Key Takeaways
While traditional talent sourcers attend networking events to find candidates, talent sourcing VAs use social media platforms, online job boards and digital tools.
To speed up recruitment, talent sourcing virtual assistants can utilize Boolean search and automation tools for tracking applications and parsing resumes.
Since talent sourcing involves dealing with anxious candidates and recent graduates, look for a VA with strong communication skills and an empathetic, supportive personality.
The recruitment industry is ever-evolving and fast-paced. It can be challenging to keep up.
A virtual assistant (VA) might help you here!
Talent sourcing VAs can handle multiple tasks for you—creating job postings, networking on social media and managing talent pipelines. Assistance with these tasks can streamline the entire hiring process.
This article explores the responsibilities of talent sourcing VAs, the benefits they offer and the essential skills they should possess.
Find out how building a virtual team with competent talent acquisition VAs can save you time and resources!
What Is a Talent Sourcing Virtual Assistant?
In simple terms, talent sourcing is searching for and identifying potential candidates to fill a vacancy or a new role at a company.
It’s an ongoing and long-term process. It also involves analyzing current staff, researching the market, generating leads and building connections.
A virtual assistant can help an organization with many tasks.
While traditional talent sourcers may attend networking events to find candidates, talent sourcing VAs use social media platforms, online job boards and digital tools for collaboration, research and communication.
Talent Sourcing vs Recruitment
Talent sourcing and recruitment are overlapping yet distinct processes during hiring.
Both recruitment and talent sourcing teams perform tasks like posting jobs, connecting with candidates and screening applications. However, their goals and responsibilities are different.
Let’s compare the two to find out the similarities and differences.
| Factor | Talent Sourcing | Recruitment |
|---|---|---|
| Goal | To identify and engage potential candidates, build a talent pool and convert passive leads. | To fill immediate vacancies and meet staffing needs by inviting qualified candidates. |
| Duration | Continuous, long-term process. | Short-term process. |
| Activities | Analyzing current staff, researching, networking, employer branding and connecting with candidates. | Posting about the job, screening applications, interviewing potential candidates and hiring. |
| Tools | Boolean search tools and candidate relationship management (CRM) tools. | Application tracking systems (ATS), job boards, databases, scheduling and assessment tools. |
Benefits of Hiring Talent Sourcing Virtual Assistants
Hiring a virtual assistant for talent sourcing streamlines HR operations. An improved talent acquisition and recruitment process can enhance the quality of your workforce, boost efficiency and help you form strong and agile teams.
Let’s break down all the benefits!
Reduce Costs
According to SmartRecruiters’ 2024 Business Leaders Survey, 57% of companies spend 40% of their HR budget on talent acquisition, while 20% devote 60% of their budget to it.
This shows that the traditional recruitment system is expensive and inefficient. If done better, these costs can be allocated to core business tasks and strategic plans.
Expenses like job postings, screening systems, recruitment marketing and advertising cannot be compromised. However, by outsourcing virtual assistants, you save on payroll and employee benefits costs.
Hiring remote workers for talent sourcing also lets you cut expenditures on utilities, equipment and office space.
Moreover, a team of virtual assistants is more flexible and scalable in comparison to full-time employees. You can expand or downsize your team based on workload or adjust working hours according to the business season.
Build a Talented Team
A good talent sourcing virtual assistant can create a talent pipeline for your company.
They can identify high-quality, passive candidates you might not find via standard job postings. Through extensive market research and CRM tools, these VAs add skilled individuals to your talent pool.
Moreover, they can analyze your staffing needs and form a long-term strategy to fill vacancies with higher efficiency.
Your VA can also proactively engage with potential candidates and explain your goals and expectations to them. By understanding job-seekers’ career expectations, VAs help you choose the right fit for your company.
This can also boost retention since candidates who understand what the job entails for their future tend to stay for a longer time.
Improve Brand Identity
In today’s dynamic and competitive business environment, employer branding and company identity are crucial. Talent sourcing virtual assistants can improve your brand identity by representing your company well.
They can work closely with marketing and HR teams to build a captivating image for the company. This involves curating job descriptions, showcasing company culture and putting out employee testimonials.
They can also use social media to boost your online visibility. This digital reach can ultimately attract more applicants.
Engage With Potential Candidates
Engagement with candidates is key to building a talent pool. Talent sourcing virtual assistants initiate and maintain relationships with both active and passive leads.
While email campaigns and social media interactions reinforce brand identity, timely follow-ups are needed to retain candidates’ interest. VAs ensure this by keeping prospects updated about their application.
