Top Niche Candidate Sourcing Channels of 2023

What is a candidate sourcing channel?

Candidates who are not actively looking for a job are often overlooked by recruiters, but this does not mean that they are not interested in changing jobs. While only 36% of the workforce is actively looking for new opportunities, an overwhelming 90% is willing to consider new opportunities. These people might have been happy in their current position, but if a recruiter reaches out and shows genuine interest in their background and experience, they might be willing to learn more.

Talent sourcing is the process of actively searching for qualified candidates. By identifying which channels to use and how they will meet your needs, you can build a strong candidate sourcing strategy that will attract top talent.

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Why is candidate sourcing important?

Like most recruiters, you probably start your search for candidates on LinkedIn or in your professional network. While those are great places to start, they are also the most common - and the most saturated. Adding smaller, less crowded channels in your toolbox can generate  unique information that improves your candidate outreach.

We looked at dozens of popular sourcing channels and chose the top based on reputation, quality, candidate volume, and ease of use. Our top sourcing channels of 2022 will help you diversify your candidate sourcing channels and meet your talent acquisition goals.

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Niche candidate sourcing channels

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Underdog.io Review

• About - Underdog.io is a hiring marketplace focused on the technology and startup ecosystems. Every Monday morning, they send a curated batch of engineering, product, and business candidates. With a simple and easy to navigate interface, Underdog.io enables meaningful connections with active, highly qualified candidates.
• Candidate Quality - With less than 10% of applicants accepted onto the platform and an average candidate response rate above 60%, this platform has one of the highest quality candidate pools on this list.
• Candidate Volume - There are over 800+ candidates actively exploring the job market on Underdog.io. 100+ candidates are typically added each week.
• Ease of use - The platform features robust filtering and search capabilities, a company dashboard to track analytics and integrations with most ATS.
• Best for - mid-Senior level roles, Senior Engineering roles, Candidates with startup experience

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Hired Review

• About - Hired connects you to a network of candidates who are actively looking for their next full-time or contract opportunity.
• Candidate Quality - Hired uses algorithms and human reviewers to find qualified candidates. Although Hired focuses on technical skills, the candidates on the platform tend to be more junior and more passive.
• Candidate Volume - Hired keeps their candidates visible for varying lengths of time. You may be shown candidates again unless they are hired through Hired or change their status to unavailable.
• Ease of use - The platform integrates with most ATS and features a simple UI.
• Best for - Junior level roles

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Triplebyte Review

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• About - Triplebyte is a technical talent search tool that helps recruiters and hiring managers to find and engage engineers from diverse backgrounds that have been tested on their engineering abilities
• Candidate Quality - Because Triplebyte tests their candidates before allowing them onto the platform, most of their engineering candidates have strong technical skills.
• Candidate Volume - This tool is exclusive to Engineering roles so the candidate volume is limited and skews towards passive.
• Ease of use - The platform lacks the filtering capabilities of other tools.
• Best for - Engineering candidates

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AngelList Talent Review

• About - AngelList Talent is a platform that connects startups with angel investors and job seekers. AngelList regards itself as the "Match.com for investors and startups" and lists more than 8 million startups on its website.
• Candidate Quality - Most candidates on this platform are exclusively interested in startup roles so these candidates tend to be more junior and less passive.
• Candidate Volume - • AngelList’s candidate pool can be lacking for less technical roles.
• Ease of use - AngelList has a highly intuitive and easy-to-use interface.
• Best for - Startup candidates

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Otta Review

• About - Otta helps recruiters hire at all levels in marketing, engineering, and sales. The platform allows companies to post jobs and search Otta’s database for the right candidates.
• Candidate Quality - Otta has candidates all over the tech ecosystem. The platform tends to focus less on technical candidates and more on business roles. Additionally candidates are not pre-vetted so quality may be low.
• Candidate Volume - While there is no exact number provided, Otta claims to attract “thousands of qualified people every week.”
• Ease of use - The platform functions like other job boards.
• Best for - Junior level business roles

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Fetcher Review

• About - Through a Chrome extension, Fetcher’s platform ties in with ATS products as well as Gmail and Outlook to allow recruiters to source candidates directly from LinkedIn.
• Candidate Quality - Fetcher’s AI is trained to respond to the types of candidates that recruiters are most interested in. There is no pre-vetting of candidates so quality may differ.
• Candidate Volume - The platform sources directly from larger pools such as ATS products and LinkedIn.
• Ease of use - As an AI product, Fetcher automates the sourcing process.
• Best for - Tech candidates

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Final Verdict

There are tons of options to diversify your candidate sourcing. By understanding the pros and cons of the top sourcing options and focusing on candidate quality and alignment - you’re sure to find success with the list above. Wanna share your thoughts on a sourcing channel mentioned above? Did we miss something? Take our “2022 Sourcing Channel Roundup” survey to highlight your faves.

Underdog.io is the tech sourcing channel that puts quality first. By maintaining a seamless product experience and only working with the top 10% of candidates, we make it easy to meet your sourcing goals. Schedule a quick demo and see for yourself.

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