How to Create a Talent Pool

A talent pool is a term used to describe a database of candidates, their contact information, skills, experience, and any other information that could be useful for filling future positions within companies. A deep, comprehensive, and up-to-date talent pool is one of the most useful tools in a recruiter’s arsenal. It makes filling future positions significantly faster and more efficient because recruiters can dip into their talent pool immediately, rather than having to seek out entirely new candidates from square one. The longer a recruiter works in the industry, the more advantageous their talent pool becomes. 

This article will discuss how to incorporate the various sources of candidate information that a recruiter might encounter into a talent pool database. 

Application Forms

One excellent tactic for streamlining the creation and development of your talent pool is the use of standardized application forms. These application forms, usually linked to an advertisement or career site, make it easy and flexible for candidates to submit their information. Whereas email correspondence over applications requires significantly more time and legwork, not to mention the risk of the candidate forgetting to review the email altogether, these application forms make sourcing information as efficient as possible. 

You can easily transfer this information directly into your talent pool database because the information fields will be largely uniform in terms of format and order. This saves time when transcribing the information manually, and many databases even have functions that can automate the process completely. Even candidates who aren’t qualified for the role they applied for can be stored within your talent pool for future reference. 

Emails

Even if application forms are being utilized, it’s inevitable that some candidates will still send their resumes via email, especially if the candidate was referenced directly rather than finding the position online. You can still use the information from these resumes to fill out your talent pool database, even if the process may be slightly more laborious. Those resumes still contain valuable candidate data, and if you set up the sufficient Applicant Tracking System (ATS), it should still be able to automatically import relevant data into your talent pool. Whether the information is transferred manually or through an ATS, it is crucial that the email contains processing consent from the candidate.

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Career Page

Regardless of whether you are currently recruiting for a position, an intuitive career page that incorporates an invitation to automatically send speculative job applications to interested candidates is crucial. In fact, the career page should ideally have a separate form-focused purely on this function and the candidates applying through it. Often, these candidates will be of the highest quality because they have taken the time and initiative to research the web pages of companies and recruiters they feel would be a good fit. 

The applicant information within these responses can, once again, be incorporated into your talent pool. You could even include a field that distinguishes these candidates, because they may have more specific skillsets or fits.  

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Social Networks

Social networks, especially LinkedIn, are an excellent environment for recruiting candidates, even those who haven’t yet applied for a position. You can search LinkedIn based on candidate education, work experience, skills, goals, and more, making it very easy to find candidates that would be suitable for any number of positions. 

The standardized and comprehensive format of a LinkedIn profile makes it ideal for incorporating into a talent pool database. Additionally, because LinkedIn is updated by the candidate, information sourced from the platform will actually keep your talent pool database up-to-date as well. From here, you can easily contact candidates when relevant positions become available. 

Alternative Information Sources

While the previously discussed sources might be the crux of your talent pool database, you will certainly encounter forms of candidate information that aren’t as easy to incorporate. Virtually any digital resume can be added to a talent pool database using various digital parsing programs that detect relevant fields and format connected information according to your needs. When it comes to non-digital information like paper resumes or business cards, you will just have to add the information manually to your talent pool database. 

An effective talent pool can automate and streamline many of the most laborious aspects of recruiting work, allowing the recruiter to focus their attention on the more creative and interactive side of their work. We hope you can apply some of these methods of forming the ideal talent pool to elevate your recruiting process! Get inspired by our tips for recruiting and retaining a diverse and inclusive workforce.