Sourcing is Hot But What Does a Corporate Sourcer Actually Do in 2015?

We just wrapped up the largest SourceCon ever. 600 practitioners descended on Dallas in September and we shared, learned, and debated. The mood was really positive and talent acquisition professionals seem to be feeling good about the future of our industry.

Why is everyone so positive? The 2015 State of Sourcing Survey data is very clear. Sourcing is hot and the job prospects are looking good for skilled sourcers.

Here are a few stats:

[clickToTweet tweet=”64% of TA leaders surveyed said their talent acquisition teams are larger than they were last year at this time.” quote=”64% of the talent acquisition leaders surveyed said their talent acquisition teams are larger than they were last year at this time.”]

[clickToTweet tweet=”49% of the leaders surveyed stated that they currently employ sourcers.” quote=”49% of the leaders surveyed stated that they currently employ sourcers.”]

[clickToTweet tweet=”68% of talent acquisition leaders surveyed plan to hire additional sourcers in the next 12 months.” quote=”68% of talent acquisition leaders surveyed plan to hire additional sourcers in the next 12 months.”]

So, if you’re a talent acquisition professional who wants to thrive in this environment, you should probably know what sourcers are up to in 2015. Lucky for you, we asked that question in the 2015 State of Sourcing Survey. The results are in and it appears that the sourcer of 2015 looks a lot like a recruiter.

As can be seen in the graphic above, sourcers in corporate recruiting departments are moving further into the recruiting workflow than ever before. In fact, only 7% of the respondents with the sourcer title report that they never conduct phone screens of candidates. Only 11% report that they never present candidates to hiring managers. Even more shocking, 30% of the sourcers surveyed actually extend offers to candidates.

Why are sourcers doing what recruiters have traditionally done?

There are many reasons that sourcers have moved deeper into the recruiting workflow. Below are the top two reasons I think this is happening.

The most obvious is that creating lists of candidates has become much easier in recent years. Because of the availability of candidate data online, candidates are hearing from talent acquisition professionals more often than ever. [clickToTweet tweet=”The new problem facing recruiting teams in 2015 isn’t candidate identification, it’s candidate engagement. ” quote=”The new problem facing recruiting teams in 2015 isn’t candidate identification, it’s candidate engagement. “]
Recruiters are bogged down with administrative duties. They are becoming account managers who are specialists in processing candidates (many of whom shouldn’t have applied to the role) through their applicant tracking systems. Due to compliance requirements and over cautious human resources departments, many recruiters don’t have time to hunt.

Does this information surprise you? How is your organization using sourcers? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.