How to find candidates without waiting for applications

Job ads and candidate sourcing solve different problems

A job ad invites active job seekers to apply. A sponsored ad pays for additional reach. Candidate sourcing looks for people who may fit the role even if they are not browsing job boards. Many teams use both, but sourcing gives the team another option before it buys more exposure for the same role.

LinkedIn describes passive candidates as people who are not actively job hunting but may consider a suitable opportunity. See LinkedIn’s sourcing guide.

Define the hiring outcome before writing search criteria

A useful hiring brief starts with the work that must be done. Write down the result expected in the first six to twelve months, the responsibilities that produce it, and the evidence that would make past experience relevant. This is more useful than starting with a long description of the perfect person.

Job analysis is a standard starting point for structured assessment. The U.S. Office of Personnel Management recommends connecting assessment choices to the work and competencies identified in a job analysis. Read the OPM guide.

Separate hard filters from evaluation criteria

Hard filters decide who enters the search pool. Evaluation criteria help a recruiter compare the people inside it. Mixing the two can exclude good candidates before anyone reviews the evidence.

Hard filter

A real boundary such as location, work authorization, or a required certification.

Criterion

A question that needs judgment, such as whether someone has operated a production system at a similar level of scale.

Preference

Helpful context that should not remove an otherwise strong person from consideration.

The UK Civil Service Commission also separates essential and desirable criteria in its recruitment guidance. Read the guidance.

Review the search before it starts

Review the filters and evaluation criteria before launching a candidate search. Check that each hard filter is truly needed. Rewrite vague criteria until another recruiter could apply them in the same way. Remove requirements that are only habits from an old job description.

Use AI-assisted profile review as a first pass

AI-assisted profile review can organize the first pass, but it should not make the hiring decision. Blosto uses AI to assess the information available in sourced profiles against your criteria. For evaluated profiles, it shows the status and reasoning for each criterion. If evidence is missing, that criterion is marked as unknown.

Unknown does not mean no. It means the profile does not contain enough evidence for that criterion. A recruiter can decide whether to look for more information, ask the candidate, or leave the point unresolved. Profile evidence is not proof that someone is qualified for a role.

UK government guidance on responsible AI in recruitment calls for clear human oversight and an understanding of a tool’s limits. The Information Commissioner’s Office has also reported on transparency and data-minimisation issues in recruitment AI. Read the UK guidance and the ICO audit outcomes.

Make the shortlist a human decision

A shortlist is a working decision by the recruiting team. It is not a certificate that every person is qualified. Review the available evidence, note what is still unknown, and choose who deserves a closer look. You decide which candidates to add to the project shortlist.

If you decide to contact someone, keep the message relevant to the role and give the person a clear reason to respond. A sourced candidate did not ask to enter the process, so the first contact should be easy to understand and easy to decline.

A reusable hiring brief for candidate sourcing

A sourcing brief should be short enough to review in one sitting. Use these prompts to make the search and review rules clear before anyone starts looking at profiles.