This also fosters a sense of trust and security early on. Your VA can even provide constructive feedback to applicants.
Such continuous engagement creates a positive experience for candidates, helping you retain more leads during the hiring process.
Maintain Effective Communication
During applications, assessments and interviews, candidates are often anxious and confused.
Talent sourcing VAs can respond quickly to queries and maintain clear communication to put applicants at ease.
They can also use ATS and CRM systems to give real-time updates and create feedback loops. This showcases your company’s commitment to transparency with candidates and helps form excellent connections.
Talent sourcing requires collaboration across many departments. Remember to ensure effective communication for smooth workflows.
Use the Best Technology
Business leaders are spending too much time on the tactical aspects of talent acquisition, which is unsustainable in a fast-moving business environment.
Shiran Yaroslavsky, SVP of Product, SmartRecruiters.
Automating these processes will free up time for more strategic work.
A large amount of time, effort and money goes into the recruitment process.
Tech-savvy talent sourcing virtual assistants can utilize automation technologies to make things easier. They can use ATS platforms that speed up hiring by tracking applications, parsing resumes and evaluating candidates. VAs can also streamline communications using CRM tools.
Moreover, they can leverage AI-powered tools to automate repetitive processes and use Boolean search techniques, data analytics and predictive analytics to gain insights into unknown trends.
In this way, technically proficient VAs can help you leverage the best technology for higher productivity and efficiency.
Expand Global Reach
Employing global virtual teams can bring wider perspectives, unique ideas and innovative solutions to the table.
Since most virtual assistants work worldwide, they have practical knowledge about different markets in various countries.
Therefore, overseas virtual assistants can help you tap into global markets. They can find top passive candidates through creative methods like niche job boards and local social media platforms.
Talent sourcing VAs are also good at searching and networking with leads. By carrying out outreach campaigns across multiple channels, they can connect you to a diverse and inclusive talent pool.
Responsibilities of a Talent Sourcing Virtual Assistant
Now that you know why you should hire a talent sourcing virtual assistant, let’s explore what they can do for you.
Their responsibilities can differ depending on the needs of the workplace.
Curating Job Descriptions
When you have a vacancy, the first step is to create a job description for the position.
Since they’re a potential employee’s first impression of your company, it’s important to curate an honest but compelling job description.
A talent sourcing virtual assistant can collaborate with your HR team to create a specific and clear job overview. They can list the required qualifications, certifications, hard and soft skills and experience for the role.
Your VA can also format the descriptions according to the job boards where they will be posted. Moreover, they can ensure your job listings are accurate, precise and up-to-date with current industry standards.
Outlining the Ideal Candidate
Unlike job descriptions, an ideal candidate profile is an internal document for departments involved in recruitment. Defining your ideal candidate creates a greater understanding of the role and helps make informed hiring decisions.
In the long term, this can enhance employee retention, build a talent pipeline and save future hiring time and costs.
Virtual assistants can collaborate with talent acquisition and HR teams to outline the ideal candidate for you. This includes educational qualifications, years of experience, industry expertise, technical skills and soft skills.
Doing so helps you find a good cultural fit who’s compatible with the team.
Researching Industry Trends
Research is the cornerstone for finding and building a strong talent pool. It allows companies to remain up-to-date with dynamic industry standards.
Talent sourcing virtual assistants can help you with this. They stay updated on industry trends and hiring practices and analyze current benchmarks for salary expectations. Your VA can also identify the availability of talent based on roles and locations.
By diving deep into industry trends, newer networking channels and job board platforms, virtual assistants provide fresh insights and outlooks.
Finding Potential Candidates
Virtual assistants use online platforms and Boolean search techniques to find potential candidates. They can scour job boards and social media, network with industry professionals and partner with universities to reach more and more qualified candidates.
Your VA can also:
- Review online portfolios to shortlist candidates who fit your expectations.
- Maintain a lead database and categorize, filter and analyze it.
- Assist in recruitment marketing to help you attract top candidates.
By hiring a talent sourcing virtual assistant skilled in research and networking, you can build a diverse talent pool for your company.
Establishing Connections With Candidates
After discovering potential candidates, the next step is to establish a connection. Talent sourcing VAs can reach out to candidates through emails, virtual networking events or professional networking platforms like LinkedIn.
They can customize messages for individuals and highlight the benefits of taking the job. This also gives an opportunity for employer branding.
The next step is to build rapport and foster trust. Your virtual assistant can hold interactive virtual meetings, communicate via social media and engage candidates to gauge their interest.
Eventually, these efforts can convert passive leads. If not, it still reinforces your company’s reputation.
