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This response come from a questions posted the other day regarding the differences between Creative Sourcing and Deep Sourcing. This is a great topic to talk about and really defines the strategy in which you find yourself implementing. Well I hope this helps. Feel free to comment and post your thoughts as well. More questions and answers can be found in full at www.CruiterTalk.com
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Question: What is your definition of Creative Sourcing vs. Deep Sourcing?

Creative Sourcing is the baseline or fundamental approach a recruiter will take in developing their map to recruit from. Creative sourcing falls under the umbrella of information gathering. You’ll find thousands of answers out there to this age old question, but if you were to speak with true “sourcers” in the industry you will find that they are researchers at heart. At the world conference this question came up a lot in discussions and I tell most people the same thing; we are in the information gathering business.

Recruiting, sales, deep sourcing, workforce planning and virtually anything we will do in our jobs require us to gather information. Without this we cannot be successful. So when we talk about building talent communities or talent gateways and social media etc. these are all forms of creative sourcing.

The question to ask is “How do we create interest and engage those talent gateways once they are created?” Without getting real tactical for this explanation it would be our goal to create chatter and a sense of community within these hubs. By chatter I mean conversation regarding industry topics, eventually with the “experts” naturally rising to the top of conversations. Most call this cultivating the group. I call this deep sourcing.

So to make things a little simpler:

Creative sourcing: The process of development/branding for workforce planning. I.e. Information gathering; tactical planning; channel development; creation and development of talent communities.

Deep Sourcing: Micro managing these talent communities to maximize their potential. Making individual contact with and introducing the prospects to the specific organization we are working with.