Source With SlackThink about your friends.  Some like to communicate via Facebook, others via text message. Some may use Word and others, Google Docs. So if you were tasked to get your friends together and plan a party, what do you use? Considering you have friends who are active in every corner of the social media networks, how do you pick the “best” method of communication for everyone?

Allow me to introduce Slack. Basically, it’s a real-time team communication platform where the members can pick their platform and participate in the Slack conversation using their favorite method of communication.

So what, right? Seems pretty basic. Well, that’s where Slack’s magic lies. It is this simplicity of one feed for all your communication in a central place and integrations with all of your favorite communication tools (Google Drive, Twitter, Recruitee and, of course, Facebook) that make it great. Plus, it’s instantly searchable AND available on any platform.  You can even send gifs.

If there are any sourcer’s reading it, they’re still thinking about that “instantly searchable” part, I’m sure. Just like any social network, there are ways to share information publicly, too, via their open community features. This community feature allows you to find other professionals with a common interest, kind of like a Facebook Group.

And anytime someone creates a group on this completely searchable platform, they’re creating yet another way for you to source on Slack.

Meet Candidates Where They Are.

Now, let’s dig into the features of the public communities. Members can send messages, files, and make comments with other members, not necessarily just colleagues.

In my own perusing of Slack, I found a hack to sourcing candidates right from my stream.

I started by seeking out communities that I wanted to get involved with. Thankfully, Corey Pollock co-founder of Leet handpicked a list of top Slack communities, which is a good starting point. Another place I found communities was on Chit Chats. Chit Chats, formerly “Slack Chats,” is a platform for finding communities [i.e. Python Community] or to find out what’s trending among Slack’s 2.3 million daily users.

What’s next?

Source With SlackChoose which Slack community best fits with the role you’re working on. In my case, I was actively searching for Python developers using Chit Chats. When you find a community you want to join, just enter your email, pick a username and request access. Pretty simple.

The Results Speak for Themselves.

As you can see, Chit Chats returned several open communities right with Python developers. From here, you can select the community you think will help you the most. Join one or join a few, there’s no limit to community participation.

Source With Slack

 

 

Now What?

Recruiter wisdom.

I know that as recruiters, we are always concerned about time-to-fill stats and finding the best candidate in a hurry. But before blasting these communities with jobs, please get approval from the administrator who accepted your invite. These communities are created so people can have open discussions & get instant responses on topics they are passionate about, not as another channel to get spammed.

Now, within the community revealed yet another sourcing strategy in Slack. Using Slack for Candidate SourcingEach community has a team directory that looks like the one on the right. Click on ‘Team Directory’ and you now have a list of all the members of that community.

If you find someone you want to communicate with, you can either:

  1. Send the Slack user a direct message to the Slack community.
  2. You can also visit their user profile in that Slack channel – and access their email.

You can also find potential candidates by doing a bit of research. For example, if you’re interested in finding out which platform is best to source for a particular role, why not go straight to the community associated with that position? For example:

Using Slack for Candidate Sourcing

Here are some of the responses I received:

Using Slack for Candidate Sourcing

Watch to learn even more about Slack:

About the Author

Angela BortolussiAngela Bortolussi is a Recruiting Manager with Recruiting Social’s Vancouver and Los Angeles offices. Connect with her on LinkedIn, follow her on Twitter at @ABortolusssi, and check out her Instagram feed at @ABortolusssi.