Once again, I had the chance to join my peers (and friends) from the European sourcing community at the Sourcing Summit 2024 in Amsterdam! As always, it was a great mix of “Wow!”, “Oh, I already knew that”, and “Hey, so good to see you again!”.
The Sourcing Summit Europe (SOSU) started in 2013 and has been gathering the best European sourcers every year since. They share their best practices, hacks, and visions with an audience of HR professionals, recruiters, Talent Acquisition specialists, and sourcing enthusiasts.Why do they do it? Some might say for visibility, but it’s mainly because one of the key values in the sourcing profession is sharing best practices for the greater good (just like when Volvo made their three-point seatbelt patent open for public use, benefiting the community).
SOSU is therefore an unmissable event for any sourcing expert who wants to stay up to date and efficient in their role. A huge thank you to Phil Tusing, the founder, and to the entire team who makes it all possible, including Kim and Gordon Lokenberg, Wim Dammans, Elizabeth Lembke, and Bas Westland.
Here are some key takeaways from this year’s edition (non-exhaustive as I couldn’t attend all the conferences!):
1. Adapting sourcing to local cultures - by Gabi Preston-Phypers
Gabi showed us, backed by data, the importance of questioning your assumptions when sourcing internationally. Job titles, seniority levels, and qualifications vary between regions.
Key takeaway: Use PerplexityAI to challenge your assumptions and verify the local reality.
2. Structuring and documenting processes - by Matthew Mercer-Elgenia
Matthew reminded us that to boost productivity, two things are essential:
Structuring the Talent Acquisition process from end to end,
Documenting any changes in the process.
This sounds basic, but how many companies (or clients) do not have structured processes?
Key takeaway: Documenting helps identify bottlenecks and improve processes.
3. The secrets of sourcing on LinkedIn Recruiter - by Donatien Mahieu
Donatien shared tips on how to optimize searches on LinkedIn Recruiter, highlighting that LinkedIn's algorithm is unpredictable. He also explained how to use advanced Boolean operators to refine searches.Key takeaway: Review and master advanced Boolean operators.
Here’s his helpful link: Notion Search Secret Operators.
4. Creating a Chrome extension with ChatGPT - by Enrico Heidelberg
Enrico demonstrated how he developed a simple Chrome extension to search for a term across multiple websites, with the help of ChatGPT.
Bonus: He documented the entire process!
Check out his GitHub: GitHub Enrico Heidelberg.
5. Generative AI at SFEIR - by Vanessa Perillat
Vanessa shared a real-world use case of how SFEIR’s Talent Acquisition teams developed an internal generative AI platform to automate various tasks: drafting job descriptions, outreach messages, scorecards, and more.
Key takeaway: An inspiring project that combines technology with data control.
6. Talent Intelligence & sourcing - by Guillaume Lhote
Guillaume showed us that sourcing is great, but mixing it with Talent Intelligence is even better. Using marketing and procurement techniques to anticipate talent movements allows for more targeted sourcing efforts.
Key takeaway: Talent Intelligence helps to anticipate and optimize recruitment strategies.
7. Automation and AI - by Marcel Van Der Meer
Marcel shared a list of AI tools he uses to automate time-consuming tasks, such as Zapier or NapkinAI.
Bonus: He also revealed a hack to access the list of a company’s followers on LinkedIn (but shhh, it’s a secret!).
8. The “Plotting” technique - by Barbara Braehmer
Barbara shared her journey from procurement to sourcing, explaining how she uses the Plotting technique to structure her approaches on LinkedIn.
Key takeaway: Save multiple searches for the same role on LinkedIn to train the algorithm to better understand your needs.
9. Market Mapping and Talent Intelligence - by Pierre André Fortin
Pierre showed us how he uses Market Mapping before starting any sourcing mission. This helps him identify competitors and understand key educational backgrounds for his targets.
Bonus: Use PerplexityAI to find relevant information, then feed ChatGPT with these sources to extract the data you need.
In conclusion
These two days were extremely rich in learning and also enjoyable, as I had the chance to catch up with many international sourcers to share practices or simply catch up.
And this time we had the chance to have a sourcer with an Eminem's like flow who bring us a sourcing rap !
If you’ve never been to the Sourcing Summit and you work with candidate sourcing on networks, I strongly encourage you to attend at least once! You’re bound to learn something, and you’ll definitely be inspired by the energy of the people there.
See you at the next SOSU!
Great summary and could not agree more: you, at least have to join once in your lifetime.