Lisa Gonzalez
July 28, 2023
Generally, external recruitment is carried out through online job posting websites, but there are many businesses that hire through networking, with many applicants applying to roles through people they know at a company.
Regardless of whether you’re utilizing internal or external methods of recruitment, it helps to have an applicant tracking system like Jobspage to streamline your job application management. With our efficient tracking software, you can create a custom career page, list available jobs, and organize applicants to quicken your recruitment process.
Recruitment methods help simplify your full-cycle recruiting process, from creating job descriptions to locating ideal candidates. It’s important to choose the right recruitment method to target people with your desired qualifications or skills and increase your volume of applicants.
Some companies utilize multiple methods to attract more high-quality talent, such as posting on third-party job sites as well as your own company website.
Recruitment methods allow you to discover suitable candidates with the right experience and skills, which makes talent sourcing more efficient. Listing your requirements in youWhen it comes to hiring new employees, one of the most essential steps is to locate valuable candidates using effective recruitment methods. Depending on your job position and candidate requirements, you’ll need to use a recruitment method that best appeals to your target audience.
However, if you receive large volumes of job applications, it can be difficult to keep track of them all. Luckily, hiring tools such as Jobspage helps you collect resumes and efficiently manage your applications with ease.
Read on to find out more about recruitment methods.
Recruitment methods are strategies businesses use to advertise jobs to valuable candidates and convince them to send in an application. The ultimate goal is to find and hire employees that meet your specific requirements, which can include years of experience, qualifications, and skills.
There are a variety of different recruitment methods available — it’s best to choose a method that suits your budget and helps you attract the right candidates. For example, if you want to reach a wider range of people, you could post a job listing on a popular third-party site, such as LinkedIn.
Internal methods of recruitment involve hiring employees from within your own company to fill open job positions. It’s a much faster recruitment method since internal employees already have knowledge of your business and don’t require lengthy onboarding sessions. It also prevents you from having to scour through hundreds of applications in search of suitable candidates.
That’s not to mention the impact on employees. For instance, companies that have a good internal recruitment structure keep their employees 41% longer than those that hire externally. After all, employees want to feel that they can rise up a company’s ranks, so granting that opportunity can keep workers motivated.
That being said, internal recruitment does come with its downsides too. it may lead to a lack of diversity or innovation if you continually hire from one pool of people and don’t bring in anyone new. This leads us nicely to our next method:
External recruitment is where you hire new employees from outside the company, which helps bring fresh perspectives and ideas to your business. Unfortunately, it is a more time-consuming hiring process as it requires multiple interviews and negotiations. Consider as well that the average cost of a new employee is around $4700, which can play havoc with your budget.
Since recruiting solutions help you hire employees who are well-suited for their roles, it’s likely they’ll perform highly at their job and produce quality results. This should create a happy work culture where employees are satisfied with their work, which improves morale and reduces your turnover rate.
Without having to constantly hire new people, you’ll be saving a ton of money in recruitment and onboarding costs. Considering that hiring costs can equate to 1.5 - 2 times the salary of an employee, reducing turnover allows you to make better investments with that money.
One of the easiest methods of recruitment is to create a job page so people who visit your site can easily view open positions and know how to apply. Hosting job listings on your company website gives you more control over the page’s appearance and functionality. Plus, it can be much cheaper than continually paying for postings on job boards.
You can customize the interface layout, add search filters to make it easy for people to find the right jobs, and more. HR software such as Jobspage allows you to design dedicated careers pages and track applications without any hassle. Collect candidates' resumes, contact information, and other necessary details to make informed recruitment decisions.
Another recruitment method involves using employee referral programs. Your existing employees can recommend or refer people they know to fill in any job vacancies. It’s a more cost-efficient method since you’re picking from a smaller pool of candidates and doesn’t require any advertising — the talent comes to you.
Referrals are also more likely to get you suitable candidates — your employees should know what requirements you’re looking for and only recommend people with the right skills or experience.
Posting jobs on third-party sites like Indeed and Four Day Week allows you to advertise to a larger group of people. List your open job positions, include details about the role and your company, and describe what qualifications or experience you’re looking for in an ideal candidate.
Utilizing job boards is a common recruitment method, especially if you’re looking to attract more candidates in a shorter period of time. A lot of these websites have an existing following, so your job listings should be easier to find. This is a particularly useful method of recruitment if your business isn’t very well-known.
While some job boards do allow candidates to apply through their site, you can redirect applicants to your own company site by including a link in the job posting. Make sure to write clear instructions about your application process — for example, say, ‘visit our website to apply’ and direct them to a hyperlink or URL.
