What is active sourcing and how are teams are making it scalable again We’re writing an article for TestGorilla on active sourcing — what it really means today, how it’s evolved beyond manual LinkedIn outreach, and how modern teams are making it more effective and less time-intensive. We’re looking to speak with talent sourcers, recruiters, TA leaders, and hiring managers who actively source candidates (especially passive talent) and can share real-world insight into how sourcing has changed in the last few years. In particular, we’re interested in perspectives on how skills-based hiring, AI-assisted discovery, and early qualification have changed the way teams approach active sourcing — for better or worse. Please answer one or more of the following: • How do you define active sourcing today, and how is it different from how it worked a few years ago? • What are the biggest challenges teams face when doing active sourcing at scale? • How do you decide which candidates are worth sourcing before outreach? • What role do skills data or assessments play in improving sourcing quality? • How do you measure whether your active sourcing efforts are actually working? Requirements: • Direct experience with active sourcing, talent sourcing strategy, or senior TA leadership • Practical, experience-based insights (not vendor-led theory) • Willingness to be quoted What You’ll Get: • Featured in a TestGorilla explainer article read by thousands of recruiters and TA leaders • Attribution with name, title, and profile • A chance to contribute to a clearer, more modern conversation about sourcing beyond job boards

Active sourcing today is building a list of people who are not applying, then earning the right to talk to them. A few years ago I spent hours on LinkedIn, guessing by titles and sending the same pitch. Now I start with skills signals, project footprints, and recent work, then I let tools surface lookalikes. LinkedIn is still there, but it is one channel, not the whole plan. Making it scalable again comes from saying no earlier. We set a scorecard, run quick skills screens, and only reach out when the odds look decent. It feels less like spam and more like matchmaking. I like short outreach paired with a tiny ask, like a 3 minute questionnaire or work sample, so replies self qualify. We track sourced to screened rate, speed to first interview, and quality of hire notes from managers, not vanity reply rates.

How I define active sourcing today: Active sourcing is no longer just manual LinkedIn outreach to passive candidates. Today, it's a proactive discovery and qualification process that starts before outreach, using skills signals, work history, and early screening to identify people who are likely to succeed in the role, not just match keywords. The biggest shift from a few years ago is that sourcing now blends data, automation, and human judgment instead of relying solely on recruiter effort. Biggest challenges with sourcing at scale: The main challenge is signal-to-noise. Teams can now find thousands of potential candidates, but without clear qualification criteria, outreach volume increases while response and conversion rates drop. Another challenge is keeping sourcing aligned with evolving role requirements, especially as skills matter more than job titles. How we decide who's worth sourcing: Before outreach, we prioritize candidates based on demonstrated skills, recent experience relevance, and indicators of role readiness, not just employer brand or seniority. In practice, this means filtering by skill evidence, portfolio work, or assessment results where available, so recruiters spend time engaging fewer but better-fit candidates. Role of skills data and assessments: Skills-based data and early assessments have significantly improved sourcing quality. They help teams validate fit earlier, reduce bias from pedigree-based screening, and avoid over-indexing on resumes. When used well, they make sourcing more targeted and reduce wasted outreach. How we measure success: We look beyond reply rates and track downstream outcomes, interview pass-through, time-to-shortlist, and quality-of-hire signals. If sourced candidates consistently move forward and perform well, the sourcing strategy is working. Volume alone is no longer a meaningful metric. Quotable insight: "Modern active sourcing isn't about finding more candidates, it's about qualifying better ones before the first message is ever sent."