Editor’s Pick: Falling In Love With Sourcing

Editor’s Note: This week, SourceCon.com will be sharing a few of our favorite past posts. We’ll continue to do this through New Year’s Eve and will return to our regular content on Monday January 3, 2011.

Many people seem to fall into working in the recruitment industry. I know this is the case with many recruiters and sourcers, and it certainly was for me. That said, I also fell in love what I do for a living, and I am passionate about promoting sourcing as a career. Here are a few things that got me hooked on, and continue to keep me hooked on, sourcing.

Tools and Tricks
I have always had somewhat of a fascination with computers and gadgets and this translated into a fascination for the Internet and the information it holds. This pushed me to learn more about the Internet, manipulating search engines, and the tools that can be used in a variety of ways. Thus, when I saw a job ad titled “Love using the Internet for Research” I knew that this was a role where I could really put the skills that I had built to good use. Four years later it’s still one of the things I enjoy most about sourcing. It’s also about using these tools and tricks in “the hunt” and the challenge that comes with using your skills to dig deep and find the information and candidates that others couldn’t.

Making a Splash
Sourcing is a growing industry, especially here in Australia where it is still relatively new. This is a great chance to not only make your mark on a sourcing role, but within the industry as a whole. Because this is a relatively small industry, people are very approachable and generally easy to get in touch with; they are usually on the Internet in a variety of places and in my experience are always happy to talk.

Knowing “Stuff”
As I mentioned above I developed a fascination for the Internet and the information it holds; this is due in part to the fact that I love knowing tidbits of information and have a good memory for seemingly useless facts. I love the knowledge gained from researching on the Internet and talking to people online and off. The nature of sourcing also pushes me to learn more, and an integral part of the role that I am in is about keeping track of new tools and trends in the world of sourcing and beyond.

Innovation
I have always felt that sourcing is, by definition, about innovation. Sourcing is innovation in recruitment. It’s about experimenting with tools and ways of finding and building relationships with people. The sourcing community is full of people who are constantly innovating and looking for better ways to do things.

Making Connections
This is what it’s all about. I don’t just mean making contact with individual candidates, but making contact with groups and communities in the industry that you work within. Four years ago when I first started sourcing I don’t think I would have listed this, it was all about the research for me. Over time I have grown more confident talking to people and people have become more skilled in using the Internet as a communication tool. Making connections ties all the things I like together – using technical skills to find people, both candidates and like minded people in the sourcing world; making a splash by connecting with great people in the industry; learning new things through talking to people; and finally fostering innovation through the connections and conversations you have with others.

Those are some of the reasons I love sourcing, and and have chosen to pursue it as a career, even after having stumbled into it by accident. What are a few of your favorite things?

This article was originally published on SourceCon.com in April 2010.