LESSON 6 OF 6 · BEGINNER
Audit the sourcing process
Review relevant candidates found, source freshness, response quality and gaps in coverage. Do not reward researchers only for raw profile counts. Consider whether the search terms unnecessarily exclude people who can do the work. Keep candidate data in approved systems and follow retention and access policies. Never upload real candidate records into a public learning exercise.
Create a sourcing review with three measures and one adjustment to test.
About 2 minutes reading + 12 minutes practice. Take longer when needed.
Apply the method
Review sourcing by relevance, coverage and useful outcomes rather than raw profile count. Compare the brief with sampled results and ask whether search terms exclude plausible capability. Track source freshness and duplicate activity. Look downstream: if candidates repeatedly fail the same essential requirement, inspect whether the search or the brief misunderstood it. If relevant people do not engage, examine the proposition and message before concluding the pool is exhausted. Use approved retention and access practices for candidate records.
A worked application
Fictional example: A search returns 400 profiles but only six relevant conversations. The review samples the results and finds that an ambiguous title drove most false positives. A revised concept produces fewer profiles with clearer relevance. The team records the change and checks whether the downstream evidence improves, instead of reporting the reduced count as a loss of productivity.
Common mistake to avoid
Do not reward a research process for making the database larger when the additional records do not improve professional relevance or decision quality.
Work through the case
FICTIONAL SCENARIO
A search yields hundreds of profiles but few relevant conversations. A narrower, better-researched sample may expose a flawed requirement or message.
Make it practical
Create a sourcing review with three measures and one adjustment to test.
Compare your reasoning with a worked response
Review relevance, source diversity and qualified conversations. Change one major variable at a time and preserve the previous query for comparison.
Takeaway
Use the method to explain your decision, identify what you still need to verify and choose an accountable next step.
Treat the response as a model for reasoning, not the only possible wording. Adapt it to the role, evidence and appropriate organizational guidance.
Connect this course to the complete process
Work through the connected case, practice the conversations and add this course’s work to your final project.