So, you’ve made the decision that it’s time to hire a new employee, but how? There are so many options out there to assist you with finding the perfect candidate for your position, that sometimes it’s hard to choose which route to take.
There are usually two common influencers over which method you opt for:
- how much time you have to spare/to take away from other aspects of your job to fully aid the recruitment and selection process.
- how much money you have to spend to find the perfect candidate.
If this sounds familiar, then panic over because I’m going to evaluate the most popular methods of recruitment on your behalf!
Newspaper
Pros
- An advert in the newspaper will be read by those in your local area. The vacancy you are recruiting for may require a knowledge of the area.
- Let’s not forget, although its 2018 we’re not all destined to be a tech whiz, putting adverts onto online platforms may not be something that’s easily doable for everyone.
- Cost may also play a big factor in your recruitment process. Some local newspapers can offer cheap advertisement fees; however, this does not apply to all.
Cons
- When was the last time you read the newspaper? Not everyone who would be interested or suitable for your position reads the newspaper, this shouldn’t be the limiting factor to why you can’t fill your job with THE perfect candidate.
- Some newspapers, especially those with a larger viewers platform can charge extortionate fees for adverts that are really, very small.
- How much time do you have? Sometimes we don’t know we need someone until we need them! It takes a while for newspapers to go to printing and there may be a wait time for an ad space. This time needs to be factored in to your search.
Recruitment Agency
Pros
- Recruitment consultants are specialists.
- They have unrestricted access to databases of CV’s.
- They can do the dreaded sorting and whittling down of the CV’s, so you don’t have to.
- They will also pay to post your job on job boards that are seen by thousands of people daily, along with advertising the position on their website and discussing it with candidates already on their database so a vast amount of people covering a much larger area see your job!
- Recruitment agencies also hold interviews on your behalf, so you can focus your time and attention on the day to day tasks of your job and running of your business.
Cons
- You guessed it, there’s a fee!
- It can be costly if, after the “cooling off period” things don’t work out from either party. Termination of employment will mean spent fees and no employee
- Finding the right recruitment agency AND consultant isn’t always easy, like any industry there are bad consultants. Take the time to find the right fit for your business with consultants who will take the time to personally get to know you and your organisation.
Online job platforms
Pros
- There’s many to choose from and luckily, they’re often free to use.
- Generally, they hit a large audience.
- Large advertisement space for a detailed job description.
- The adverts can appear on the website for a specifiable amount of time (sometimes limited), however there is more time for the post to be viewed.
Cons
- Some candidates won’t view all of the job boards, your advert may still be missed.
- Depending on the role, you could get hundreds of applications, many of which are likely to be unqualified. Sifting through these is time consuming.
- Some candidates may have already been employed or be hard to get in touch with which is disheartening and time consuming.
Social Media
Pros
- Free to use.
- Can be shared from friend to friend and can then be visible to a large amount of people.
- Interested candidates can contact you immediately and likewise, which may speed up the process.
Cons of using SOME forms of social media
- You may be limited to only those you are connected with.
- Many of those who see your advert/post may not even be job seekers.
- Social media has an unprofessional feel so may put the right kind of people off applying for the job.
So, there you have it, the 4 most common ways of recruiting evaluated. I hope you now have all the tools and knowledge to make an informed decision about which method is the right one for you!