The job ad remains the number one hiring channel in France: 84% of companies use it and it produces 54% of hires of managers and professionals (APEC, 2026). But 70% of professionals are not actively looking (LinkedIn), and sourced candidates are close to 8 times more likely to be hired than inbound applicants (Gem, 2026). For the roles that matter, waiting for applications is no longer enough. Here is how to build multichannel sourcing that holds with a small team.
Updated 17 September 2026 · 10 min read
Sourcing is the set of actions taken to identify and attract candidates to a role, before they even apply. It is multichannel when it deliberately combines several sources (job ad, direct approach, referrals, talent pool, network, schools, partners) chosen according to the role, not because you are used to switching them all on.
The nuance matters. Posting an ad on five job boards is not multichannel: it is the same channel, five times. Multichannel means reaching different segments of the market: those actively looking, those open without looking, and those who will only move if you come to them with the right message.
Key point: each channel speaks to a different population. The ad reaches active candidates, referrals reach the people your teams trust, direct approach reaches those who would never have found you. A good mix covers all three.
The French paradox: while the difficulty has shifted from volume to relevance, companies are going back to less proactive practices. Use of direct approach is declining (63%, −3 points) and only 32% activate more than five channels, against 45% among those facing serious difficulties (APEC, 2026). In other words, everyone knows it works, but they only do it when it hurts.
| Channel | Who it reaches | What the numbers say | Effort | When to activate it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Job ad (job boards, website, social) | Active candidates | Used by 84% of companies, source of 54% of hires of managers and professionals (APEC, 2026) | Low, but screening is time-consuming | Always, for common roles and for visibility. Never alone on a scarce profile |
| Direct approach (LinkedIn, email, phone) | Qualified passives | Sourced candidates ~8 times more likely to be hired; 11% of hires from 2.6% of candidates (Gem, 2026); 11% of hires of managers and professionals in France (APEC, 2026) | High: research, personalisation, follow-ups | Scarce, senior or confidential roles, or when the ad yields nothing after 10 days |
| Referrals | Your employees' networks | 55% of recruiters run them, about 10% of hires, median bonus €200 to €500 (Hellowork, 2025); conversion 11 times higher than inbound (Gem, 2026) | Low if the programme is kept alive | Continuously, with a nudge per open role and systematic feedback to the referrer |
| Talent pool and ATS rediscovery | Candidates already met | 46% of sourced hires come from candidates already in the ATS (Gem, 2026) | Very low if the ATS is maintained | First reflex at every role opening, before even posting |
| Personal and professional network | Founders' and managers' contacts | Network and referrals combined: a quarter of hires of managers and professionals, 28% in SMEs (APEC, 2026) | Low, but depends on founders' discipline | Strategic roles and the first hires of a team |
| Schools, alumni, communities | Juniors and specialised profiles | Former-intern pools and schools used by 20 to 34% of companies (APEC, 2026) | Medium, seasonal | Recurring junior hiring, niche skills with active communities |
| Agency (headhunting, RPO) | Passives, via a trusted third party | Use of an intermediary: 42% of companies (APEC, 2026) | Financial, not human | Profiles unreachable otherwise, volume peaks, no TA team. See headhunting, RPO or in-house |
There is no universal mix. Two questions are enough to build it: is the profile scarce? and is the need urgent?
Practical rule: three channels per role, no more. Beyond that, a small team runs nothing properly. Three well-worked channels beat seven opened and forgotten.
Day 1
With the manager: exact titles, companies where the profile exists, eliminatory skills, salary range. Then a talent-pool search in the ATS before any posting.
Days 1-2
Using the scarcity × urgency matrix. Each channel has an owner, a weekly volume target and a review date.
Days 2-15
A list of 40 to 80 qualified profiles, a 3 to 4 message sequence across two channels, follow-ups scheduled. The ad and referrals run in parallel.
Day 15, then weekly
Reply rate, interviews obtained, quality as perceived by the manager. Cut what yields nothing, reinforce what converts.
The most effective channel is also the worst executed. A passive candidate receives messages every week that open with "your profile caught my attention". They no longer read them. What works:
Our conviction at Dan Partners: AI has made mass outreach available to everyone, so the personalised, human approach becomes rare, and decisive. 44% of recruiters already use AI to write their candidate messages (Hellowork, 2025). Use it to identify and qualify profiles, not to write the message that 44% of the others will send.
Ten percent of hires on average among companies that run them (Hellowork, 2025), and far more in startups that keep the programme alive. Four conditions:
Five metrics, kept in the ATS, reviewed weekly while the role is open and quarterly in aggregate:
With those five numbers over two quarters, you will know which channel deserves your time for each job family. That is what turns reactive sourcing into managed sourcing.
FAQ
It is the deliberate combination of several candidate sources (job ad, direct approach, referrals, ATS talent pool, network, schools and communities, agency) chosen according to the scarcity and urgency of the role, to reach active candidates, open passives and those you have to go and get. Multi-posting an ad on five job boards is not multichannel: it is the same segment, reached five times.
It depends on the role. By volume, the job ad remains the number one channel in France: 84% of companies use it and it produces 54% of hires of managers and professionals (APEC, 2026). By yield, direct approach and referrals dominate: sourced candidates are close to 8 times more likely to be hired than inbound applicants and referrals convert 11 times better (Gem, 2026). On a scarce profile, the ad alone is not enough.
Name the role and the company in the first two lines, hook on a real element of their career path, give two to four concrete features of the role including the salary range, keep it to six to eight lines and end with a single question. Plan a sequence of three to four touchpoints over three weeks alternating LinkedIn and email, with a different angle in each message: most replies come at the second or third follow-up.
Three, chosen on two questions: is the profile scarce, is the need urgent? A common role is filled with an ad, the talent pool and referrals. A scarce role calls for direct approach, the founders' network and specialised communities, with an agency in parallel if urgent. Only 32% of companies activate more than five channels (APEC, 2026), and a small team cannot run more than three properly.
With five metrics per channel, kept in the ATS: the source of each signed hire, the reply rate to direct outreach (aim above 20%), the manager-interview pass rate, the cost per hire (licences, job boards, bonuses, fees, time) and the 12-month retention of hires from each channel. Over two quarters, these numbers show which channel deserves your time for each job family.
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