Posted by Jonathan Kidder on January 25, 2023February 27, 2023

During economic downturns, recruiters can use the opportunity to establish a talent pipeline for future candidates by utilizing various internal and external online resources. Use this valuable time to create and build a Talent Pipeline.

I had this recent thought: how could I quickly build a Talent Pipeline since we don’t know when the hiring switch will go on? I would need to create some that quick and help effectively keep leads warm.

What is a Talent Pipeline?

A talent pipeline is a process used by organizations to identify and develop potential candidates for future job openings. This can involve recruiting and training employees for specific roles, as well as identifying high-potential employees and providing them with career development opportunities. The goal of a talent pipeline is to have a pool of qualified candidates ready for advancement within the organization, which can help to reduce the time and cost of recruiting for open positions.

Why Should you Build a Talent Pipeline?

Cost-effective: Having a talent pipeline in place allows recruiters to fill open positions quickly and efficiently, reducing the time and money spent on recruiting efforts.

Time-saving: With a pool of pre-qualified candidates ready to go, recruiters can fill open positions faster and with less effort.

Quality of hires: By identifying and developing potential candidates, recruiters can ensure that the candidates they bring in are a good fit for the company and are more likely to be successful in their roles.

Anticipating future needs: By anticipating future growth or changes that might impact hiring needs, recruiters can be proactive in identifying and developing candidates for those roles in advance.

Better retention: Hiring employees from the talent pipeline could lead to better retention as these employees are more likely to be a good fit for the company and have a better sense of the company’s culture and values.

Competitive advantage: Having a talent pipeline in place can give an organization a competitive advantage by ensuring they have a steady flow of talented and qualified candidates ready to fill open positions as they arise.

Forecast Future Hiring Needs

Begin by gaining a thorough comprehension of your company’s overall plan. In other words, consider the roles that need to be occupied currently and also forecast future expansion or modifications that may influence your recruitment requirements.

Creating a Talent Sprint

A Talent Sourcing Sprint is a brief, time-bound period where scrum or agile teams can accomplish a specific task. This approach, commonly used in software development, allows teams to draft, design, prototype or construct a functional solution into a deliverable outcome. Each sprint has a specific objective to be achieved within the project. Create a goal for your recruiting team – focus on specific roles that you want to build a pipeline for and track results.

Focus on Advanced Talent Sourcing Strategies

In a highly competitive job market, candidate sourcing is a vital aspect and a necessary recruiting skill to acquire the best candidates. It is an essential step in identifying the right talent for current or future positions that match the required education, skills, and interests. It includes searching for both passive and active candidates.

Pull all of your leads into an easy to follow CSV format. This will make it easy to track where leads are in the process and will also allow you to upload this format into an email campaign tool later on.

Source in your ATS systems

It is important to review applicants in an ATS (Applicant Tracking System) because it allows the organization to efficiently and effectively evaluate candidates based on their qualifications and experience, as well as identify potential candidates that may be a good fit for the open position. Additionally, it allows the organization to keep track of the progress of the hiring process and communication with candidates, and ensures compliance with legal and regulatory requirements. It also provides data that can be used to analyze and improve the hiring process over time. I wrote an article that goes more into detail on this topic (here).

Keeping Leads Warm

As a recruiter, it is important to strike a balance while nurturing candidates. It is essential to maintain connections with the individuals in your pipeline, however, you don’t want to become a nuisance to them. Avoid overwhelming them with excessive job listings, instead, share content that is related to their interests or past discussions that you have had with them.

Create an Email Campaign that Gives Monthly Updates

Creating multiple points of contact with candidates can increase the likelihood of delivering a positive experience, but it also increases the risk of a negative experience. In today’s job market, where candidate experience is crucial, a poor experience can have a significant impact. Even with minimal interaction, it is possible to leave a negative impression. Research by Aptitude Research found that the majority of applicants who are not selected, 58%, do not receive any response from the employer.

Build a list using LinkedIn – Jung Kim Tip

You can also target individuals that have listed a public email on their LinkedIn profile. You’ll still want to personalize to the best of your ability as it’s an open door to engage when you see an email listed on a LinkedIn profile.

You can copy/paste the following search string inside of LIR and include additional search criteria as many of the profiles will have public emails listed:

(“if you’re interested in chatting” OR “if you are interested in chatting” OR “if you’re interested on chatting” OR “if you are interested on chatting” OR “if interested in chatting” OR “if interested on chatting” OR “if you desire chatting” OR “if you desire to chat” OR “if you want to chat” OR “if you’re interested in talking” OR “if you are interested in talking” OR “if you’re interested on talking” OR “if you are interested on talking” OR “email me” OR “contact me” OR “message me”)

Final Thoughts

Although building a talent pipeline may require a significant amount of effort initially, it is a valuable investment for any company regardless of its size or nature. By implementing a talent pipeline, you will not only simplify the recruitment process but also attract more skilled, committed and contented candidates who will have a positive impact on your organization.

How ChatGPT May Push Talent Sourcing into a Future State

Spring Cleaning your ATS Systems

Follow me

Jonathan Kidder

With more than 12 years of recruitment experience, Jonathan has helped startups and small businesses find the talent they need. He runs the blog WizardSourcer, which explores the latest trends in talent sourcing, provides reviews of recruitment tools, and features interviews with prominent figures in the industry.