent.
For anyone who wants to better understand the talent-sourcing culture, think of it like this:
Some people are mad about football. Others spend hours seeking the high score of a popular video game, competing virtually with players around the world. As talent sourcers, we too enjoy the thrill of competition for great talent. We’re also incredibly dedicated to building up our community.
In this respect, we believe in the value of knowledge-sharing, which allows each of us to improve our individual abilities while strengthening the wider talent sector.
Jessie Caudron and Amandine Picard, representing our multilingual recruitment specialists, recently returned from SourceCon. Watch their video to discover some of the best recruitment insights from SourceCon 2019. You can also scroll down to read five brilliant insights from the event.
So then, here are five great tips we took away from the SourceCon conference. Get ready to put them into action!
1.) You don’t need to speak the local language to recruit in foreign markets. However, you do need local language keywords to identify great candidates, according to SourceCon GrandMaster Iker Jusué.
If you don’t use the local language in keywords, you might be missing out on candidates who haven’t created an English-language profile, despite possessing strong English skills.
Remember: these potential candidates might be interested in your opportunities. Ramp up your foreign language keywords to connect with more multilingual candidates!
2.) Authenticity rules! So does humour. Let’s give it a shot: What did the penguin say to the HR manager?… Let’s take a dip in the talent pool!*
Cringing now? Fair enough. But in a market full of noise, we need to find our voice if we stand a chance of being heard.
Authenticity drives candidate engagement, according to presenters Glen Cathey, Angie Verro, and Tris Revill.
3.) Great storytelling evokes emotion. Stories capture candidates’ imaginations. Facts are forgotten.
Did you know that narrative storytelling is 22 times more memorable than facts?
Wow! Now that’s an interesting fact, although one you may soon forget, according to the nature of the fact itself, which we heard from Glen Cathey.
But if you don’t remember that fact, perhaps you will remember this quirky idea shared by Guillaume Alexandre: “An experienced sourcer is like a tea bag: they spread the knowledge.”
No matter what you want to share, no matter what level you are, someone, somewhere, will benefit from your knowledge. Dov Zavadskis offered this advice.
With that in mind, take time to infuse a fresh pot of knowledge with your own blend of wisdom. Sip and enjoy, possibly with a biscuit or two, and always in the company of fellow sourcers.
4.) Basic search is a good starting point, but with a bit of creativity you can do more. If you add typos to your search, you’ll get more results, according to Jan Tegze. Remember Iker’s advice to include keywords in the local language.
Unfortunately, many recruiters only use basic techniques to find candidates.
On the positive, this creates a significant opportunity for skilled talent sourcers to reach candidates who wouldn’t otherwise be found, helping improve response rates.
5.) Automation has a time and place, but it’s not with candidate outreach. Keep it personal.
To ensure your candidate outreach hits the mark, follow the three Rs: keep it researched, relevant, and referenced.
That advice comes from the well-noted sourcing expert Bill Boorman. Filmed at SourceCon 2019, be sure to watch our exclusive interview with Bill now:
Until our next sourcing meet-up, we look forward to staying connected. Follow us on Twitter for more actionable sourcing advice. Or, take it to the next level and browse some of our fantastic recruitment jobs today. After all, who wants to wait a whole year for the next SourceCon, when we could be working together sooner?
*Please don’t blame our sourcers for the possibly pitiful penguin pun… that quip comes from our global digital marketing manager, Patrice Burnside, who has previously written on the dangers of a poor workplace culture.
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