How does one overcome the challenges and get to the next level in Web Sourcing?

[Irina Shamaeva]

I am reading replies to "The Challenges for Boolean "Beginners"
with a great interest (thanks to all who have replied!). I will certainly try to address the points made in my Beginner webinar but I'd also like to leave a general comment here, on our network. Perhaps we'll hear from others, too.

I think it's both good and bad that we all have access to so much information. There's perhaps "peer pressure" to use all the modern tools. There's also a challenge for someone starting out: how to to deal with Boolean strings that seem to be constructed right but do not bring the relevant results?

I believe we all can overcome the difficulties with practice, following the right syntax and limiting ourselves to use little until we get ready for more sites and tools.

Here are a couple specific points:

1. It seems to me that there's a perception that one needs to learn to use many, many, many sites before one becomes successful in Internet sourcing. This perception may be coming from too much info posted everywhere and from gurus who offer to teach you all about those sites. Many of these (old and new) sites are useful; however, if you use only Google you can find a LOT. One can benefit greatly from learning how to use Google and a subset of its advanced operators (not all of them). You can be quite productive using "just" Google. (I am!) After you've mastered Google you would be much better prepared to review and start using additional search engines and sites.

2. I think beginners may be relying too heavily on cheatsheets and pre-cooked strings. When you use a string (as an example, a string that someone has put on a cheatsheet), you can't expect it to bring you exactly what you want. If some of the results are not resumes but some are, that is good enough. If you get too many irrelevant results, you need to add keywords that would make it better and search again. Keep modifying your string and collecting the results. The goal is not to end up with that "perfect" string but to end up with many relevant results. The art of modifying the string to eliminate the irrelevant results and bring in more relevant results is what sets good sourcers apart from others. Following the correct syntax (and not "guessing" what the syntax might be like) is just as important.

Someone recently asked me: "What are the top 10 search strings every recruiter should know"?
How would I answer this question?
I use 15-20 strings for any given search (I keep changing the strings and collecting the results until there's a feeling there's enough). The string(s) I start with are often "no good": they bring too many or too few results, or irrelevant results; I modify them for a while and look at the results - that's how it usually goes.

(In the beginner webinar, I'll try to outline the bare minimum that one can use to be productive in web sourcing, and the direction to take from there. I'll try to make it useful and practical but not overwhelming.)

I'd be glad to hear from others. What has helped you to get to a new level in Internet sourcing?

[gary cozin]

Practice, practice, practice! Even just 15 minutes a day practicing just one string until you achieve the desired results will give you confidence to try more features, etc.

I totally agree with Irina: it's constant trial & error - refining the strings until you achieve the results you want.