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Oddball Sourcing

By Bryan Johanson, July 30, 2008

The very fact that you were enticed to read this article proves that Oddball Sourcing works. Just the nature of the title allowed us to attract a different audience. As you may have guessed, we're looking for some oddballs – recruiters and sourcers with open minds, creative approaches, and somewhat odd tendencies. You know who you are, and apparently you've got what it takes to be an Oddball Sourcer or you wouldn't be reading this article.

Some people just think differently. Einstein developed most of his theories while watching the sun rise and set. He asked a lot of questions that other people weren't asking like, "How does a beam of light travel through the universe?" and voila – he invented the Theory of Relativity. I recently listened to the book on CD, Freakonomics, by Steven Leavitt. The entire book is about using common sense, logic, and data to answer some interesting and challenging questions. For instance:

Read more articles by this author.

Related Topics:

Newsletter, Sourcing

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How Fast Can You Respond to Change?

1. If drug gangs are such lucrative operations, why do most crack dealers live with their moms?

2. What do public schoolteachers and sumo wrestlers have in common? (Some of them cheat.) Could strategies be devised to detect their deceptions? (Absolutely!)

3. Why has crime dropped so dramatically over the last few years? (The answer – legalized abortion. To understand this answer completely, you'll have to read the book.)

While the answers to these questions seem counter intuitive at first, once you understand how people behave and why they do what they do, the conclusions make perfect sense. It's a fun read if you get a chance.

Oddball Sourcers can learn a great deal by applying the approaches of Einstein and Steven Leavitt's economic theories to sourcing. The power behind Einstein and Steven Leavitt's economic theories is in the questions they ask and the data they use to support the answers. Creativity isn't the goal, although in sourcing it often helps. Sourcing results are what matters. A creative ad that doesn't produce a single qualified candidate is a waste of time and money. Here's how you can tell if you have what it takes to be an Oddball Sourcer.

The Best Sourcing Idea Wins – Full Recruiter Boot Camp or Extreme Sourcing
I'm challenging everyone reading this newsletter to start thinking out of the box. During each of our public workshops we run a mini sourcing contest. We give teams of recruiters 10 minutes to come up with a great sourcing idea. Some are very creative. Often we get creative ad copy like the short intro copy to recruit recruiters. The winner will get a full-ride scholarship to attend our online Recruiter Boot Camp. If the winner has already attended, they will get a scholarship to attend our Extreme Sourcing class which will begin again in September.

The Rules for Oddball Sourcing

Now that you know the rules (see rules 1 and 2 again), go forth and create. We hope to hear from all of you this week. Remember, bragging rights and free training are at stake here. We even may let you participant in one of our free webinars to describe what you did and why it worked.

Here's how you win: Simply submit your most oddball sourcing technique. It can be anything from a creative ad to any other sourcing idea. If you're in a sourcing rut, try something new this week and submit your results. Our team of experts here at the Adler Group will read every entry. Send your emails directly to bryan@adlerconcepts.com with "Oddball Sourcing Contest" as the subject line. Include a brief description of what you did and what results you achieved. We're looking for creativity AND results here.

Here are some Oddball Sourcing ideas to get your creative juices flowing:

• Amazon.com
  Having a tough time finding technical specialists? Go to Amazon.com and find the latest book written on the technical topic you are interested in. Look at the reviews. They almost always give a way to contact the person. Send a creative email or call them up and start networking.
  
• Layoffs? Great!
  Rent a motor home. Drive it right up to the street where the layoffs are happening. Put a banner on the outside saying, "Now hiring – come in for an interview." From each person who comes in, make sure to get 2-3 good names of other people still working at the company who are experts in your areas of most need.
  
• Local churches
  They all have employment people trying to help their flocks upgrade or improve their employment. Extend your employee referral bonus to them for every hired candidate. You only pay if the person is hired.
  
• Bring a friend to work day
  
• Private employee LinkedIn networks

Happy recruiting.