First things first!  Let’s define what a Talent Network is.  Here’s my definition:

A Talent Network is the concept of building a collection of candidates that fit job positions that you are consistently hiring for.  These candidates can be housed in a database or Recruiting CRM and will act as a new recruiting channel for you to utilize as new job requisitions open (through Email or SMS).

The hope and BAG (big audacious goal) of all of this is that your own Talent Network gets so large that you will be able to spend less money on other recruiting channels and use your Talent Network to fill most of your open positions.

While your Talent Network may not become the end all solution of finding qualified candidates to fill your open positions, there’s no doubting that it can provide a tremendous amount of value as an additional recruiting channel you use when posting your jobs.  The key, however, is figuring out how you can add qualified candidates into your Talent Network.

To build and grow your Talent Network you need to make it accessible to qualified candidates as well as be proactive in identifying and sourcing candidates that fill a specific job area of need.  Here’s a few ways to help build it:

Simple Opt-In: Every time you post a job online, you have a great opportunity to add candidates to your Talent Network.  Just a simple Opt-In form in the apply process can add hundreds of candidates for this job type into your contact database.

Career Site: Similar to the option above, you should create a form that enables a candidate to add themselves to your Talent Network.  If a candidate visits your Career Site you know that they are interested in your company, so why not create a easy way to contact them about future opportunities when they visit.  This should be one of the most visible and important aspects of your Career Site.

Resume Sourcing: When you search resume databases like Monster or CareerBuilder make sure to save the contacts you receive into your database instead of a one off each time you do it.  These contacts will be valuable the next time you look for a candidate for a similar job.  While this may take a good deal of sweat equity, there are resume sourcing services that make it less painstaking.

Web Sourcing & Networking: Whether you a searching Google, LinkedIn or are coming back from a Career Fair.  Make sure to add all these contacts into your database for future use.  Find solutions that enable you to use plug-ins, email, Excel and Mobile Recruiting to add contacts easily into your database solution.

Starting to build your Talent Network is very important, however, more important than that is actually using it (as what’s the sense of building it if you don’t use.)  Make sure to make contacting your Talent Network an integral process in your recruitment marketing efforts.  So whenever you go to send out a job ad, you send it to your job boards, social networks and just as important your Talent Network.