What is Sourcing / Sourcer?
Sourcing is the first step in the recruitment process and focuses on identifying potential candidates for a role. A sourcer is the person responsible for finding relevant profiles, reviewing CVs or online backgrounds, and checking whether those candidates could be a good fit for the position before the interview process begins.
Importance of Sourcing / Sourcer in IT Recruitment
In IT recruitment, sourcing is especially important because many technical roles are difficult to fill through applications alone. Companies often need recruiters or sourcers to proactively search for software engineers, DevOps specialists, data professionals, cybersecurity experts, and other tech talent across different channels such as LinkedIn, CV databases, job boards, and internal talent pools.
A strong sourcing process helps improve the quality of the candidate pipeline from the beginning. It allows recruitment teams to focus on profiles that are more closely aligned with the required tech stack, level of experience, industry background, and hiring needs. In competitive tech markets, good sourcing can make the difference between a slow hiring process and a successful placement.
Example / Context Use
A company looking for a senior frontend developer may begin the search through sourcing before any interviews take place.
- The sourcer searches for candidates with experience in JavaScript, React, and modern frontend architectures.
- The recruiter or sourcer reviews CVs and online profiles to assess whether the background matches the role.
- The shortlisted candidates are then contacted and moved into the next stages of the recruitment process if there is interest and alignment.
Related Terms
- Boolean Search
- Passive Candidate
- Candidate Pipeline