When you’re hiring, it’s common to turn to the same old places to find and recruit talent. While this approach has likely landed you some pretty amazing people in the past, it’s also beneficial to move outside of your comfort zone. By experimenting with different online, offline and in-person channels, you may discover that you can fill your talent roster faster and with even more qualified people. So, what do you say? Are you ready to incorporate the below channels into your recruitment strategy?
If you can fill a position with qualified talent that you already have on staff, that’s typically a win. Vacant positions take a significant amount of time and money to fill, so it’s in your best interest to look internally first. Plus, by offering existing employees exciting opportunities to grow and move up in the company, you’re also helping to drive retention — which, let's be honest, requires a pretty robust strategy of its own.
If you have a strong social media presence, consider posting information about job openings across your most active accounts, whether that’s LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, X or another network. However, don’t post for the sake of posting. If you don’t have many followers or haven’t posted anything in years, you may want to direct your efforts elsewhere. If you’re not giving these channels much attention, chances are that prospects aren’t either.
Candidates today are drawn to job sites that take care of the heavy lifting for them by matching them with opportunities that align with a simple search query. By taking advantage of job sites like Monster, Indeed, Google for Jobs, CareerBuilder, Glassdoor, LinkedIn, LinkUp and more, you can gain instant access to a large pool of interested prospects. Just be prepared to weed through a lot of resumes — some applicants won’t be a good fit, but plenty will.
Pro Tip: Ask your HR technology provider if they offer job boards integrations. This can make it quicker and easier for you to post open roles on sites like LinkedIn and then bring applicants and candidates into the system for evaluation and onboarding.
Job sites that cater to specific industries are popping up left and right. Ask others in your industry for recommendations or do a quick Google search and see what’s available in your vertical. Here are a few we’ve heard good things about: SalesJobs for sales, Dice for tech, Idealist for nonprofits and GoodFoodJobs for foodservice.
In addition to leveraging your website, promote your job opportunities through partner sites, such as an organization you’re involved with or a trusted vendor. Also consider other free or paid options like university job boards, school alumni sites, industry forums, professional association sites or online trade publications.
Contrary to popular belief, job fairs are still thing. In fact, they are an excellent way to access a large pool of diverse candidates. While exhibiting at a job expo or even a university-hosted fair requires more time than digital alternatives, these events are a great way to meet face to face with prospects. By taking advantage of in-person meetings, you can better assess candidate fit, ask valuable questions typically reserved for interviews and get a feel for the local talent pool available.
If you don’t want to deal with finding and recruiting new talent on your own, you can hire a staffing firm to help. However, be prepared to pay. Depending on the agency, they typically charge a flat fee or take a percentage of what the new hire will make. Executive or niche placements typically command higher fees than entry-level, so consider your need and how difficult it is to find qualified talent when thinking about an outsourcing option like this.
Knowing where to share information about open positions at your company isn’t always as cut and dry as it may seem. Since finding and recruiting candidates takes effort, you need to be strategic about how many and which channels you use. Consider all avenues, but prioritize the sources that align with the behaviors and demographics of your “ideal” candidate. And remember, take your time. You want to find a new hire that's good fit — otherwise, you'll be back on the hunt before you know it.