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Things I can’t live without as a Sourcer: Part 1 – Extensions
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TL;DR: These are (a couple of) the things that I can’t live without as a Sourcer.
I have a confession to make… I am a hoarder. Not the kind that collects physical things, but I am the kind of hoarder that collects stuff on my computer. As a Sourcer, I find a lot of tools, platforms, blogs and other cool things that could be of use for me in the future. Every time I find something that I find relevant or useful I used to put it somewhere.
With no real system… I stored stuff in random places. Bookmarks, Docs with links, Trello Boards with blogs and in my download map on my computer. I had no idea where to find what at a certain point, and it was kind of driving me crazy.
So in 2018, I started putting everything in one place. I needed an overview. I figured I might as well make this list public and share it with people interested in recruitment tools.
I used GitHub for that because I figured it would be great to have others add stuff they find relevant too.
You can find the list here.
Since the list is up, I’ve been getting quite some questions from people about my favorite Sourcing Tools. Which is quite funny, because I don’t consider myself the go-to person when it comes to Sourcing Tools. Going through the list, I noticed that most tools I use on a daily base aren’t Sourcing specific tools. Except for one, most of them are more general tools and tricks that my life as a sourcer easier.
I was planning on writing one piece with all my favorite Sourcing things. But when finishing this post I realized there is so much more that I want to share. So instead of making you read a very long post, I am going to break it down in two or three articles. Kind, right? 😉
Starting with Part 1: Extensions
Extensions 🛠
First things first, Extensions. Having the right extensions and tools can be helpful while sourcing. Personally, though, I try keeping as few extensions as possible running while I am browsing. They slow down my computer. Next to that, (some) free extensions are free for a reason: they might collect your data.
Don’t get me wrong, I love extensions and hope you try out as much as possible to see what works for you while you are sourcing (or browsing in general).
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Disclaimer: these are my favorites. There is a whole store full of extensions, and many of them are great. 📂 Managing your extensionsOne way that I manage my extensions is with a free extension called Extensity. It’s easy to turn on and of the extensions, you want to use. An example of what Extensity looks like when you click on it. You can search your extensions and easily turn them on and off. |
✅ Managing your Tabs
Next to collecting tools I also have a real problem when it comes to closing my tabs. Probably because I am too lazy to close them one by one.
My open tabs while I am actually writing this post.
The free extension OneTab helps me close all tabs in bulk without losing pages I might want to check another time. When I click it closes all tabs and shows the links on a new page. OneTab after bulk closing my open tabs:
🔒 Privacy & security
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When it comes to favorite tools, I realize that privacy & security are not the first things to cross your mind. But to be honest, those are the tools that I use 100% of my time when I’m online. For me, that comes down to using an Adblocker (I really dislike ads), having a password manager, using a VPN and being aware of what websites track me while I am browsing. |
I can’t imagine my life without uBlock Origin. Since I started using it to block Ads, I kind of forgot about what it’s like to see them all the time. Recently, I borrowed a friend’s laptop without an Adblocker. Using it, I realized how many advertisements you actually see without one (like the whole time).
I use Dashlane to manage my passwords. I’ve been using it as a premium member for a very long time and stick with this one. Mainly because I like it and don’t feel like switching to others. There are quite some different options when it comes to password managers (free ones and paid versions). I think that having a password manager and using different passwords for multiple accounts is a no brainer.
Next to that, I use NordVPN for safe browsing and Privacy Badger to block invisible trackers.
🕵️♀️ Sourcing Tools
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Last but not least I want to talk about my go-to Sourcing Tool. There are quite some options in this area and I’ve been playing around with multiple search tools. Before Facebook killed Graph Search, I had two go-to sourcing extensions; Intelligence Search and Amazing Hiring. Unfortunately, Intelligence Search stopped working after Facebook made these changes. But I still feel that it was a great tool, and hopefully, there will be a way to start using this or a similar tool in the future again. Since Intelligence Search went away, the only tool I use regularly is Amazing Hiring. What I like about it is that it shows me all social profiles (and emails) while visiting a LinkedIn, Github or Twitter (or other social media) profile. It saves me a lot of time searching for that myself. |
So now what?
I don’t think there is a must-have list when it comes to Chrome Extensions. It all comes down to personal preference. I like these tools A LOT, but that doesn’t mean that these are the best or the only ones you should use. Perhaps you disagree and have better options… that’s fine! I think, that as a Sourcer, you have to keep trying out different tools and platforms. Things change, what works today can be broken tomorrow. That’s also what keeps you sharp and keeps you from getting bored 😃.
Also, I would love to hear from you what your favorite extensions are. Make sure to let me know in the comments!
This post was only the tip of the iceberg. In the next post, I want to share some tools and tricks that make my life easier and keep me more productive!