How Sourcers Actually Find Candidates: An Insider's Guide to Getting Discovered

Wellfound's "Ask a Recruiter" series brings job hunters face-to-face with real tech recruiters who share honest advice on how to get hired.

Ever wonder what actually happens when sourcers search for candidates? Mike Cohen, Global Sourcing Lead at phData and Founder of Wayne Technologies with nearly two decades of experience at companies like Uber, GIPHY, and Redis Labs, pulled back the curtain on the sourcing process during an Ask a Recruiter session that felt more like a masterclass in search optimization.

🎥 Watch the full session on YouTube

TL;DR:

Sourcing is a keyword-driven game across multiple platforms. Optimize your online presence like a search engine, reach out to hiring managers directly rather than going through recruiters, and understand that your years of experience can work against you if you're targeting more junior roles.

The Sourcing Reality: Time Pressure Drives Search Behavior

Cohen opened with context that matters: recruiting operates under serious time constraints. Heavy workloads mean sourcers lean on automated tools and rapid scanning. This creates patterns you can optimize for.

"I'm a recruiter, and I'm trying to tell you that most of us suck at our jobs," Cohen told the 250+ attendees. "So if you're like, hey, why do I keep getting ghosted? Why are people not looking at my resume?." That's why.

His point wasn't to insult his profession but to set realistic expectations. Smart candidates optimize for how sourcing actually happens: fast keyword searches, experience-level filters, quick profile reviews across multiple platforms.

Profile Optimization: Think Like a Search Engine

Cohen demonstrated sourcing tools live, showing exactly how sourcers filter and search across professional platforms. His approach wasn't about gaming algorithms. It was about making genuine connections easier to find.

Headlines That Work

Your headline bridges your background to your target role. Cohen warned against insider language that doesn't help sourcers categorize your experience quickly.

"Don't use things like 'Ex-Google, Ex-Amazon.' We know you used to work there. It's literally in the experience section."

Better: "Software Engineer seeking Senior Backend Role" tells a sourcer what you do and what you want. No decoder ring required.

Summary Structure That Gets Read

Cohen shared a format that works for both humans and search functions:

• 1-2 sentences about your professional focus
• White space (crucial for scanning)
• 1-2 sentences about key accomplishments
• More white space
• 1-2 sentences about who you are personally

"We're hiring a person to do a job, we're not hiring a robot," Cohen said. Personal details help sourcers gauge cultural fit.

His most practical tip:

"Every time you want to say AI, write out 'artificial intelligence,' and then in parentheses put AI. You don't know what a recruiter's looking for — you just covered both bases."

Skills Section: Buzzword Central

Cohen was frank about the skills section's actual function in sourcing. "The skills section on your profile is completely and utterly useless, except for being a buzzword central," he explained.

His recommendation: "You want to know how to get found based on doing XYZ? Add it as a skill."

Cohen demonstrated this by showing his own profile, which includes programming languages he doesn't actually use. But his point wasn't that you should lie about your skills. Instead, he was proving how the search function works: "If you look for it, I'm gonna show up."

The takeaway: treat the skills section as a place to list relevant technologies and concepts you've worked with, knowing that it primarily serves as keyword matching for search algorithms.

"You can add whatever skills you want to your profile, it doesn't matter if people endorse you for it or not. They're on your profile when a recruiter searches for them."

The Experience Trap Nobody Talks About

Cohen revealed something most candidates miss: years of experience can backfire in searches. During his sourcing tool demo, he showed how sourcers filter by experience ranges.

"All those jobs you had — co-ops, internships — they add to your years of experience. If you worked at an ice cream shop in high school, and I'm looking for someone with under 5 years of experience for a junior role, you might not show up."

This hits career changers hard. Fifteen years in marketing, but want entry-level product roles? Those filters will exclude you from "1-3 years experience" searches.

Skip the Line: Go Straight to Hiring Managers

Cohen's tactical advice: bypass the traditional application funnel.

"Find the hiring manager, reach out to that person. Do you know who's struggling because they have an open job on their team? That manager."

His sequence:

1. Connect with the hiring manager on professional platforms with a brief note about your interest
2. Find their work email using available tools (Cohen mentioned several exist)
3. Send a personalized email (never templated)
4. Follow up twice
5. Only then apply through the system

He also added: "I'll give you a clue that nomenclature at companies remains the same, so if you know from somebody that is "[email protected]", you can pretty much guess that the hiring manager's gonna have that same email."

Social Media: Professional Without Paranoia

Cohen confirmed sourcers check social media, but kept his guidance practical.

The goal isn't personality elimination. It's professional brand consistency.

"Keep your interests on Facebook. Keep some photos on Instagram so people can see you're a real person."

Not active on social platforms? "That means we're not gonna find anything problematic in your background." Sometimes an advantage.

Resume Strategy: Content Over Creative

Cohen's resume philosophy: substance and scannability beat creative design.

Key principles:

• Length should match experience level
• Skills sections work best for technical roles with specific technologies
• Use past tense consistently, even for current roles
• Work Experience Format: Company>title> dates for easy scanning
• Skip bold keywords or overly creative formatting

"You want the content of your resume to stand out, not the design."

Career Transition Reality Check

For career changers, Cohen offered empathy with practical expectations: "You're not going to be reached out to — you're gonna have to do the reaching out."

The challenge is algorithmic. Automated filters don't understand career pivots. Your marketing experience doesn't help when sourcers filter for product management experience ranges.

The fix: Heavy focus on crossover skills in your summary and proactive outreach to hiring managers who can see beyond keyword matches.

Optimizing for Startup Opportunities

While Cohen demonstrated general sourcing practices using traditional recruiting tools, candidates looking for startup and tech opportunities should apply these same principles across all platforms where tech talent gets discovered.

Wellfound's startup ecosystem offers some advantages for direct outreach. Many startups list founders and hiring managers directly on job posts, making Cohen's hiring manager strategy more straightforward. The platform's focus on early-stage companies also means founders and hiring managers are often more accessible than at larger corporations.

The same keyword optimization, clear headline structure, and experience curation Cohen demonstrated applies whether sourcers find you through traditional channels or startup-focused platforms.

Startup founders sourcing on Wellfound often look for specific combinations of technical skills and startup experience. Use Cohen's keyword doubling strategy here too: if you have "startup" experience, also mention "early-stage" and "high-growth" to cover different search terms founders might use.

Actionable Takeaways

1. Write clear headlines that bridge your current background with your target role — focus on searchable clarity over creative language that confuses categorization across all professional platforms.
2. Fill your skills sections with relevant keywords, including both acronyms and full terms, since you can't predict which version sourcers will search for on any platform.
3. Audit old jobs on your profiles — irrelevant early experience might inflate your "years of experience" and exclude you from junior role searches you actually want.
4. Connect with hiring managers before applying — find their email, send personalized outreach, follow up 2-3 times, then apply through the system to avoid early elimination.

To learn more candidate tips, subscribe and check out 'Ask a Recruiter' on YouTube here.