The Two Levels of Candidate Sourcing
Many individuals and organizations treat the sourcing role and function of recruiting – searching for and identifying potential candidates – as an entry level position, and/or a simple and basic task that does not require much skill or experience.
I agree.
I believe that it does not take much skill or experience to simply transcribe job titles and required skill keywords into LinkedIn, Monster, or an ATS and click “search.”
However, that oversimplified view of sourcing talent only describes the most basic level of talent identification, of which, I believe there are at least two.
Level 1 Sourcing
Level 1 Sourcing involves little more than taking titles and words from job descriptions and entering them into Internet search engines, social networks, job board resume databases, and applicant tracking systems to search for candidates.
This is the proverbial “buzzword bingo,” and does not necessarily involve any real understanding (beyond surface level) of the roles, skills, responsibilities, or technologies involved in the hiring profiles or the candidates. These basic search terms produce search results that are then cursorily reviewed for keyword matching.
Level 1 Sourcing involves a level of matching potential candidates to hiring profiles that is often superficial and generic – very little, if any, interpretive analysis is performed. This level of sourcing can in fact quite easily be performed by “junior” personnel/researchers – almost anyone can match keywords.
Not only can Level 1 Sourcing be performed by junior associates, it can (and often is) outsourced for $5 – $7 an hour.
However, don’t be fooled into thinking you are getting something fantastic for that $5 – $7 an hour – you’re getting exactly what you’ve paid for. Which is Level 1 Sourcing.
In my opinion, there is no need to outsource Level 1 Sourcing, because it does not require any deep understanding of the roles being sourced for, nor does it involve any true analysis or creativity. As such, Level 1 Sourcing is well suited for total automation. Why pay people to match keywords when matching applications can do it for you for considerably less than $5 per hour?
Many people are blissfully unaware of the fact that Level 1 Sourcers from any company will essentially find the same potential candidates as any other Level 1 Sourcer. It’s a simple equation: same keywords = same results. This is one of the reasons why Level 1 Sourcing provides no competitive advantage.
Additionally, while Level 1 Sourcers can and will find SOME candidates, they will not and can not find ALL potentially qualified candidates available to them in the sources they are searching - that would be impossible, for many reasons that I’ve written about previously that are beyond the scope of this post.
And finally, Level 1 Sourcers are typically unaware of the people that are in the ATS, job board resume database, or social network that they are searching that their queries did not return. In fact, to them, anyone that they don’t find simply doesn’t exist.
Level 2 Sourcing
This is the good stuff. Level 2 Sourcing moves well beyond simple keyword matching and most certainly beyond a basic mastery of Boolean logic.
Boolean logic is easy to learn – after all, there’s only 3 main operators! However, the “magic” of leveraging databases and information systems for talent identification does not lie in the Boolean search operators themselves, but in the following process:
- Analyzing, understanding, and interpreting job opening/position requirements - including elements which may or may not be explicitly mentioned in the position description or BQ’s
- Taking that understanding and intelligently and creatively selecting titles, skills, technologies, companies, responsibilities, terms, etc., to include (or to purposefully exclude!) in a query employing appropriate Boolean operators and query modifiers
- Analyzing the results of the initial search to assess relevance as well as scanning the results for additional and alternate relevant search terms, phrases, and companies
- Based upon the observed relevance of and intel gained from the search results, modifying the search string appropriately and running it again
- Repeating steps 3 and 4 until an acceptably large volume of highly relevant results is achieved
The “real” work of creating effective Boolean search strings lies in the interpretive analysis of the need, in determining what terms to include and exclude from searches and in what specific combination, in the analysis of the relevance of the initial search results, and in the adaptive process of learning from the results to creatively refine the Boolean search strings to find well qualified candidates – people who are highly likely to be (or know!) the right match for any particular hiring need.
Unlike Level 1 Sourcing, Level 2 Sourcing involves and in fact requires a deeper understanding of the roles, skills, responsibilities, and technologies involved in the hiring profiles being sourced for. In this regard, Level 2 Sourcing goes well beyond explicit keyword matching and deep into implied experience and capability matching.
