Do you want to hire the right employees for a startup? Do you have a larger company that needs efficient hiring? If so, you need to know the difference between a sourcer and a recruiter.
They may both seem like one and the same thing. But they perform quite unique roles that can also benefit your company differently. One thing’s for sure: without a sourcer or recruiter, you’ll be missing out on so many worthy candidates.
If you want to learn more about a technical sourcer vs recruiter, keep reading. We have prepared this recruiter and technical sourcer guide for you.
What Is a Technical Sourcer?
A technical sourcer identifies and assesses potential candidates for technical roles. They use different tools and methods to find candidates. For example, they may search online, go on social media, or do networking. Once a sourcer finds candidates, these talents will undergo screening and assessment.
What Is a Recruiter?
A professional recruiter focuses on the full life cycle of recruiting. This includes finding and assessing candidates. It also covers managing the entire recruitment process. Recruiters are usually more focused on customer service. They often liaise with hiring managers and candidates throughout the process.
Salient Differences Between the Two
While both positions are similar, there are some key differences between the two. Technical sourcers are more concerned with finding candidates with specific technical skills. They are not concerned with any other process other than identifying potential recruits.
Recruiters are more focused on finding candidates with the right qualifications and fit for the company. Technical sourcers typically use various online tools and resources to find candidates.
Recruiters may also use networking and personal connections to perform their job. Both roles require excellent interpersonal and communication skills.
Technical sourcing requires a strong understanding of technology and calls for an ability to identify technical skills in candidates.
Technical sourcers generally report to the IT department. On the other hand, recruiters report to the HR department.
Finally, recruiters, being in charge of the whole hiring process, are more exposed to the unique difficulties of recruitment in the present time.
Challenges & Rewards
A technical sourcer will oftentimes find themselves having to cold-contact potential candidates. This can be a challenging and time-consuming process, but the rewards are great if they are able to find a hidden gem.
On the other hand, a recruiter will also have to deal with a lot of rejection. Many candidates may refuse the role they are being offered. However, there are processes in place to address this loophole if it occurs.
In any case, both technical sourcers and recruiters can do their jobs in a virtual capacity, considering the many known benefits of recruiting remotely.
The COVID-19 pandemic has played a big role in the popularity of remote recruitment. On the brighter side, this has helped companies reduce their costs while trying to get the most out of the new normal way of things.
Combining the Two Roles
Depending on the company’s particular needs, a technical sourcer and a recruiter can combine into a single role for one person. On the other hand, more than one person within the organization may be assigned the job of a sourcer and a recruiter.
Whether or not the two positions should be rolled into one has something to do with the size of the company.
Having fewer employees, smaller companies are likely to fuse the role of sourcer and recruiter into one position. But there are instances when these two roles are better off separated.
For example, tech companies will usually have one dedicated team that looks for engineers, considering there is currently a low supply of qualified engineers and a high demand for them.
Conversely, when a company looks for candidates for strategic positions, the recruiter and sourcer may wear the same hat. This is because strategic or executive hiring generally relies on outbound sourcing.
A company would often rather be discreet in posting these positions. They know that the jobs’ weight can cause people to change their views of the said company.
Benefits of Keeping the Two Roles Separate
Many companies combine recruiter and technical sourcer into one role. But there remain concrete advantages to keeping the two distinct and separate. These include:
Efficiency
When you overwhelm one person or team with both recruiter and sourcer duties, their efficiency suffers. When clearly defined for their roles, the sourcer and recruiter can work more efficiently. They can also hold themselves to a higher standard.
Lower Cost
Lower hiring efficiency can translate to a higher overall cost of recruitment. When it takes longer for a company to hire people, this increases the cost of hiring each person.
Accuracy
Through the efforts of the technical sourcer, the recruiter can immediately pull higher-quality candidates from the pipeline while the sourcer continues to replenish the pool with equally, if not more, talented potential recruits.
Technical Sourcer vs Recruiter: The Bottom Line
While both jobs are related to talent acquisition, there are crucial differences between a technical sourcer vs recruiter. The former is focused on finding candidates for technical positions, while the latter is involved in the entire recruitment process.
If you’re interested in becoming a sourcer or recruiter, it’s important to understand what separates the two. Both roles also require different skill sets and knowledge, so decide which one is right for you before pursuing a career in either field.
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