Frequently Asked Questions for Outbound Recruiting (FAQ)

What is outbound recruiting?

Outbound recruiting is a proactive approach in which recruiters actively search for and contact candidates for a new position. Instead of wasting time waiting for candidates to look for the job, recruiters are proactively offering jobs to the right people.

This proactive approach puts recruiters in control of:

Bringing jobs to people and building meaningful talent relationships

Utilizing real-time data to develop strategic inform recruiting strategies

Identifying target talent and engaging with them - not “posting and praying” that the right candidate finds you

Assessing and successfully addressing DE&I shortcomings in their organization

Contacting candidates directly via their email and not relying on platform-specific messaging channels like LinkedIn InMail

Integrating directly with ATS databases to keep that information up-to-date and streamline workflows.

Using email automation instead of manually sending communications individually

Gaining visibility into candidate engagement progress and optimizing the candidate experience.

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What are the common outbound recruiting strategies that outbound recruiters use?

Some common outbound recruiting strategies that outbound recruiters use include:

Changing their mindset from reactive to proactive:

Actively source for candidates whose experiences and skills are aligned with the job description.

Use a data-driven approach to develop a strategic sourcing plan:

Leverage market insights and analytics to build data-driven and scalable outbound recruiting strategies.

Go beyond traditional job boards and inbound recruiting platforms like LinkedIn to find candidates:

Actively find candidates from different channels like GitHub, Stack Overflow, Kaggle, Upwork, RateMDs, Behance, and more, instead of just LinkedIn or other job boards.

Find solutions that help you directly connect with candidates and scale engagement:

Utilize personalized and individualized outreach strategies to proactively contact suitable candidates through emails, cold-calling, and social media.

ATS integrations to update your database:

Outbound recruiters maximize the value of their existing ATS database by integrating with a platform that helps dedupe and enrich current profiles with updated candidate information.

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How is outbound recruiting different from inbound recruiting?

Inbound recruiting is a reactive approach that requires recruitment marketing materials like job ads, employer branding, career focus sites, and review campaigns to attract potential candidates to come IN (directly apply) to the job in a company.

Whereas, outbound recruiting is a proactive approach that involves cold outreach, direct-to-gate, talent pipelining, passive candidate nurturing, and headhunting with a customized approach to go OUT and “sell” the job opening to potential candidates and encourage them to join the company.

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What are the benefits of switching from inbound to outbound recruiting?

The benefits of switching from inbound to outbound recruiting include:

Increase chances of making better hires with the proactive and personalized outbound approach

Decrease the time to wait for the next qualified candidate to apply for the given job requisition

Lessen the risk of slowing down businesses due to the lack of manpower to drive innovation and growth

Decrease the chances of losing market share with the lack of the right employees in place to succeed

Improve customer satisfaction and ultimately increase business revenue

Lower risk of an increased expense for delayed tasks due to the lack of staff

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What is the first step towards becoming an outbound recruiter?

The first step in becoming an outbound recruiter is a change of mindset - from being reactive to proactive.

Here’s a checklist to help you get started on becoming an outbound recruiting:

You understand the definition of outbound recruiting and how this strategy is used in recruiting

You can differentiate inbound and outbound recruiting strategies and tactics

You have a strategic outbound recruiting plan

You have the proper training and support for yourself and your other outbound recruiting team members

You have the right technology to help support your outbound recruiting efforts

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Why is outbound recruiting important?

Over a decade ago, when there were more people than jobs, recruiters had no problem recruiting candidates by posting job ads online. However, in today’s candidate-driven market, when there are more jobs than candidates, recruiters are doing the same inbound recruiting strategies and “posting and praying” for the next candidate to apply.

Outbound recruiting is essential because, in today’s market, inbound recruiting just doesn’t work anymore to hire top talent and build a scalable business. Recruiters need to proactively understand what the market has to offer and search for the talent that aligns with the criteria recruiters are looking for.

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How do outbound recruiters engage with candidates?

Candidate engagement centers around building meaningful talent relationships, being a helpful resource, and fostering a positive candidate experience. More than 50% of candidates drop out due to a lengthy application process and the lack of response from employers, leading to a negative candidate experience.

To change the fundamental issues in providing the same experience with candidates, outbound recruiters take the initiative to use proactive strategies to provide a more seamless and positive candidate experience throughout the hiring process.

Utilize accessible candidate data to determine what’s important to each candidate and use it during individualized and personalized outreach messages.

Create automated follow-up messages to keep candidates within the hiring process and continuously provide relevant updates and feedback.

Establish clear expectations and needs with cross teams regarding communication channels, timelines, and beyond.

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How can I use market data to inform an outbound recruiting strategy

Outbound recruiters can utilize market data and metrics to create a strategic sourcing plan and workflow. It allows outbound recruiters to see who, where, and when to reach out for a given job requisition.

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How should I leverage my ATS to execute outbound recruiting?

Most recruiters leverage ATS and CRM platforms and these systems are the hub of all candidates who have shown their interest in the organization. A seamless and efficient ATS integration is needed to successfully execute outbound recruiting to have access to enriched and updated candidate profiles to discover the right talent that aligns with the criteria.

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How can outbound recruiting help my organization?

While some organizations are still hoping to wait for the economy to bounce back to “normal” and continue with current and outdated inbound recruiting tactics, there’s a high possibility these organizations will make a bad hire due to the urgent need for labor. However, with outbound recruiting, this proactive approach allows organizations to avoid bad hires while saving them time and resources associated with inbound recruiting. Instead of “posting and praying” for the next candidate to apply, outbound recruiting is the solution to find and effectively engage with top talent to improve the return on investment and help organizations build a scalable and robust team for their businesses in a shorter time.

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