Sourcing and Outreach Best Practices

When it comes to building a successful recruiting engine, sourcing and outreach are crucial components. Here are some best practices to help you get started:

Sourcing

1. Define Your Ideal Candidate: Start by creating a candidate persona that outlines the qualities and qualifications you are looking for in a candidate. Some important criteria to think about are the following:
1. Years of experience
2. Target companies to hire from
3. Location
4. Industry
2. Relevant Startup Experience: The best candidates are usually folks who have a blend of big tech and early-startup experience, as they’ve had the training from prominent tech companies alongside the exposure of wearing multiple hats in a fast-paced and high-growth startup environment. Additionally, “founding member” and “first [function] hire” are great key words to look for on candidates’ profiles.
3. Tech Stack: In terms of software, consider LinkedIn Recruiter Lite as a cost-effective option (limited to 3rd-degree connections) or LinkedIn Recruiter if you're high-volume sourcing for multiple roles. Recruit’em is also a great (and free) tool for sourcing candidates.

Outreach

1. Hyperlinks: Linking your website, LinkedIn, recent fundraise announcements, blog posts, etc. is a great way to provide prospective candidates with more context on what you’re building.
2. Mention Current Investors: Highlighting who you’re backed by is a great way to lend credibility to your company and convince top talent to join.
3. Keep It Concise: Your outreach message should be short and to the point. Avoid lengthy introductions and just provide a quick summary of the problem you’re trying to solve and how you plan to solve it.
4. Personalize Your Outreach: Generic outreach messages are less likely to get a response. Personalize your outreach by referencing the candidate's background and experience, and a line on why you think they would be a good fit for the role.
5. 3 Stages of Outreach: A solid email campaign entails three stages; an initial email and two follow-ups. Gem is a great tool for this. In the last stage, ask if they know of anyone within their network who would be a fit if the role isn’t for them.