Awom Kenneth: Here’s Why Your Best Bet into Tech is Talent Sourcing

Talent competition just went global; long gone are the days when employers ruled the world. To add some context, the global talent acquisition technology and services market is estimated to reach US$140.7 billion in 2022 and is further projected to reach a Compounded Annual Growth Rate of 5.7% to top a valuation of US$196 billion by 2028. Talent acquisition technology and services hold a 13% share of the global human resources management market. 

Talent Sourcing

Talent sourcing is identifying, researching, generating, and networking with potential candidates to convert those potential candidates into job applicants. The real task of talent sourcing is generating a consistent flow of highly-skilled candidates for future job roles. The goal of talent sourcing, in its most basic form, is to convert highly skilled talents into potential job applicants.

As talent sourcers, the goal is to identify and attract highly skilled talents. You would be looking for people who are passive and not necessarily looking for a new job. Your goal is to cast a spell on them and attract these potential candidates to your company by emphasizing the values of the company and the aspects of the job role. In this way, you’re not only detectives but also brand ambassadors and salespeople who persuade talents to make better career choices.  

Recruitment requires the conversion of a job applicant into an employee. This makes talent sourcing the starting point of the recruitment process and an essential element of building a robust talent database. The relationship between talent sourcing and recruiting has to be symbiotic. Many recruiters source talent for various job roles through a variety of sources, including LinkedIn, social media sites and job sites. They handle the recruiting process from end to end, interfacing with talent sourcing representatives when needed.

A talent sourcer’s primary aim lies in generating leads for several job roles. They work closely with the human resources department and their responsibility includes searching or locating highly skilled talent, generating leads, and building interest in available positions. 

So Why is Talent Sourcing your Best Bet Into Tech? 

Well if the only Java concept you adore is a Lava lamp, then talent sourcing could be your vibe (no coding skills needed). You might think it’s almost impossible to transition into technology, especially if you’ve spent your career in a different industry like fashion, medicine, farming, or medical service.

The software technology industry is mostly filled with experience-based job roles. Many of which require minimal formal education, such as a high school certificate, bachelor’s degree or a certificate program. If you can prove your ability to carry out the tasks assigned to the job role, you automatically qualify for a tech job that pays well. 

How Do You Get into Talent Sourcing With No Experience?

Look for transferable skills

Don’t make the mistake of thinking that you have no skills to bring to your career as a talent sourcer. Whether your previous position was in sales, customer service, or software development, you likely have transferrable skills, even if it was a part-time job you had while in school. 

Create a kick-ass LinkedIn profile

If there was ever a number rule, then it should be to create a Linkedin profile. Whether or not you have much experience, other talent sourcers have to be able to find you and LinkedIn is the best way to get found. Believe it or not, some sourcers specialize solely in recruiting other sourcers (which sounds weird), so you want to create a LinkedIn profile that brings out your transferable skills.

Sell Yourself

One sentence you only need: don’t be afraid to sell yourself and your transferrable skills.

Network, Network, Network

Networking is probably the best way to get a job in tech or any other industry. The fact is you already know someone in the industry, you just haven’t called your cousin yet. And if you’re on LinkedIn, all you have to do is ask for an introduction from one of your connections. The secret is not to ask them for a job directly, but to figure out their pain points and learn more about the industry. 

Bonus Tip 

Here are some of my favourite remote companies hiring technical talents in 2022: Doximity, Analogteams, Hubstaffapp, Logikcull, Buildbookhq, Cointracker_io, Close.io, and Usepilot.

 

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