How to source candidates

Sourcing means finding candidates yourself and writing to them first, instead of waiting for applications. It works because many of the best people are not looking, and a short, specific message from a real person can change that. The method has five parts: decide who you want, build a list, write outreach, send it with follow-ups and track what works. This guide takes you through each one and shows how to run it in Dover’s ATS.

Step 1: Define who you are looking for

Before you search, write a one-paragraph profile so you and anyone helping you know what to look for.

• Must-haves: the three or four skills or experiences the person needs to do the job.
• Nice-to-haves: what would help but could be learned.
• Where they work now: the kinds of companies, teams or communities where people like this spend time.
• Why they would move: what makes the role interesting to someone who is not looking, such as scope, team, problem or growth.

Keep must-haves to what the job needs. Long lists shrink your pool and rarely improve it. See how to write a job description for how to separate must-haves from nice-to-haves.

Step 2: Build a list of people

Start small: 20 to 30 well-matched people beats 300 vague ones. Good places to look:

• LinkedIn: search by title, skills, company and location, then save the profiles that fit.
• Portfolios and code: GitHub, Dribbble, personal sites and conference talks, depending on the role.
• Communities and events: meetups, Slack and Discord groups, alumni networks and speakers.
• Adjacent companies: people on teams that solve similar problems.
• Your own past applicants: people who applied before, were strong and were not hired. They already know you.

A search string makes this faster. Put quotation marks around exact phrases, use OR for alternatives and AND or NOT to narrow, for example "product designer" AND (Figma OR Sketch) NOT intern. For more techniques, read candidate sourcing techniques.

In Dover, you can add people to a job in three ways: one at a time, from LinkedIn with the Sourcing Extension, or by uploading a CSV. You can also search everyone who has applied or been added to your jobs in the CRM.

Step 3: Write outreach that gets a reply

Short, specific messages do best. Say who you are, why you picked this person, what the role is and what you want them to do. Do not paste a long company pitch. For more on structure and personalization, read how to write great recruiting emails.

• Personalize one thing. Mention a project, post or talk, not just their job title.
• Say what they would own, in one sentence.
• Include the pay range. It respects their time, and in some places it is required for postings. See compensation requirements for job postings.
• Ask for something small, such as a 20-minute call, and make it easy to say no.
• Test your subject line. In Dover’s own tests across 200 roles, a short, general subject line beat adding details such as reading time or funding round. Results were historical and varied by role, so treat them as a starting point. See the experiments.

First-touch template

Subject: [First name], looking for something new?
(Alternative: [Specific thing about their work] + [role title] at [Company])

Hi [First name],

I came across [specific project, post or talk] and [one sentence about
why it stood out]. I'm [your name], [your role] at [Company], and we're
hiring a [role title].

[Company] [one-line description]. This role would [what they would own],
working with [who]. [One concrete fact: stage, team size, or what you
shipped recently.]

The pay range is [range]. Would you be open to a 20-minute call this week
or next? If it isn't the right time, I'd still love to know who you'd
recommend.

[Your name]

Follow-up 1 (3 to 4 days later)

Hi [First name],

Following up in case my note got buried. One more detail that may help:
[new fact about the role, team or problem].

If you're curious, I can send the job description or answer questions
by email first. If not, no worries.

[Your name]

Follow-up 2 (about a week after that)

Hi [First name],

Last note from me. If [role title] isn't a fit right now, would you be
open to me checking back in a few months?

[Your name]

Stop after the second follow-up. If someone says no, thank them and note when you can reach out again. Include a simple way to opt out of future messages, and honor it.

Step 4: Set up and send your outreach in Dover

Dover’s ATS lets you write the emails, send them from your own address, follow up automatically and keep every lead in one place.

1. Connect your email. Campaigns send from a connected email account. Go to Account settings → Email Connection if you see the banner asking you to connect it.
2. Create a campaign. Open the job, click its Sourcing tab, then Campaigns, and click + Campaign. Name it and choose who the emails come from: the hiring manager or someone else on your team.
3. Write the email and follow-ups. Click Edit campaign to write the subject and body. Click + Followup to add follow-up emails that send when a candidate does not reply, and choose when each one goes out. Paste in the templates above.
4. Turn the campaign on. Use the Status switch. A campaign must be active before you can source with it.
5. Source candidates. You have three ways:
   • One at a time: click Source candidate, choose Single candidate, and enter their name and email. If you do not have their email, enter their LinkedIn URL and let Dover look one up. You can edit the message before you send.
   • From LinkedIn: the free Dover Sourcing Extension for Chrome lets you open a profile, pick the job and campaign, review the email and send, without leaving LinkedIn. Each candidate you source is added to the job’s Leads tab.
   • From a CSV: upload a list with first name, last name and email to contact many people at once. This is a Premium feature, and the message comes from the campaign, so you cannot edit it per person. Check the plans.
6. Review your leads. Click Leads on the Sourcing tab to see everyone you contacted, laid out by stage. Click a candidate to open their profile and reply.