In addition to finding all of the candidates that Level 1 Sourcers can find, Level 2 Sourcers can also find the candidates that Level 1 Sourcers have access to, but can not and do not find. Interestingly, all Level 2 Sourcers will not find all of the same candidates, specifically due to their varying experience and creative and analytical ability.
And unlike Level 1 Sourcers, Level 2 Sourcers are acutely aware of the candidates they have not found, because they understand that every Boolean string and search strategy will find some candidates, and exclude others.
Level 2 Sourcing is Not a Junior Role and Cannot Be Automated
It is precisely because of the aforementioned reasons that Level 2 Sourcing cannot be performed by junior level associates – it is not an entry level role, nor can it be outsourced for $5 – $7 an hour. Okay, it CAN be outsourced at those rates, but you won’t get Level 2 results. Remember, you get what you pay for.
Level 2 sourcing cannot be automated, regardless of what the vendor representatives of “artificial intelligence” resume parse/match applications may claim. This is because Level 2 sourcing requires “a posteriori” knowledge – which comes from experience, which comprises knowledge and skill gained through involvement and exposure.
Applications do not accumulate experience or gain knowledge or skill, in the true sense of the terms.
AI matching applications essentially perform a form of pattern recognition to classify data through parsing resumes and employing a keyword/phrase taxonomy, which is built based on “a priori” knowledge/information extracted from the patterns and programmed into the matching logic.
I recently spoke at the PDS Technology Conference and had the honor of seeing Dr. Michio Kaku present on the world of 2020 and beyond. Dr. Kaku believes that “Progress in artificial intelligence may come to a gradual halt around 2020. The two problems facing AI are pattern recognition and common sense.”
I was happy to hear that Dr. Michio Kaku believes that the employment market of the future will be “dominated by jobs involving common sense (e.g. leadership, judgment, entertainment, art, analysis, creativity) and pattern recognition (e.g. vision and non-repetitive jobs). Jobs like brokers, tellers, agents, low level accountants and jobs involving inventory and repetition will be eliminated.”
That’s great news for anyone performing Level 2 Sourcing, primarily because it requires creativity, interpretive analysis, judgment, and common sense (a natural understanding based upon experience) - four things that machines and applications are intrinsically incapable of.
Unlike AI matching applications, Level 2 Sourcers intrinsically understand that resumes and social media profiles are imperfect and incomplete representations of the people who created them, and that they often do not explicitly mention all of their skills and experience. As such, Level 2 Sourcers are not only able to find qualified candidates based on the words they use - many can also specifically search for and find people who have experience that they do not mention. In other words, some Level 2 Sourcers can find people based on what they don’t say. This is a skill that can only be developed over time from observation and experience.
Final Thoughts
Level 1 Sourcing can be performed by entry level associates or be completely automated, as the level of matching produced is superficial and based primarily on explicit keyword and phrase matching. This can be quite sufficient for static and repetitive hiring needs for simple hiring profiles, where title searches will often suffice.
The value and the results provided by Level 1 and Level 2 Sourcing is vastly different - this is why some organizations see the sourcing function as a low level or junior role, simply outsource it for $5 – $7 and hour, or completely automate it. Interestingly, there are sourcers who make $50 to over $100 an hour, and they are worth every penny for the competitive advantage and value they provide to the organizations they support.
Dr. Michio Kaku would classify Level 1 Sourcing as ”commodity based capital,” in that it is a product that is the same no matter who produces it - man, woman, or machine.
People who perform Level 2 Sourcing are true knowledge workers, whose value is intellectual capital – based in creativity, judgment, analysis, ”common sense” and “a posteriori” knowledge developed over time based upon experience – similar to senior Financial Analysts, Business Analysts, Data Analysts and Business Intelligence Analysts. Level 2 Sourcers produce a product that is quite different based on who produces it, and it cannot be reliably replicated by machines.
