Improve Your Recruiting Process

Still doing the same old thing?

According to Dr. John Sullivan, Professor of Human Resources at the College of Business at San Francisco State University, dramatic changes are taking place in the way businesses recruit candidates. In the face of increasing technology and skyrocketing demand for qualified applicants, traditional methods are no longer enough. Even if you’re one of the lucky few not feeling the squeeze from a tight labor market, chances are you’re not finding as many good applicants as you used to.

Is it time to upgrade your recruiting process? If the statements below describe your company, it might be time to consider making some changes.

• You use newspaper classifieds as your only source of candidates.
• You have no “pool” of job applicants or pre-qualified candidate lists.
• You never track the performance or retention rates of your hires.
• You don’t routinely evaluate the success rates of each tool and source you use to recruit employees.
• You don’t forecast future employment needs or estimate available supply.
• You’ve never used “spiders” or “worms” to search the web.

If you’re ready to start making some changes, here are a few ideas to boost your recruiting efforts.

Participate in job fairs.

It’s great opportunity to meet a lot of applicants in a short amount of time while also doing some preliminary screening.

Referral bonuses.

Take advantage of a recruiting network of people who already know a lot about your company. Incent your employees to refer applicants. Pay bonuses once the referred applicant has been working at your company for a set period of time, say 60 or 90 days.

Build your own recruiting network.

Sometimes the people you do business with can be your best ally as you struggle to find good applicants. Your vendors and clients know your business and may be able to refer appropriate candidates. All you need to do is let them know what you’re looking for.

Go online.

Adding a recruiting page to your web site is a cost-effective way to gain more exposure to posted job openings. If people want to work for you, they will make a habit of frequently checking out your site for new postings.