How can you ensure that you are sourcing reliable and dependable candidates?

In my experience, here are some important ways to ensure that: Craft clear job descriptions. Use reputable job boards and career websites. Screen resumes/CVs for relevant experience. Conduct thorough interviews, including behavioral questions. Check references to validate reliability. Conduct background checks. Assess soft skills and cultural fit. Use assessments or pre-employment tests. Maintain transparent communication. Follow up with candidates post-hiring.

As a Recruiter - Firstly, it's crucial to define clear job requirements to attract candidates with the right qualifications. Utilizing a variety of sourcing channels such as job boards, social media, and employee referrals widens the candidate pool. Thoroughly reviewing resumes and applications helps identify inconsistencies or red flags. Checking references provides insights into candidates' past performance and reliability before interview. Assessing skills, evaluating cultural fit further validate candidates' suitability for the role.

To ensure about the sourcing reliable candidates, get clarity on the job requirements including necessary skills, experience, and qualifications. Create effective key strings and use multiple job boards to source candidates, screen resumes carefully, have a transparent conversation with the candidates and test their skills and commitment, check references and background.

It's critical to have a clear brief, either from your internal hire sponsor/stakeholder or client stakeholder, both on a hard and soft-skills basis. From this, you can build a "perfect", "great", "good", and "acceptable" hiring metric. This can give you a firm picture on what you're looking for but also what is absolutely critical. Job descriptions are often guilty of being more like "wish lists" than "shopping lists" and it's important to distinguish between the two. After this, it's key to take a step back and analyse the requirements: are they realistic, if so/or not, why and build your sourcing around this. Working on unrealistic requirements is a sure fire way to hire the wrong person or hire nobody at all.

Diving into the talent pool with just one strategy is like fishing with a single lure. You might catch something, but you’re missing out on the big fish. Using multiple and diverse sourcing methods is the game-changer. It's like casting a wider net to catch a variety of skilled fish in the sea of potential candidates. Tap into multiple sources like job boards, social media, networking events, employee referrals, and cold outreach. This approach not only increases your chances of finding the right fit but also brings a rich mix of perspectives, experiences, and skills to your team.

In my experience, you cannot rely on one sourcing method. In order to find the best candidates and spread your network as far as possible, you need to seek a multitude of avenues when sourcing. Responses from adverts is one avenue but this focuses mainly on the active market. You also need to target the passive market (the candidates that aren't looking). This can be done through headhunting, referrals and targeted sourcing strategies. The further you spread your net, the greater pool of candidates you will identify and therefore greater chance of finding your ideal match.

Job Boards Social Media Referrals Networking Talent Pools Direct Outreach Niche Platforms Industry Events Online Communities Diversity Groups

In my experience, you cannot leave any stone unturned when it comes to screening candidates. Every candidate is different and their career journeys are sometimes intricate and diverse. Make sure you ask your candidates pertinent questions in in order to identify 1. if they are right for the role 2. if the role is right for them. It is also very important to be objective during this process and leave your emotions out of the process. Screening thoroughly at the beginning stages will save you a lot of time later on in the process.

**Employee referrals: encourage current staff members to recommend candidates they know and trust. Employees are inclined to refer to individuals they feel align well with the company culture and demonstrate a history of dependability

Review Resumes and Cover Letters Conduct Phone Interviews Use Online Assessments Request Work Samples Conduct Reference Checks Use Consistent Screening Criteria Document Screening Process Involve Stakeholders

It’s always been crucial to hire loyal and trustworthy employees, but now that so many companies are working remotely and managers can’t supervise their teams as closely, it’s become more important than ever. Here are ways to ensure that your new hires are responsible and trustworthy before you bring them on board. Monitor body language & and facial expressions during interviews, Check with Reference calls, etc.

In my experience, being transparent and have open and honest communication is the best way to gain rapport and earn trust with the candidates you engage with. Setting clear expectations at the beginning stages of the process and carrying that through the process is so important. Providing frequent updates is also vital in not only keeping your candidates engaged but also earning their trust in you. Without effective communication in a recruitment process, the chances of a positive outcome are far less likely.

Communication is key to building trust and rapport with candidates, and to ensuring that they are reliable and dependable. You should communicate clearly and frequently with candidates throughout the sourcing process, from the initial contact to the final offer. You should inform them of the role details, the client's expectations, the sourcing timeline, and the next steps. You should also answer their questions, address their concerns, and solicit their feedback. By communicating openly and regularly, you can keep candidates engaged, interested, and informed, and reduce the risk of losing them to other opportunities or employers.

In my experience, you need to evaluate your results at the end through either a sourcing plan or strategy that you have set up. This can be an effective yardstick on which you can do self analysis of your performance and also sanity check whether you have covered all bases in your search process. It will also help you in future if you have similar search processes, as this can act as a template from which you can work off.

Finally, you should evaluate your sourcing results and feedback, both from the candidates and the clients. You should measure and analyze key sourcing metrics, such as time to fill, cost per hire, quality of hire, retention rate, and candidate satisfaction. You should also collect and review feedback from the candidates and the clients, such as their experience, expectations, challenges, and suggestions. By evaluating your sourcing results and feedback, you can identify your strengths and weaknesses, and improve your sourcing practices and performance.

1- Evaluating cultural compatibility can assess whether the candidate's values, demeanor, and work style harmonize with your company's ethos, culture, and operational environment. While a candidate may possess the requisite skills and expertise, their lack of cultural alignment could potentially affect their reliability and prospects for sustained success within the organization. 2- Trust your instincts, and pay attention to your gut feeling about a candidate during the hiring process. While it's essential to rely on data and evidence, sometimes intuition can provide valuable insights into a candidate's reliability and fit within the organization.

In my experience, it's wise to consider the career history of a candidate, understanding their trajectory and establishing why they have longevity/brevity in their past roles. Take into consideration that individuals from other industries have valuable transferable skills and insights to share and help your team be stronger/better/faster/more inclusive etc. Look at the human behind the application as well - do their passions/interests showcase a good fit for the company and team? Will they be a good culture fit: will they boost the positive aspects of the team and company's culture? Remember: we are people hiring people, not statistics, efficacies, power-ups. As a good recruiter you should also have a 6th sense about people - trust it.