Written by Shannon Pritchett
Ah, yes—another headline designed to make your eyes roll so far back you'll see your own brain. You've seen these “Sourcing Is Dead” articles about a million times before, right? The same tired story, the same worn-out hot takes. But before you write this off and go doom-scroll somewhere else, stick around, it's a fun one. This isn't your typical “AI is here to take your job” schtick.
Let's get one thing straight: it hurts to say this. I've spent years building my career on sourcing. I taught Boolean strings like they were the secret to life itself. I helped build a whole community at SourceCon, convinced people that if they could master the search bar, they could find anyone. And yeah, I said it—AI would never replace us. But here we are. And AI isn't just breathing down our necks—it's got us in a chokehold, and it's not letting go.
Let's be honest with ourselves for a minute: sourcing, as we've known it for years, is hanging by a thread. The writing's been on the wall for a while now. But we ignored it. The problem? Now we're not just talking about it—we're living it. At RecFest in Nashville, the vibe was different. There was this undercurrent, this gut-level realization that things have shifted. We over-hired. We didn't adapt. And tech? Well, it's not just good now—it's scary good.
Look, it's not like this shift snuck up on us. Anyone outside of talent acquisition has been side-eyeing us for a while, like we're the kids who overstayed our welcome. Ever since we dragged ourselves back to the office, the countdown's been ticking. The truth? We're on borrowed time.
At RecFest, I sat in on a panel with Glen Cathey, Gerry Crispin, and Carmen Hudson. And let me tell you, Carmen didn't hold back. Sourcing as we know it? The sourcing queen gave it two years before it's gone. Gone. Now, if that doesn't hit you in the gut, I don't know what will. But she wasn't being dramatic; she was being brutally honest. We've all been kicking this can down the road. But guess what? The road's a dead end. AI isn't coming for us—it's already here, sharpening its knives.
So, what now? If AI can match keywords and scan resumes faster than you can say "Boolean," where does that leave us?
Here's the thing—Glen Cathey nailed it when he said humans still have a role to play in defining what we're looking for. But let's be real—half the time, hiring managers don't even know what they're looking for. They're giving us shopping lists full of qualifications and expecting us to find unicorns. And sure, we've been doing it. But now? AI can do that with its eyes closed, and in less time than it takes you to make a coffee.
The game isn't about finding obvious talent anymore. It's about hunting for diamonds in the rough. The ones who don't have all the buzzwords or the Ivy League education but have that raw potential.
And that's where we've still got the edge. AI is great at playing by the rules. It can scan for skills, match job descriptions, and eliminate the noise. But the real value? That comes from us—the ones who can spot potential. That's what AI can't do. It doesn't have instincts. It can't read between the lines of a conversation or recognize the fire in someone's eyes. That's our territory.
Claudio Fernández-Aráoz in Harvard Business Review summed it up perfectly: it's not about skills or experience anymore—it's about potential. The ones who can grow into the role, who can adapt when everything goes sideways, and thrive in the chaos. And if you're still relying on those old-school sourcing methods, you're not just missing the mark—you're missing the boat.
Let's talk about Cassidy Leventhal's piece in Bloomberg, where she spells it out: resumes are garbage. They don't tell you who can actually do the job, let alone who's going to be great at it. Resumes are all about who's done something that looks like the job before. But here's the thing—they don't tell you if that person's got grit. They don't tell you if they're adaptable or if they'll crumble under pressure. Yet we've all been guilty of treating resumes like they're some sacred text.
Here's where I always come back to the most important thing I look for: hard work. You can teach someone the tools of the trade. You can teach them Boolean, you can teach them how to source, how to sell, how to manage a team. But you can't teach someone how to work hard. And that's the truth.
You can put all the skills, qualifications, and industry experience in front of me—if the person doesn't have the work ethic, it means nothing. I've been a manager for years, and I can tell you, everyone says they work hard. But the reality? Most people don't. It's the ones who truly grind, who show up ready to push through the walls, those are the ones who thrive.
I'll take someone with zero experience but a hunger to succeed over someone with a resume full of perfect qualifications any day. Give me the person who's got fire in their gut, the one who will do what it takes to get the job done, and I'll show you a great hire. And honestly? AI will never spot that.
So, what do we do? How do we find the people who are actually going to succeed—not just the ones who look good on paper?
Step 1: Go Where the Resume Won't Take You – Real Communities, Real Conversations
Stop relying on the usual suspects like job boards and databases. If you're looking for people who have potential, you need to go beyond the resume warehouses. Get into real communities—online forums, niche groups, and industry-specific meetups. You want coders? Get into GitHub and Stack Overflow. Looking for marketers? Twitter is filled with industry threads where sharp minds throw around ideas. You want to find the people who are talking, sharing, and working through real-world problems.
