Sourcing candidates

There are many varied approaches to sourcing candidates for vacant positions, and the success of each approach will depend on the ubiquitous or scarce population of candidates with the right skills and capabilities, the seniority of the roles, the geographic location of the employer, and many other factors. Let's consider some social-network-based approaches for sourcing candidates.

LinkedIn search

There is a lot of potential in LinkedIn's search capability for casting a wider net than just your careers community. The platform provides sophisticated search and tracking features that allows HR departments and recruiting firms to search through a large number of résumés that are held on this professional networking site. The search algorithms put an emphasis on people who fall within your own network, so the stronger your LinkedIn presence and the better your network is, the more effective is the search.

Employee networks

Ideally, you are able to tap into the wider workforce...