You can choose to post on multiple job boards to extend your reach, but using too many might make application management difficult, not to mention increased costs. You should also check how these sites format your job posting on both PC and mobile — if it’s visually unappealing or has a poor UI, it could deter potential candidates from applying.
Instead of hiring more employees, you could promote existing staff to fill in new job openings. It’s less costly and much quicker than hiring externally. It may also serve as an incentive for your staff to work harder since you’re rewarding them with higher pay.
This recruitment method is especially useful for managerial positions — hiring an in-house employee means they’ll already have detailed knowledge about your company and won’t require lots of training. Giving out promotions also prevents job stagnation, which helps reduce employee turnover.
Networking events are another great way of discovering valuable job candidates. Lots of industry professionals or interested parties should be attending the events, so you’ll have the opportunity to talk to a lot of them and figure out who’s currently job searching.
Make a good first impression and teach people about your business to entice worthy candidates. Just remember to prepare business cards or presentations before the event to generate interest and ensure people know how to contact you. There may be competing recruiters at the event, so you need to stand out from the crowd in some way.
If possible, you could also host your own networking event, but you’ll have to factor in several costs, such as:
Calculate the possible costs and decide whether the ROI (Return on Investment) would be worth hosting the networking event. You should only host an event if you have a large audience and great brand awareness in your industry — otherwise, you may struggle to attract guests.
Request the help of a recruitment agency to speed up your hiring process. These businesses locate suitable candidates for you to save you a lot of effort. This way, your employees will have more time to focus on their jobs, which will save you some money in the long run.
Recruitment agencies have expertise you may be lacking along with access to a network of potential hires — this increases the chances of finding good candidates as opposed to picking from a large pool of people via third-party job boards.
Here are some examples of recruitment agencies:
Offer internships or apprenticeships to attract talent. It could serve as a trial period and entice applicants who are perhaps newer to the industry or less qualified. Identify interns with the potential to improve and develop their skills — they could later get promoted to fill in future roles and save you from hiring externally.
Interns are often paid less due to their lack of experience or lower-level positions, so you’d be saving on hiring costs. During the internship, employees can learn more about your company and work culture, which builds a sense of loyalty and increases retention rates when they gain a full-time job at your business.
Internships may last a few months to a year, depending on the position and your evaluation period. Advertise these programs on your site, job boards, and even universities or colleges to find interested parties.
Advertise your job openings on social media to target younger talents or a wider audience. Create a profile for your company on multiple social channels, such as Instagram and Facebook, and post about your job listings to entice people to apply. You can use images or videos to capture people’s attention, especially if you’re lacking in brand awareness.
Search through your database to find applicants you rejected — some of them may have the right skills for another job opening of yours. This saves you a lot of time and prevents you from having to go through hundreds of new applications.
It’s best to look for candidates you rejected during the later stages of recruitment — if they passed your initial screenings, it’s likely they have a lot of the right skills and experience for your company.
If you’re looking to fill entry-level positions, source talents from colleges and universities to find parties interested in your industry. For example, if the role involves working with cars, you can advertise the job opening to engineering students or other related fields.
In order to source candidates from these schools, you should have an established relationship with their campus communities, such as the careers department. Attend job fairs or university events to talk to students about your company and generate some interest.
Headhunters are recruiters who help market your job positions to professional talents on your behalf. This is a great option if you want to avoid direct contact with these candidates.
For example, they may be currently working for a competitor or looking for a career change. If you’re struggling to find suitable applicants or urgently need a position filled, headhunters may be your best alternative.
Before you start posting your available jobs, figure out what kind of candidate you’re looking for. This includes listing:
Consider what the job entails and what knowledge is required to carry out the different responsibilities to a high standard.
Aside from listing your candidate requirements, you should also write a job description that appeals to suitable applicants. Include information about your company and any employee benefits you offer. For instance, write about your company mission and what value you bring to the industry.
Here are some tips for writing a compelling job description;
Once you’ve accepted an application, verify their qualifications and conduct a background check to ensure there were no inaccuracies in their CVs and they’re capable of doing the role they applied for. Reference checks are also an essential part of this process, though do keep in mind they aren’t always required for entry-level roles or apprenticeships, as you could alienate younger applicants without much working experience.
Finding the right candidates for your job openings is a difficult task, which is why companies often use a mix of different recruitment methods in their hiring strategies. It’s important to target people with the experience and skills you’re looking for with detailed job descriptions, which you can then publish on various sites, including your own.
With the help of Jobspage, you can build a custom careers page and keep track of all your applications to simplify the recruitment process. Get started with our free plan to try out our features and access customizable careers pages.