Start building relationships in these spaces. It's not about getting an immediate resume—it's about seeing who's already doing the job without being asked to apply for it. These are the people solving problems in their spare time. They've got the hunger, and they're not waiting for you to post a job ad. You have to find them.
Step 2: Stop Fishing in the Same Pond – Find Your Non-Traditional Candidates
If you keep looking in the same places, you'll keep finding the same types of people. Traditional routes breed traditional hires. Expand your horizons. Look into non-traditional education pipelines—bootcamps, community colleges, even Reddit forums. There are people who don't have the degree or the pedigree, but they've got the grind and the raw skill.
Don't forget about gig workers and freelancers. The gig economy is full of individuals who are doing amazing work on their own terms. Freelancers often have that scrappiness, the problem-solving mindset, and the hustle that make them perfect fits for roles in your company.
Step 3: Tap Into Your Network (But Actually Do It Right)
We've all said it: “Tap your network.” But here's the thing: most people don't do it right. Don't just throw a blanket message into the void asking for referrals. Instead, reach out to people in your circle who know the kind of candidates you're after. These should be people you trust, and who understand what makes a great hire for you.
The key here is specificity. Don't just ask for “someone who's good at X.” Dig deeper—ask them for someone who's a hustler, who's proven themselves in tough situations, who's done amazing work but hasn't had the spotlight yet. It's about finding that person your contact can't stop talking about, not the one who's got the prettiest resume.
Step 4: Referrals – But Don't Be Lazy About It
We've been way too lazy with referrals. Most of the time, we throw out a generic, “Hey, know anyone good?” and call it a day. But that's not how you find the real talent. Don't just ask for names—dig deeper. You want stories, not just a list. “Who do you know that's grinding? Who's been through the fire and come out the other side stronger?”
You don't want just a name. You want to know why this person is different. What makes them push harder? What challenges have they taken on that make them stand out? The best referrals don't come from some canned response—they come from real conversations with people who know these candidates' grit firsthand (thanks, Tom Becker).
And don't stop at internal referrals. You've got an entire network of people outside your company who know where the hidden gems are. Tap into them. It's not about shaking the tree; it's about knowing which trees to shake.
Step 5: Look for the Builders, the Tinkerers, the Makers
Some of the best candidates out there are the ones who are constantly creating, experimenting, and learning—on their own time, without being told. They're the people who can't sit still because they're always trying to figure out the next thing.
You'll find these people building side projects, creating portfolios, and tinkering with solutions that may not even have a market yet. Find developers on GitHub who are contributing to open-source projects. Look for designers on Dribbble who are showcasing work just for the love of it. These people are out there solving problems because they want to, not because they have to. And that's the kind of grit you're after.
Step 6: Leverage AI (But Use It as a Scout, Not a Decider)
Let's not pretend AI isn't useful—it is. But don't rely on it to do your job for you. AI can scan thousands of profiles and resumes and bring back data that you wouldn't have time to sift through manually. Use it to widen your scope and uncover candidates who might've otherwise fallen through the cracks.
But remember, AI is your scout, not your decider. It can find people who check certain boxes, but it won't tell you who's going to crush it under pressure. Once AI brings those candidates into view, you have to dive deeper, have real conversations, and see if they've got what it takes.
Step 7: Target Industry-Specific Challenges and Competitions
There's nothing quite like a challenge to expose the best and brightest. Industry-specific competitions, hackathons, and problem-solving challenges are great places to discover talent that's hungry, innovative, and already proving themselves in real-time. Whether it's coding competitions, marketing hackathons, or startup pitch nights—these events showcase the kind of individuals who love what they do and can handle pressure.
These people are motivated by more than a paycheck—they want to solve problems. They've already shown up to compete, and they're showing you their skills without needing a traditional interview. Watch them in action, and you'll find candidates who thrive in the real world.
At the end of the day, sourcing is evolving. It has to. AI will take over the mundane—the skill matching, the resume scanning, the keyword hunting. That's inevitable. But the real value, the heart of what we do? That's not going anywhere. The art of finding great people doesn't live in algorithms. It lives in human instinct, in building relationships, and in seeing beyond what's on the surface.
We're not here to match buzzwords with job descriptions. We're here to uncover the people who are going to grind, who are going to grow, who are going to thrive when things get messy. We're here to see the potential that AI can't.
So, is sourcing dead? Maybe the version we've known for the past 20 years is on its way out. But finding great people? That's an art form. That's the part AI will never master because, at the end of the day, the best hires aren't the ones who look perfect on paper—they're the ones who have the grit to get through the tough stuff, the ones who bring something extra, the ones who make us feel like we've struck gold.
And that? Well, that's where we still have the upper hand.
