The first sourcing call is like a gateway to the entire Talent acquisition process. You mess it in the first call, you mess the whole process big time.
Not every candidate knows what they need and what they are going to do about their job quest. When you step in as a Talent Advisor, the way you project yourself matters a lot.
The tone of your call should be affirmative. How will the job excite the candidate if the one presenting it isn’t excited? At the same time, you don’t have to jump in joy either. Play it subtle, confident and professional.
Educate the candidate about the job and the company. Especially give a background about the key achievements of the company and the criticality of the role.
Get to understand the candidate’s choice of roles and companies. You can’t place a product company aspirant in a services company. And you can’t place someone who wants a PM role into an IC role.
Nobody likes to be dictated. Avoid the commanding tone while speaking with candidates.
You are an advisor, a consultant. Act like one. Give relevant suggestions when the candidate seems to be in doubt. And remember — you need to be equipped enough to guide someone. So keep working on your own knowledge too.
Avoid sentences like “I’ll get back to you” and “I’ll let you know”. These are among the most hated statements in the talent community.
Open the call with your name and your company. Close it the same way.
Send a confirmation email and an SMS once you have sourced a candidate. The email should have all the job and company details along with your direct contact details.
Don’t just send the email and SMS randomly. When you close the sourcing call, ask the candidate if they can access their email right now. Tell them you are sending an email with the job details and would like their acknowledgement. This creates anticipation.
Now send that email. Once sent, follow up with an SMS stating that you just spoke and you’ve mailed the details. Close the SMS with your name and company name. This creates an impression that you are serious about what you’re doing — and that the candidate is in the right hands.
When you call the candidate again after a day or two, they will remember you by name. At least 95% of them will. And that is because of the positive impact of your first sourcing call. It just eases the rest of your recruiting process.
Oh come on, these are just basic stuffs in Recruiting. Why bore us with it? you could ask.
True, these are basics. But unless you get your basics right, none of the magic you do afterwards really matters.
Now, let’s go do some Recruiting!