Sourcing vs Recruiting: Understanding the Key Differences

Sourcing and recruiting are both essential elements of the recruitment process. However, while they may appear the same at first glance, they have some significant differences that recruiters need to understand. Both are essential in attracting and placing top talent, but each serves a different role within the recruitment process.

Let's explore the key differences (and similarities) between sourcing and recruiting and their different goals and methods to help you understand where each belongs within your recruitment strategy. 

The main difference between sourcing and recruiting is the focus of each. Sourcing in recruitment identifies and engages potential candidates while recruiting refers to evaluating, interviewing and hiring the best talent for the role.

Sourcing and recruitment work closely together to help businesses identify and secure candidates. While sourcing identifies potential suitable passive and active candidates, recruiting takes it further by engaging, assessing and finalising the hiring process. Most successful recruitment agencies cover both activities to achieve the best results in filling roles for their clients. Now, let's look at the core elements that differentiate sourcing from recruiting.

Passive vs active candidates

Sourcing targets passive candidates who are considered a good match due to their experience and skills. They may not be actively job-hunting right now, but they may be in the future. Passive candidates are typically found through networking, social media or referrals. Meanwhile, recruiting focuses on active candidates seeking a new role who may have applied for a job within the company.

Timeline

Sourcing and recruiting take place at different stages of the recruitment process. Sourcing usually occurs initially as it is focused on identifying a pool of potentially suitable candidates. Once they have been identified, the recruitment process can begin. This involves reviewing applications, interviews, and assessments, eventually leading to the final hiring decisions. Recruiting is a longer process consisting of several stages and can take a few weeks to several months to complete.

Goals

Sourcing and recruiting have different goals. Sourcing aims to create a strong pipeline of potential candidates that recruiters can select from when positions are to be filled. Meanwhile, the main objective of recruiting is to find the right candidate within that pool of candidates that best fits the role and company culture. So, sourcing provides the quantity, while recruiting ensures the quality of new hires as well, this is measured by key recruitment performance indicators (KPIs).

Responsibilities

Within a recruitment agency, there are specific roles that focus on either sourcing or recruiting. Sourcers are typically responsible for building a group of qualified prospective candidates. They use various techniques to identify suitable candidates, including competitive research and social media outreach through professional platforms like LinkedIn. Once a pool of potential candidates has been identified, recruiters take over, posting job openings, building relationships, assessing candidates' suitability, reviewing applications and guiding them through the recruitment process.

Sourcing is the first step in the talent acquisition process and is focused on finding and attracting potential candidates to fill vacancies within a company. Through accessing different professional networks, social media platforms and databases, sourcers can pre-screen candidates and build a pool of talent that recruiters can select from. Sourcing recruitment plays a key role in building a strong talent pipeline.

Key responsibilities of sourcing

Sourcers have a unique set of responsibilities within the overall hiring process that are focused on discovering and engaging suitable candidates for available roles. Their key tasks include:

• Collaborating with recruiters to understand job role requirements

• Conducting market research to gain insight into current competitors, market trends and available talent

• Sourcing talent through social media, professional networks and job fairs

• Reaching out to passive candidates with the desired skills and qualifications

• Building a recruitment database of passive candidates

• Screening potential candidates by reviewing CVs, cover letters and online profiles to assess their skills and experience

• Presenting recruiters with shortlisted candidates

The sourcing process

The sourcing process can be divided into three key stages:

1. Identifying talent pools: With a clear idea of what skills, experience and qualifications are required for the role, sourcers research areas where potential candidates may be to identify and build talent pools. This may include professional networking sites, job fairs, industry events and social media platforms.

2. Engaging with candidates: Once suitable candidates are identified, sourcers reach out to them via email, social media messages, direct calls or face-to-face meetings to discuss potential opportunities, gauge their interest and build trust.

3. Qualifying candidates: Once sources have made initial contact with potential candidates, they can then determine whether they have the required skills and experience for available roles. They will then pass on any suitable candidates to the recruitment team, who will take over.

Recruiting is the entire recruitment process, from sourcing, screening and selecting suitable candidates to filling job roles. Once the sourcer has identified candidates and created a solid talent pool to select from, recruiters then take over the rest of the recruitment process. 

They will undertake a fair and systematic selection procedure, reviewing sourced candidates and assessing their suitability for the role and company based on predetermined criteria through interviews and tasks. Once a candidate has successfully completed each step, the recruiter will send them a job offer. For advice on improving your recruiting techniques, check out these recruiting tips.

Key responsibilities of recruiting

The responsibilities of recruiting cover everything from screening potential candidates to making offers and onboarding. For example:

• Creating detailed job descriptions

• Collaborating with the sourcing team to identify desired skills, qualifications and experience

• Screening suitable candidates for interview

• Conducting interviews and assessments

• Assessing candidates' skills and qualifications

• Conducting necessary background and reference checks

• Providing feedback to candidates and clients

• Negotiating offers with successful candidates

• Facilitating onboarding

The recruiting process

The recruitment process can also be divided into three key stages:

• Candidate screening: Reviewing applications and CVs to identify the best potential candidates for the role and organisation.

• Interviewing candidates: Selected candidates are invited for one or more interviews to assess their fit with the job and overall company culture. It's also an opportunity to discuss salary expectations and other benefits accompanying the role.

Making recruitment decisions: After evaluating the interviews, additional assessments and completing background checks, recruiters work closely with their clients to make the final hiring decisions. Once the decision is made, they will approach the successful applicant with a job offer and discuss salary and benefits. Once the candidate has accepted the job offer, the recruiter will oversee the onboarding process, including contracts and orientation.

While there are apparent differences between sourcing and recruiting, both play an integral role in the hiring process. Sourcing and recruitment work closely together to build an effective recruitment plan that involves creating a strong pipeline of talent that ensures only the best candidates are identified, engaged and hired. Aligning these two functions enables recruitment agencies to be more proactive, engage top candidates and move them through the hiring process more effectively.

Traditional methods of screening candidates can be expensive and time-consuming, and there's often a risk of bias or errors. Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) and Candidate Relationship Management (CRM) make the process much more efficient, from building talent pools to filling job roles. CRM and ATS tools from Vincere streamline recruitment by automating tasks, centralising candidate data and tracking interactions. 

If you'd like to see how Vincere can improve your recruitment processes, contact us to request a free demo.