Sourcing To Recruit Top Tech Students & Leaders at a Student-Run Non-Profit
Tags: sourcing, toptech, leaders, people
Published: 2020-08-29 19:49:19

### **Bit Project's Sourcing Goals & Values**

Bit Project is a student-led non-profit organization that aims to make tech education more accessible. This goal is important to each of our members, who collaborate together and are passionate about creating STEM education materials for fellow students. Our People Department seeks to recruit individuals who are interested in promoting STEM education on an open source platform. To make Bit Project a learning hub for STEM education, the People Department uses various sourcing strategies to attract top tech students.

### **How Sourcing Works at Bit Project**

Sourcing is a process that involves setting criteria in place to fulfill recruitment goals. Over the course of Bit Project’s expansion, the process of sourcing has changed to make Bit Project a diverse organization. When the organization started, one of the People Department’s goal was to encourage many students to apply. 

“We have done a bunch of email blasts and marketing to colleges across the nation,” said Becca Tran, a management consultant within the People Department. Inviting students from all majors and backgrounds has sped Bit Project's growth and output, while also building a tight knit community invested in tech education.

As Bit Project continues to create projects like educational tutorials and blogs, sourcing has been redirected to search for top tech students. This has led to the People Team creating a group of sourcers who are directly involved in recruitment. Su-Ting Tan, a recruiter, notes that detailed guidelines have been set in place to increase the yield of top tech students. The guidelines help sourcers identify ideal traits in candidates and suggest places where sourcers can look for candidates. For example, sourcers are encouraged to source from digital platforms such as LinkedIn, DevPost, and Github. On these websites, sourcers can message individuals whose profiles indicate a strong interest in technology. Increasing Bit Project’s online presence allows the organization to directly connect with candidates.

These guidelines also encourage sourcers to look for key “buzzwords” and experiences that describe a candidate’s programming skills. When a sourcer is looking at an online profile, they can take note of skills that make a potential candidate ideal for Bit Project. For example, qualities such as tutoring and hackathon participation can be sorted into tiers of green, yellow, and red flags. Green flags, such as extensive coding experience and online projects, indicate qualities that are the most ideal and important. Red flags, such as lack of internships and “filler” experiences, are qualities that can be irrelevant to a position at Bit Project. A large number of green flags in a candidate’s profile permits the sourcer to add the candidate to a sourcing list. The sourcer can then add additional comments on why the candidate would be a good fit for the position.

### **Assessing Candidates Through Filters**

To filter through applications, three rounds of interviews are scheduled to assess a candidate’s skills and competency. The first screen interview is informal and allows the candidate to discuss their projects and experiences. These interviews are used to inform candidates of Bit Project’s goals, allowing sourcers to determine how well a candidate aligns with Bit Project’s mission and objectives. An entry task is also designed to allow the candidate to demonstrate their skills, giving an opportunity for candidates to see what their role within Bit Project would look like. The entry task also gives the sourcers and relevant departments a chance to see the candidate’s performance and passion for their potential role. Once the departments review the candidate, the candidate can be onboarded and become a part of Bit Project! 

The ongoing pandemic has made Bit Project reevaluate its methods of connection with members. With the organization going remote, remote sourcing has enabled Bit Project to connect with individuals across the globe! To learn more about how remote sourcing and onboarding work at Bit Project, read [here](https://www.notion.so/Recruiting-and-On-boarding-in-a-Global-Student-Run-Non-Profit-Organization-6a852110877d4f6b91e518d69d84c9d2).

### **The Power of Improved Sourcing**

Over time, the sourcing process has become more organized, resulting in the recruitment of top students who create quality educational content. Investing time into sourcing strategies has enabled Bit Project to develop innovative projects that are an integral part of the organization’s mission. By looking for passionate individuals, the organization ensures that the goal to improve accessibility to tech education can be fulfilled. The Bit Project community thrives as a result of  individuals who bring new ideas and perspectives, all of which are possible through improved sourcing. 

Bit Project encourages students of all backgrounds and experience to become part of the Bit community. The organization is constantly looking for dedicated people! Take a look at Bit Project's home [page](https://www.bitproject.org/join) to learn more.