Staffing Software: Top 5 candidate sourcing techniques for staffing and recruiting professionals

The job of a staffing and recruiting professional relies on the well-oiled integration of a lot of different parts. Between managing clients and potential hires, arranging interviews and answering emails, it can be tough to stay current on the latest and greatest new practices for candidate sourcing. Utilizing the right staffing software is critical for being able to stay current as a staffing and recruiting professional.

Keep these five tips in mind to improve your candidate sourcing abilities:

1) Focus on crafting the job description.

While it may seem like an obvious detail, how the job description is worded can mean the difference between the right caliber of candidates applying or a pile of lackluster options. Make sure your job descriptions focus more on defining the job versus the person. Providing a compelling and accurate image of what the job will entail, along with an accurate depiction of the company’s culture, will allow potential candidates to better imagine themselves in this role and help them determine whether they have the right qualifications, experience, and disposition. Don’t be afraid to express all of the qualifications the client is looking for in a candidate – but be careful not to be so specific that only a ‘purple squirrel’ will fit the position.

2) Create a search procedure. 

A client might be looking for a new account manager and you’ve filled countless job descriptions just like this one successfully, but could your experience make you forget to research the role as well as you should? Source Con reported that thinking about the keyword search beforehand could save you some time down the road. Your staffing software and recruiting software should help you in this regard by allowing you to set up workflow processes and previously defined candidate searches that ensure success.

As Abraham Lincoln famously once said – “Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four hours sharpening the ax.”

3) Use social networking sites like LinkedIn. 

The digital age has provided staffing and recruiting professionals access to hundreds of thousands more candidates with a simple click of a button. You can provide your clients with plentiful options because social media networks have allowed professionals to place their resumes online in easy-to-read formats that are optimized for keyword and phrase searches. LinkedIn is currently the ultimate tool for staffing and recruiting professionals to source passive candidates and gain more insight into candidate credentials and capabilities, however, it’s important to ensure that you’re not getting lazy and relying too heavily on this one resource. Your  recruiting and staffing software, which is LinkedIn compatible, should always be your go-to tool for searching for available candidates to fill your customers’ job orders.

4) Make sure to network.

Yes, traditional networking skills are still crucial in the staffing and recruiting industry. Every business card you receive and connection you make at that dinner or event is a possible candidate for later to pull from. As you’ve seen, the soft job seekers who are gainfully employed, but willing to see what options you could bring them, are plentiful right now. Use your traditional networking skills to get business cards and then make digital connections on LinkedIn so you can keep aware of what a person is doing and how you both can help each other.

5) Stay in contact with candidates.

Your reach as a staffing and recruiting professional is only as good as your ability to connect with people. Expand your network by keeping in contact with past hires you’ve helped get a job – they more than likely will recommend someone else who might be actively or passively looking for a new position.

Staffing and recruiting professionals can use these tips in conjunction with staffing software to make greater strides in the industry. Use time-tested practices like personality tests, job skills checks, candidate sourcing and the right recruiting software solutions to stay on top of your game.