Talent sourcing continues to evolve in the digital age, becoming more specialized and branching off into areas like analytics, email marketing, and social media marketing. Evolution is necessary, since the digital age itself is constantly changing. What works well for a time becomes quickly obsolete when hiring conditions inevitably change. Here are some ways in which talent sourcing continues to evolve and how VC/PE firms can meet these challenges. 1. The social media revolution Social media has ushered in a social revolution that has impacted talent sourcing in important ways. Instead of having control over how talent is approached, talent now knows all about your brand through social media and other online research. While social media can be a powerful force for marketing, it can also turn against your brand in a relative heartbeat and keep talent from considering a job with you. It also takes time and expertise to use social media effectively for talent sourcing. For those who do take the time to figure out how to navigate social media, however, it can accelerate connections with passive candidates and help uncover sources of talent that could not otherwise be accessed. eBook: Using Social Media for Executive Search – Learn how to leverage social media in your executive search process more effectively. 2. The mobile explosion Mobile use has nearly overtaken traditional computing, with resulting challenges for talent sourcing. Mobile users typically want shorter, less complex interactions, which are a necessity anyway because of smaller screens and simpler processors. Talent sourcing specialists need to be aware of the limitations of mobile use, making online resources easy to use and navigate. While mobile applications and mobile-optimized web pages bring the potential to reach more sources of talent, they also risk turning that talent away if best practices are not followed. 3. Brand globalization challenges Sourcing top talent is difficult enough within one country, but more and more brands are becoming global in their reach and branching out into increasing international markets as more countries develop economically. Unfortunately, what works to source talent in one country may not work in a different country with cultural and language differences. Understanding these differences and working with experienced practitioners in those countries can bridge the talent sourcing gap that might otherwise exist. 4. Job boards losing effectiveness Posting your open positions on a job board was once a pretty easy way to get a decent group of resumes, but job postings are no longer nearly as effective as they used to be for talent sourcing. Using other more effective techniques is necessary, even when they take up more time and resources than previous methods. 5. Proliferation of digital marketing techniques Digital marketing techniques work well in the current marketplace, but there are so many different ones today that it is difficult to decide how to spend limited talent sourcing time and dollars. Email marketing, social media, pay-per-click ads, and dozens of different job publishing avenues can easily overwhelm a hiring team until they are not sure what to do next. One way to manage many different talent sourcing techniques more effectively is to use a software solution to streamline and track talent sourcing efforts. ThriveTRM offers solutions to help improve talent sourcing and find the top talent needed to reach profitability.