As a new business owner, you might not be aware of the many options available to help you find your employees. The following is a list of resources to consider when you are looking to add employee(s) to your company.
Your Own Website
Here candidates will learn about your company as well as the details regarding the open position.
TIP: An excellent opportunity for Employment Branding – sell your organization as an excellent place to work!
Employee Referrals
A great source — often overlooked. Your employees know your company, your standards and work policies. Employees rarely recommend people that they cannot vouch for as they are putting their own reputation on the line.
TIP: Consider a reward system for a referral. It doesn’t necessarily have to be in the form of a check. Why not an extra day off with pay
Print Media
Newspapers and other print media have traditionally been the most utilized resource to advertise for employees. While many other options exist, this is still a viable resource to consider.
Newspapers charge by the size of the ad, so be economical with your use of words and use abbreviations as long as they can be clearly understood.
Tip: Job seekers who are computer literate and comfortable with technology will probably not consider the reading the classifieds, at least not in the initial phase of their job search.
The Internet
There are many providers of job listing services, e.g., Monster, Career Builder, Jobing.com, and other internet sources. The costs vary and they can be an excellent source of candidates. Unlike newspaper ads, you can be as descriptive as you want about the job requirements and qualifications, word limitations are very generous. There are new job boards popping up every day. Some niche job boards also exist and some smaller job boards are here. Some college newspapers even have their own boards.
Tip: Take advantage of any tools available to qualify the applicants. Some sites allow you to ask screening questions and then score the applicant so you can focus on those candidates who meet your criteria. You will get a lot of “hits” using the internet, but many of the candidates will not meet your criteria. It is too easy for someone to hit the “Send” button to forward their resume.
Professional Organizations
Many professional organizations have job posting boards. Some are free to members and others charge to list a position. If your job requires a certain professional background, this may be an excellent way to source good candidates.
TIP: Inform the organization if you hire one of their referrals. They appreciate the feedback and it is an excellent networking opportunity.
Educational Institutions
Community Colleges, Universities, etc. can be excellent sources for candidates, especially for part-time and internship opportunities. You can post your positions for little or no cost in most instances.
TIP: If you want to advertise in the college paper, be aware that often they have tight deadlines.
Job Fairs
If you have several openings to fill, a Job Fair may be the way to approach your search. It is normally not cost effective to participate in a job fair for one or two positions.
TIP: Plan for enough staff to manage your booth at the job fair, particularly if it’s an all day event. It is recommended that you collect resumes and then schedule the interviews at a later date.
Networking
One of the best ways to recruit, but often misunderstood. Networking is not limited to your professional contacts. When it comes to recruiting, networking means letting everyone you come in contact with know about your job opening.
TIP: Beauticians, dentists, doctors, etc. come in contact with people of all different backgrounds during the course of a day. Get the word out there!
Recruitment/Temporary Agencies
Recruiting Firms can also be a resource for employees. The can work in several ways:
Flat out fee to find you someone, usually around 3% of the employee’s salary, and often with a 90-day guarantee. Recruiting firm does all pre-screening and reference checking and many will also do drug screening.
Temp to hire: Employee remains on the temporary agency payroll, usually for
90 days or a certain number of hours. The agency pays all employment taxes, etc. This is a good way to see if someone is a “fit” for your organization before you put them on full time. Utilizing temps is also a good way to handle seasonal employment
needs.
TIP: Let the agency know immediately if someone isn’t working out. You do not
have to keep them for 90 days. They are more than happy to find someone
who will be a better fit to keep you happy as a client.
Government/Social Services Agencies
Department of Employment Security (unemployment) and other government and social services agencies often provide job search assistance to their clients.
TIP: Many of these candidates have not been successful in getting employment on their own. Some are disadvantaged in terms of their background, e.g., criminal record, etc., and may not meet your hiring criteria.It’s best to be up front regarding your hiring criteria so they can refer appropriate candidates.
Hi Cathy (and readers)!
I would like to suggest a great resource that is free to employers and recruiters. InovaHire.com allows employers and recruiters to post jobs, search resumes, and interview candidates live online with a webcam.
Not only is it effortless but it is an effective free resource!
Hope this helps 🙂
Another tip I like to tell people is layoffs and WARN notices. A WARN notices is required for companies of a certain size and it must be filed with the government. Other layoffs are often mentioned in local blogs or news papers. One companies layoff may be your opportunity.
I’ll add an emphasis on the importance of your own website. Job seekers are getting smarter by the day. If they see a crappy web design, it’s tantamount to a mediocre company (although that’s not always true). But it’s the common scenario.
They don’t expect eye-candy websites, but a corporate professional look with the necessary details of the company and great content from within.
With the amount of people out of work these days, I’ve had overwhelming success finding qualified candidates just about everywhere I look. I was able to fill the early available positions with friends and family alone. Now when a new position arises, using any of the methods you mentioned above tends to bring in an overwhelming number of candidates. The biggest challenge seems to be weeding through them all to find the most qualified and deserving of the position.
.-= Rob@Players Only Bonus´s last blog ..Players Only Bonus =-.
Good advice overall here. I would add that when working with an agency choose one that is well established and has staff that have been there for a while. This will tell you they know the market and have survived the ups and downs of hiring cycles.
I’ve found that local classified ads can be a great place to advertise job postings as well.
One other idea might also be to post in forums where people are already knowledgeable about your industry.