There has been a huge demand for sourcing tools. Many tools come and go, but some have become very reliable in our efforts to better source talent. Sourcers are keen on the advantages of sourcing tools, but many are still learning the power behind combining sourcing tools to achieve optimal success. This is the first article in a series of posts on how you can combine tools to create sourcing magic.
A similar concept to the game Yu-Gi-Oh, you can combine tools or cards to create magic. Yu Gi Oh is a card game that is based on a well-known children’s show called Yu Gi Oh. In the show, the good guys battle using cards that when combined with particular hologram technology brings the cards to life. It is based on Egyptian mythology. In the game, Yu-Gi-Oh, there are different kinds of cards; there are Spells, Traps and Monster cards. In some cases, you can combine these cards to do something extraordinary. One such example would be Exodia the Forbidden One. If you get all five pieces in your hand, the game is automatically over. While it can be hard to do at times, it is conceivable to win with the strategy. Sourcing can be similar if certain tools are working together to create a winning sourcing strategy that creates sourcing magic.
For example, if you were to find an image of a list of people who attended a conference. The list shows their name, and work email. However, you need more information and precisely personnel details. You can copy these images and use a tool called OneNote, and save them there. You can then use OneNote to extract the data from the image and save it as a CSV via Excel. This CSV can then be loaded into Hiretual (applies only to the team version) or Clearbit, and within a day you will get an updated CSV with social sites, and contact information for all the people.
So let’s look at these tools; OneNote is a Microsoft product that allows for free-form information gathering and collaboration. It also allows you to manipulate some of the information you gather. For example, it can take data from pictures, which is how we used it in the example above.
Excel is a Microsoft spreadsheet product, that is suitable for listing data and manipulating it and saving it in various formats like CSV which is what we used in our example.
One of the newer capabilities of Hiretual is the ability to upload a CSV of potential candidates with certain data points and get back an enhanced list that can include personal emails, phone numbers, Facebook profile, Twitter, Linkedin and more. As in the example above we use this very feature to complete outsourcing magic.
Finally, Clearbit, which is a provides powerful products and data APIs to help your business grow. Contact enrichment, lead generation, financial compliance, and more.
We can combine three tools; OneNote, Excel, and Hiretual or Clearbit that will allow us to come up with a list of people with all the information needed to make them viable candidates, ready to be uploaded to your ATS or CRM. It does not get any better than that, a three-tool combo that takes your sourcing to a whole new level.
Editor’s disclosure: Jeremy Da Costa is a Staffing/Recruiting Marketing Specialist for Hiretual. His father, Dean Da Costa, is also a contributor for ERE Media.