The task of a recruiter has never been easy nor is a sourcer’s task either. Although, the advent of Social Media has definitely simplified both tasks, that doesn’t mean that sourcing candidates now requires the least amount of effort. Anyone experienced either as a Recruiter or Sourcer will agree to this statement. For those of you who think otherwise, it’s probable a good idea to interact with professional’s in the field.

So if you’re a Sourcer or a Recruiter who also does sourcing, you might find this information very useful. Who knows these insights might just speed up your recruiting process altogether. So before you choose to dismiss any information that I’m about to share, hold your horses, and check out the, “2 Tricks to Boost your Sourcing Process” and grab that perfect candidate that you’ve long awaited to catch.

Well it’s time to test how well we as recruiters and sourcers know the popular social media channels that we use on a regular bases to meet our recruitment needs.

Fast sourcing for candidate details

Have you ever zoomed past other features of LinkedIn or any social media for that matter without a second glance or a thorough understanding of the features right in front of you? Well, if you have; don’t worry about it because you are not the only one.

Using the “Education” Section of LinkedIn

Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? well here’s how you can use it to your advantage. This section is designed to connect with fellow alumni and students of a particular University.  With this feature you can easily track and gather fresh graduates for you recruiting needs. You can find the education section by following these simple steps.

• On the Menu bar click on the “Interests” tab
• Then click the “Education” option
• Type the respective name of the institute in the search bar

Once you’ve done this you can filter the results based on the requirements of the job profile.

Do a Target Search       

Target search is possible with the Education section on LinkedIn. So you have better chances of achieving your recruitment targets.  Here’s how you can run a target search, once you’re clear about the target audience.

• Click on the Education option and select “alumni”.
• Then enter the institute name in the “What school did you go to” box.
• Then filter them according to your requirements.

Analyse your results

Once you’ve done this you can then check the results based on locations, as these are the individuals you should try to get rather than the ones that you are beyond your area locations. Also check to see who among your competitors are willing to hire which candidates form your search results. Another aspect that is usually overlooked is that once you scroll down you get some more details of the potential candidates. If you want to get a zoom in look about the candidates then you need to log in to LinkedIn and you’ll be able to see more details about the candidates.      

The next question is how to go about it and catch the best candidate?

Well it is fairly simple, you need to take time to sit and source for candidates and then remind yourself that you need to get referrals.

Recruiters should practice the Sit, Source and Remind technique       

Sit technique

Once you have a list of prospective candidates, you then need to identify if there are any employees at your company that have been previous pass outs from your desired institute. Hence you need to sit down and segregate them based on the institutes.

Begin Sourcing

After completing this task you can then begin your sourcing by asking them to give you leads that they think are suitable to work for you company. the best way is to start by asking this simple question, “Who do you know is best suited to work for your company?” If you’ve done it well you receive at least 3 to 4 names depending on their connections.

Remind Employees

If you aren’t able to get a lot of referrals from the question mentioned earlier, then give them a print out of what the requirements are. This will give them an idea of what kind of a recruit you are seeking and reminds them of other aspects that they haven’t yet thought about thus, the ideal candidate come to the fore. You can also use a ranking system for instance “Call now”,” Do not know”, “Do not call now”. This will stream line your search and you most definitely will get a list of selected people that you can contact and boost the recruiting process.

So hope this was informative and useful. Don’t answer just yet until you’ve tried and tested them. once you follow these simple techniques you will definitely notice the change in your recruiting process and are likely to get the desired candidate nonetheless.