Learning OUTCOMES
- Identify methods for finding qualified potential employees.
CareerBuilder’s advice for building an employer brand is equally applicable to getting the word out about a job opportunity—specifically: “be everywhere.”[1] As noted above, job candidates search for jobs essentially the same way they make purchase decisions, managing multiple points of contact including college and company career pages, job boards, and social media sites as well as attending live events. If the possibilities seem overwhelming, use the candidate research you conducted to narrow the options. That is, if you have a clear understanding of who your ideal candidate is—a specific person in mind—you can use that information to inform your choice of touch points.
practice question
So how do you find the perfect candidate for a job opening? There are several techniques. Advertising in newspapers and trade publications can be effective. Most recruiters also use online sources to find job candidates. For example, sites such as Indeed, Monster, and CareerBuilder are very popular. Employers can list jobs on these sites and can search through resumes to find potential employees.
Is Social Media a Good Idea?
Is Facebook, Instagram or Twitter a better means of connecting with potential employees? Pew Research Center social media use data can inform that decision. A few excerpts from their Social Media Use 2018 findings:
- Americans ages 18 to 24 are substantially more likely to use platforms such as Snapchat, Instagram and Twitter even when compared with those in their mid- to late-20s.
- Pinterest remains substantially more popular with women (41 percent of whom say they use the site) than with men (16 percent).
- LinkedIn remains especially popular among college graduates and those in high-income households. Some 50 percent of Americans with a college degree use LinkedIn, compared with just 9 percent of those with a high school diploma or less.
- The messaging service WhatsApp is popular in Latin America, and this popularity also extends to Latinos in the United States—49 percent of Hispanics report that they are WhatsApp users, compared with 14 percent of white Americans and 21 percent of black Americans.
In hiring, you should also consider candidates suggested by existing employees, talk to people who walk in to inquire about jobs, reach out through college recruitment events and job fairs, and contact individuals who have received certification through programs such as Udacity. Another option is to work through recruiters called “Headhunters” who find individuals with the right skills and invite them to apply for a particular position.
In many cases, jobs are opened up to internal candidates before they are advertised to the wider world. When that happens, jobs are advertised through company newsletters and bulletin boards and candidates go to HR to apply for the job.
To that point, employee referrals are one of the best sources of qualified candidates. In Fundamentals of Human Resource Management, the authors state that
“Employee referrals tend to be more acceptable applicants, who are more likely to accept an offer and, once employed, have a higher job survival rate.”
Three caveats to be aware of with regards to employee referrals:
- An employee might mistakenly assume job performance competence based on friendship.
- Employee referrals may lead to nepotism or hiring individuals who are related to persons already employed by the company.
- Employee referrals may reinforce the status quo rather than advance a diversification objective.