See Sourcing candidates for the full steps. To contact people across all your jobs, use a campaign in the CRM.

Before you send volume, ask whoever manages your email or DNS to confirm that SPF, DKIM and DMARC pass for your sending domain, and send from an address on that domain. See recruiting emails 101 for why this matters.

Step 5: Follow up and keep the pipeline moving

Most unanswered messages are not rejections. Space follow-ups 3 to 7 days apart, keep each to two or three sentences and add something new each time. After two follow-ups, stop.

• Reply fast when someone answers. A same-day reply keeps the momentum.
• Move interested people into the job’s pipeline and book the call.
• Keep “not now” people in your CRM and check in every few months with something useful.
• Close the loop on everyone who says no, so your reputation stays good. See how to protect your employer brand when you’re hiring.

Step 6: Reach a wider range of people

Sourcing is where you choose who sees your role, so it is where you can widen the pool. Keep it simple and lawful:

• Look in more places. Add communities, professional organizations, university and alumni groups and conference speakers to your sources, not just the same network.
• Use the same criteria for everyone. Judge each person against the job’s must-haves, and run the same process for each candidate.
• Write plain, neutral messages. Avoid jargon and wording that signals the kind of person you expect. Say that you welcome applications from anyone who meets the requirements.
• Do not select, rank or reject people because of a protected characteristic, and do not promise anyone a role because of one. Avoid messages that say you want “diverse candidates”. Federal regulators are scrutinizing that kind of language in 2026. See the legal wording check in how to write a job description.
• Prepare interviewers so every candidate gets the same questions. See how to interview candidates inclusively.

This is general information, not legal advice. Rules vary by place, so check with counsel.

Step 7: Track what works

For every person you contact, record the date, whether they replied and what happened next. Each month, check these numbers for each campaign:

When replies stall, change one thing at a time, such as the subject line, the first sentence or the list. In Dover, the sourcing chart on the job’s Sourcing tab shows Sourced Candidates Over Time, and Reporting & Analytics shows Hires by Source and Hires by Channel so you can compare sourcing with job boards. See where to post jobs and find candidates for tracking every source.

What has changed recently

• Generic AI outreach is easy to spot. AI tools make it cheap to send thousands of messages, and candidates are learning to ignore them. Recruiting vendors report that a hand-written, personalized first message to a well-chosen candidate outperforms a generic AI-drafted one (Pin’s study), though Pin sells AI outreach tools, so treat the numbers cautiously. Use AI to research and draft, then rewrite the first two lines yourself.
• Deliverability matters more. Mailbox providers have tightened rules for senders. Confirm SPF, DKIM and DMARC pass, send from your own domain and keep lists clean. See recruiting emails 101.
• Pay ranges belong in outreach. More places require them in postings, and candidates expect to see them. See compensation requirements for job postings.
• Tell candidates about AI screening. If you use AI tools to evaluate the people you source, some places require notice. See the NYC Local Law 144 guide.
• Respect privacy and opt-outs. Include a way to opt out, honor it, and check data protection rules such as GDPR if you contact people in the EU or UK.
• Use your AI assistant for the admin. Dover MCP lets you add a candidate to a job as sourced and attach a note from Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor, so a promising person you meet at an event does not get lost. See Dover MCP.
• Keep wording lawful. Federal regulators are scrutinizing job-ad and recruiting language in 2026. Keep your criteria job-related. See the legal wording check in how to write a job description.

What if you do not have time to source?

If sourcing keeps slipping, bring in help. Dover’s Marketplace has vetted fractional recruiters who can run the search for a role, and you can engage them without a long-term contract. You keep every candidate in your own Dover ATS.

Frequently asked questions

What is candidate sourcing?

Candidate sourcing is finding and contacting people who have not applied to your job. Instead of waiting for applications, you build a list of people who fit the role, send each one a short personal message and follow up if they do not reply.

How long should a recruiting outreach email be?

Short enough to read on a phone in under a minute. Say who you are, why you picked this person, what the role is, the pay range and one clear ask, such as a 20-minute call.

How many follow-ups should I send?

Send a first message and two follow-ups, spaced a few days apart. Each follow-up should add something new, such as a detail about the role. Stop after the last one.

Can I use AI to write recruiting outreach?

Yes, as a drafting and research aid, but edit every message so it sounds like a person who read the candidate's work. Vendor studies suggest candidates ignore generic, AI-written sequences, so personalize the first line and keep your own voice.

Can I use the Dover Sourcing Extension for free?

Yes. The Sourcing Extension, single-candidate outreach campaigns and follow-up emails are available on Dover's free plan. Uploading a CSV to contact many people at once is a Premium feature, so check the pricing page for current details.

Is it legal to target outreach to diverse candidates?

Widen where you look and write neutral messages, but do not select, rank or reject people because of a protected characteristic. Federal regulators are scrutinizing diversity-targeted language in 2026, so keep your criteria job-related and check your wording with counsel.

What if I do not have time to source?

Hire a vetted fractional recruiter to run the search. Dover's Marketplace has vetted fractional recruiters you can engage without a long-term contract.