To be sure, one could easily break Level 2 Sourcing out to at least 3 different levels, because to lump everything more advanced and sophisticated than Level 1 Sourcing into one broad category is horribly limiting, but for the purposes of this article, it shall suffice.
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Glen – Another great post. I am relatively new to the sourcing profession, and your insights have really helped me to define my goals and shape my approach to becoming a good “level 2″ sourcer. Apart from your insightful postings, can you recommend any publications or other media that would be a useful guide to a newcomer to the industry?
Thank your for a very informative post.
I think that employers have to consider these same elements (particularly #1 and #2) when they are preparing job postings and other recruitment communications.
Recruitment communications suffers from the same problem that sourcing does: Anyone can do, very few can do it well.
Again thanks fo rthe great post.
Phenomenal post once again Glen. I am immediately sending this to every sourcer I know (and maybe a few executives).
I know I am fortunate to work for an organization that grasps the concept and value of a Level 2 Sourcer. It’s definitely something I’ll always evaluate when considering an opportunity.
Thanks Glen
Level 3 Sourcing is a Senior Role and is focused on the Social Web
Level 1 is good for high volume like retail.
Level 2 is good for specialty.
Jeremy’s “Level 3″ is an incorporated element.
Thanks for justifying my love.
Hi, Glen. Awesome article … but frustrating. It just seems that with every conversation of new (unconquered) client, we try to enlighten them to ‘level’ sourcing… which is COMPLETELY true. But, will our audience ever thoroughly understand this… or will it continue to always be a new day… every day… for both us and them? Thoughts?
Hi Glen,
Excellent post- I 100% agree with you. The strategy and business acumen behind a search is KEY to being a successful “level two” sourcer.
Like several of the comments listed above- I also come across organizations who do not understand the sourcing role and what it entails. They think searching key words, networking and “old school” headhunting is all there is… mainly – because this is all they know!
Also, thank you for sharing Dr. Michio Kaku’s outlook on the future. Very interesting- reminds me of an article I read a couple of weeks back. Currently some in the science community are trying to build an artificial brain (see: http://tinyurl.com/m3xxme) and a group of scientists in Switzerland are claiming that a fully-functioning replica of a human brain could be built by 2020.
Interesting times
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Ii am anxious to see how the Trovix / Monster.com union will change the next generation search function as it relates to AI. My suspicion is that they have thrown in some complications making a simple keyword search function that is hard to predict and misses qualified candidates.
See:
http://startupmeme.com/monster-acquires-trovix-resume-search-for-725-million/
@Jeremy and MG – I meant that I think that there may actually be 4 levels of sourcing, 1, 2, 3, and 4 – that there are 3 levels beyond level 1. I was trying to explain that beyond level 1 sourcing, not all level 2 sourcers are created equal, but I obviously didn’t do a very good job of communicating that.
It is possible for people to perform level 1 sourcing using social media/networks by searching them and matching titles and basic keywords, and reviewing results at face value.
@Chris, Dustin, and Teresa – thank you!
One of the main reasons why I wrote this article is to attack the idea that candidate sourcing is simple, that anyone can do it, and that all candidate sourcing can be outsourced or automated. There is definitely a surprisingly widespread lack of understanding and appreciation for the different levels of talent discovery and the value each provides.
Please help me spread the word and get the dialoque going!
I feel that the recruiting and staffing industry is lagging most others in terms of recognizing the true value of human capital data and how it can be leveraged, with the proper technology and people using it, to achieve JIT talent identification and acquisition – finding more of the right people more quickly, without the need for traditional pipelining.
I sense another post coming!
Thanks again for your comments!
Excellent article. You are the boolean master, but I would like to see a further stratification beyond level 1, 2.
Nothing truly outstanding can be fully automated as it relates to sourcing. I’ve always been a believer in the right mix between automation and human interaction. Give a shot at defining more levels. I think you are on to something.
Hi Glen,
I was going over your Level 1 and Level 2 article again, and you alluded to various sub-levels of Level 2. Have you elaborated further on that? If so, I’d be very interested in seeing it.
Thanks,
Keith 415.586.8265