In 2023, EvoTalents experienced a year of expansion. We decided to delegate sourcing to new people, and that's how two skilled sourcers joined our team. We became the recruiting agency that separated the roles of recruiter and sourcer. This decision significantly contributed to expediting the quality closure of vacancies. In the summer, Anastasiia joined our team, and she has been working at EvoTalents for almost six months now. To learn more about her and her approach to sourcing, we decided to ask Anastasiia a few questions.
Our favorite interview format. Enjoy reading!
Let's start with an introduction. Please tell us about yourself: where you're from, your hobbies, dreams, and interests.
I'm Anastasiia, from Zhytomyr, although I lived in Kyiv for the last 15 years. For native Kyiv citizens, of whom there are not many left, the association arises precisely from the city where I came from. Since the beginning of the war, I moved back to Zhytomyr because it's safer here, so now I split my time between two cities.
I love reading, it sounds cliché, like in those questionnaires your school friends gave you to fill out with details about your friends, hobbies, favorite color, etc. But I love reading detective stories, especially Agatha Christie and her Belgian detective Hercule Poirot. My love for this character goes way back, so I have my own collection of books about his investigations at home. I believe in our publishing houses, which have recently started translating Christie's works into Ukrainian to update my collection, which is currently in Russian. Unfortunately. I dream of reading all that English detective classics. But I don't only read detective stories, occasionally novels, psychology, and something with a beautiful cover from publishers. If you go to bookstores, you'll understand what I mean.
How long have you been involved in sourcing, and how did you learn about this field?
I've been studying sourcing for two years now. By education, I'm a journalist, and if it weren't for the war, I would probably continue in that field, although I occasionally thought about changing my profession. But when you've completed your education and work in the field, finding time to learn something new is challenging. Considering the pace of our life before the war, it was a constant postponement of all questions for later. So, maybe I would have wanted to change something back then, but the war changed everything.
Since the full-scale invasion, I left Kyiv, where I worked at the Verkhovna Rada, which was closed to journalists, and the psychological state was clearly not conducive to dealing with those events. Moreover, relative to the capital, in a small place, my journalistic activities began to fade away. Instead, a window of new opportunities opened. The Ministry of Digital Transformation launched the IT Generation project for training in IT specialties. That's when I thought about trying something new. It took several months of applying, contests, selections, and finally, I was accepted into the program. I studied for free in a new specialty.
Why specifically IT? What do you like most about this direction?
I chose the recruiting direction because sourcing is relatively unpopular in Ukraine. Plus, I wasn't looking for something completely new but something where I could use my previous experience or skills. I approached the choice of a new specialty responsibly, as I advise all career switchers. The better you know yourself and understand your strengths and weaknesses, the more likely you are to enter the field.
At the same time, I studied in two schools for about six months. During the training, I realized that I found it more interesting to search for candidates and communicate with them in writing than to conduct interviews. Perhaps I talked a bit too much in my previous profession. But searching for someone or something felt like a continuation of what I knew and could do. The only thing was to learn how to do it in the IT world. Now all the juniors, especially switchers, who started looking for a job after courses, will understand me because it's quite a challenge. Many candidates, few vacancies, and experience are required everywhere. But I started looking for a job while still studying. Since sourcing was a relatively new direction for us, some companies were specifically looking for sourcers, not recruiters. So I applied for a sourcer position and found my first job after completing the courses. However, I wouldn't call it a great success. The position was often experimental. So, even though I got the job, it lasted for three months, after which the company decided to return sourcing to the recruiter's responsibilities. Yes, I was unemployed again.
Next was unpaid internship at a Ukrainian agency and job searching.
How did you come across EvoTalents? What do you like about working here?
Thinking about all those events and tears now, I am glad that everything turned out this way. Every junior goes through a period when they wonder if they made the right decision, perhaps this risk was unjustified. I was very upset that I couldn't find a job for a long time, but I continued my search. In fact, my job at that time was job searching.
During that period, EvoTalents decided to expand their team, and I applied to them for the Sourcer position. I was very impressed by the speed of the hiring process. Moreover, at the final stage, I had interviews with both the Founder, Olena, and the COO, Yulia. The responsibility for hiring a junior into the team intrigued me because many companies do not have high expectations for this position. For me, the agency confirmed many statuses: they care about who they hire, they are seriously focused on results, and people and team building are important to them. At that time, I had several interviews in different companies, but probably the decisive factor in accepting the offer was the people.
Having worked here for almost six months now, I am once again convinced that I made the right choice. You can openly discuss the concerns that bother you, and everyone on the team is always ready to help you solve problems. Also, for a junior, it is essential to develop. Thanks to EvoTalents.School, I constantly attend webinars, take courses, and have the opportunity to connect with cool professionals who motivate me.
What do you think are the most common mistakes that sourcers often make in their work? How can they be avoided?
I would highlight the top 5 mistakes that can definitely worsen a sourcer's work:
- Not analyzing the market and not creating a search strategy.
- Not using automation to speed up the work.
- Using template texts.
- Not building communication for the future with candidates.
- Neglecting learning when there is a job.
I would advise not to forget to analyze your work and think not from the sourcer's perspective but from the candidate's point of view.
What is your approach to communicating with candidates?
Actually, the approach to candidates varies, influenced by many factors such as the position, work experience, online presence, comments, the company where the candidate works, and so on. I write to some people quite formally, while to others, it feels like chatting with an old friend. I may spend more time searching other social media to understand the candidate's interests. But one thing I'm sure of: a personalized approach is one of your trump cards in sourcing. We all like attention, so it's good to remember and use it when interacting with others.
For example, recently I was looking for developers for a product company and needed to find a candidate who matched many requirements. So when I was searching for people, I noticed that one guy had a background image on LinkedIn featuring a character from the "The Mandalorian" series. It became a cool way to personalize my message and get a response, especially since communication in such cases becomes much warmer. This is the way.
What part of your job can you consider the most challenging? Why?
Building the right communication with another person. It's a very delicate and energy-consuming process because you don't know the person's mood, whether they are ready to communicate, and many other factors. My job is to clarify the candidate's openness to job opportunities, but many people consider "sourcers-recruiters" annoying and don't want to talk to them. Due to the unprofessionalism of some people, I understand candidates in this regard, but judging everyone by one person is not a good idea.
In sourcing, there can be many communications that don't immediately bring results but take a lot of time and energy. You don't want everything to turn into a routine of writing template letters. It's challenging sometimes to balance being resourceful and not burning out.
What do you like most about sourcing? Why?
My favorite part of sourcing is when the candidate is interested in the offer, and the company is interested in the candidate. This is the result of your work - finding this match. I also enjoy receiving great feedback from communication. When someone appreciates your approach. As one girl from STB said, "In tennis, I love tennis the most," and I say, "In sourcing, I love sourcing the most"
