I had the privilege of interviewing Sarah Goldberg, a highly respected Talent Sourcer in North America. I have been impressed by her contributions to the sourcing community through her presentations and articles on SourceCon. Sarah graciously agreed to be interviewed for my blog, WizardSourcer. I am excited for you to read this Q&A and for those who will have the opportunity to see her speak at the upcoming SourceCon in Seattle (2019).
How did you get into talent sourcing?
I got into talent sourcing because I was looking for a way to use my liberal arts education and research experience. I got really good at manipulating databases and running Boolean searches while studying Ancient Greek at the University of Chicago, and when I saw a job posting looking for someone with that sort of experience it was a natural fit – I haven’t looked back since!
Any advice you would give someone starting out?
I think the best advice I could give is to remember that there’s a person on the other side of your computer, and to treat your prospects like people. Every time you get ready to send an email, ask yourself how you’d respond to it!
What makes a good Talent Sourcer?
Good talent sourcers are folks who aren’t afraid to experiment and try new strategies out. It’s important to understand why what you’re doing works, and why people are interested in the roles we can offer – we need to move beyond basic keyword matching.
Future predictions on sourcing. What will change in the next 5 years?
We’re already seeing a little bit of this, but I think we’re going to see a push away from automation and tools – I think candidates are going to react to increased automation at every step of the process by pulling back from it.
Favorite Extension or Tool?
Favorite extension is definitely my Pomodoro Timer – it helps me focus during my day, and organize my work!
Favorite Boolean string?
Lately I’ve been having a ton of fun sourcing off of sites like slideshare or speakerdeck. A quick “site:speakerdeck.com chicago devops”, for example, will bring up tons of profiles of candidates who have spoken at local events (and usually include some kind of contact info, too)!
Any other things you would like me to highlight?
The best part of being a sourcer is that you get to be pretty creative, and there’s a great community of folks to share with! I’d want to let people know to share their ideas – you never know when seemingly small things can make a big impact!
Recommended Reading:
Using Blockspring in Talent Sourcing
Review of Multi-Highlight Tool
Ultimate List of Sourcing Tools to Recruit Tech Talent Online