Screening Applications
Once you have active candidates, talent sourcing virtual assistants can screen applications to find the best fit for the role.
This is an extensive process that includes reviewing resumes and cover letters to see if they meet the qualifications, experience and soft skills requirements. It also involves verifying credentials and checking references.
Your VA can record screening results, provide candidates with feedback and notify them about their application status. This keeps your resources organized and updates applicants about the next steps in the hiring process, such as assessments, interviews and onboarding.
Skills To Look For in a Talent Sourcing Virtual Assistant
For effective talent sourcing, you need a technically fluent, reliable and adaptable virtual assistant. Here are the key hard and soft skills to look for when hiring a talent sourcing virtual assistant.
Hard Skills
Technical Proficiency
The talent sourcing and recruitment process uses technology to streamline hiring. Some of the emerging and commonly used technologies in the HR process are:
- Applicant tracking systems (ATS)
- Candidate relationship management (CRM) platforms
- Reference checking software
- Recruitment marketing automation tools
- Mobile recruitment
- Programmatic recruitment
- Predictive analytics
- Emailing and scheduling tools
- Chatbots
- Inclusive and diverse hiring platforms
Although a VA may not be familiar with all the tools, they should be tech-savvy and resourceful. These qualities help them learn and adapt to any software and platforms needed for your organization.
Job Posting Experience
A talent sourcing virtual assistant should be able to craft job descriptions and post them on various job boards. It includes writing, editing and proofreading the description.
They should also know how to tailor postings according to each platform, SEO-optimize listings and comply with specific platform terms.
Social Media Knowledge
Social media platforms, both professional and personal, are effective channels to source candidates.
A talent sourcing VA should be able to create posts that reflect your brand identity. This helps attract potential candidates across diverse, niche and local social media platforms.
Knowledge of advanced search and analytics is also helpful for reaching target audiences, improving visibility and monitoring trends. VAs well-versed in these can boost reach and engagement using the right keywords and analytics features.
Research and Analysis
According to Mordor Intelligence, the HR analytics market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 13.6%, going from $5.03 billion in 2025 to $9.52 billion in 2030.
This is an indicator of the growing use of AI in recruitment as well.
AI tools can reduce cost-per-hire, bring out fresh trends and patterns and save time and effort. Machine learning techniques like classification, prediction and regression can make reliable predictions about potential candidates and reduce bias.
According to McKinsey & Company, people analytics boost efficiency by 80%, improve productivity by 25% and reduce employee turnover by 50%.
Virtual assistants equipped with technical knowledge of AI algorithms and data analysis can find insightful information and help you make better decisions.
Soft Skills
Networking
A talent sourcing virtual should be able to build professional relationships. They must engage in conversations, maintain connections and turn passive leads into active ones.
Within the organization, the virtual assistant must be able to collaborate across teams and departments to ensure a smooth and accurate flow of information.
Organizational Skills
Excellent organizational skills are important for managing databases and talent pipelines at work.
Talent sourcing includes a lot of tasks that need to be done simultaneously, like connecting with candidates, coordinating with HR teams and researching. A competent virtual assistant should be able to prioritize tasks, maintain records and schedule meetings.
A structured approach is needed to carry out these tasks with optimal productivity. You need to look for someone who can develop their workflow and set a pace for themselves.
Adaptability
With emerging technologies and market changes, there’s a constant necessity to come up with newer strategies to meet dynamic needs.
Virtual assistants should be flexible and resourceful. They should be willing to learn about new tools, keep up with industry trends and overcome challenges independently.
Empathy
Talent sourcing means being involved with professionals who are looking to start or grow their careers.
A talent sourcing virtual assistant should be empathetic and create a positive and transparent environment for candidates. They should be able to listen attentively, offer support, converse with sensitivity and maintain timely communication.
Not sure where you can find a VA with all these qualities? Let a virtual assistant staffing agency do the job for you!
These companies are experts at finding top global talent and can match you with candidates who meet all your requirements.
Read More: 30+ Questions To Ask a Virtual Assistant Before Hiring
Wrapping Up
A talent sourcing virtual assistant can draft job descriptions, curate ideal candidate profiles, research talent markets, find potential candidates, establish connections and screen applicants.
Hiring these VAs cuts costs, brings in global talent, improves employer branding and expands your reach.
Zenius can make your hunt for a skilled, pre-vetted talent sourcing VA easier.
You’ll save on expenses like payroll, employee benefits and overhead charges. Since we handle all legal formalities, you won’t have to worry about taxes and statutory regulations either!
