5 Unexpected Emotions Sourcers Experience in a Day

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5 Unexpected Emotions Sourcers Experience in a Day

As a sourcer, there are many different tasks you carry out on a day-to-day basis. 

Sometimes you are searching for resumes or digging through and reviewing LinkedIn profiles, sometimes you are looking for specific contact information or you are deep in research, and so on.

With so many different things going on at any given time, it is no surprise that sourcers experience a wide range of emotions in a short period of time.

Don’t worry sourcing friends, you are not alone.

Here are my top 5 unexpected emotions sourcers experience in a day – what are yours?

1. ELATION

Finding contact info! Phone numbers are probably the most exciting, while personal email addresses are a close second – the level of elation and happiness corresponds directly to how long the process was to find it.

Some of my favorites are when you find someone who actually has their real phone number registered with their personal website using whois.icann.org. Or when you find a “username” on Pipl.com and try it with “@gmail.com” after and then you are able to confirm via Rapportive that it corresponds to the person’s LinkedIn!

2. FRUSTRATION

This one comes up for me most when I go to a person’s LinkedIn profile and it is completely blank. It’s bad enough when they just have their position titles and employers, but the people who don’t even list that, annoy me even more.

What is the point of even creating a profile if you’re not going to put any information on it?

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3. DISBELIEF

An incident that comes to mind most easily is when I am looking at a candidate’s LinkedIn page (let’s call him John), and under the section titled “Advice for contacting John” it says something like “email” or “email works best”….but then John does not list the email address!

Of course, as a sourcer I know I can probably track down an address on my own, but I always feel a little confused why the candidate is making me do that extra work. Are they doing it on purpose or are they just oblivious to the fact that their email address is not automatically listed for them?

Job seekers – follow these simple LI profile tips and keep sourcers from experiencing disbelief, please.

via GIPHY

4. AMUSEMENT

One thing that never fails to provide a laugh is people’s choices for their LinkedIn profile pictures. Whether it’s something funny about the background, facial expression, or inclusion of other people (or animals), job seekers everywhere seem to have a wide range of definitions of what “professional” would be considered.

Pro tip: if you want to be taken seriously, don’t use a bathroom selfie or picture from Halloween as your default photo. Follow these tips and you’ll be all good to go.

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5. SATISFACTION

Of course, this is one of the most pleasant emotions to feel, and probably a big part of the reason we’re all motivated to keep doing our jobs!

The positive moments are the ones that keep you going because they make up for the negative ones. Common sourcer sources of satisfaction include:

  • When the recruiter you send a candidate to tells you “great profile!”
  • When the hiring team compliments you for your work or gives you credit for finding a great candidate.
  • When a candidate says something nice like “Thanks for actually reading my profile, many recruiters don’t.”
  • When a candidate responds to the personalized bit in an email you used to form a genuine connection!
  • Having conversations with potential hires about favorite sports teams, hobbies, and even stand up comedians!

These moments are great reminders that while sourcing and recruiting can sometimes feel like very general, high-volume worlds, really it comes down to individual human connections.

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How does Sourcing make you feel?

The rollercoaster of emotions can be tricky to deal with at times, but for the most part, the ups and downs of technical sourcing keeps things interesting and there is never a dull moment.

Personally, I like being able to take on the different challenges of feeling like a researcher while looking for candidates, a detective while looking for contact info, and a kindred spirit and good writer while crafting emails to connect.

So there you have it, emotions and memes – all in the name of finding the right talent, at the right time for the right job!

Source on sourcers!


Alyssa Lloyd, Sourcer, Objective ParadigmAlyssa Lloyd is a Research and Sourcing Specialist at Objective Paradigm. She is from Pittsburgh, PA, and graduated in 2013 from Northwestern University with a degree in Social Policy and International Studies. Alyssa studied in Australia and has worked in industries such as hospitality, legal, nonprofit, and research institutions. She loves connecting with people over things they have in common, whether it be Hispanic heritage, the ability to speak Chinese, or practicing yoga. She enjoys working in tech recruiting because it makes her feel like she’s part of the world of the TV show Silicon Valley.

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